• by Melissa Severin , June 5, 2014

The Challenge: Corona is known globally as a daytime beer enjoyed on the beach during vacation. For more than 30 years, Corona steadily built their beach and daytime equity in the U.S. and it’s served them very well. However, with that success there’s also been some typecasting, particularly in a market like New York City, where residents have specific and limited occasions for daytime beer-drinking. To grow, we needed to generate buzz and get New Yorkers thinking about Corona when they drink beer the most: at night. 

In a city of constant commotion, with a limited budget and no time to shoot new assets, we knew our solution would need to work double, even triple duty. 

Creative Solution: Corona’s signature “lime in the bottle” is an iconic representation of the brand that’s well known to beer drinkers and non-beer drinkers alike. But, how do you bring in the night?

That question prompted another question and, ultimately, our solution: Could we help New Yorkers find their beach at night by using the crescent moon as the Corona lime? 

First, we found two stacked billboards; one on the bottom to represent the day and one on top to represent the night. We envisioned our bottle connecting the two with the line “Night or day. Find your beach.” 

Would it work? To find out, we consulted top experts in astrophysics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They confirmed that the moon would be in that part of the sky on very specific summer days. All we needed to do was figure out the proper elliptical paths in order to see where and when it would happen. We also made sure to find the best view from the street.

For two days in mid-May, and consecutive days in June, the moon in the summer sky would be in perfect phase and position to be the lime in our Luna Corona bottle.  

When it wasn’t in perfect phase, it was very close and we utilized this almost-perfection to build anticipation through events and enlisting local bars and patrons. We created information on viewpoints and encouraged the taking and sharing of photos. We also secured compelling: Local and national news coverage featuring this strong, signature Corona brand image from the nighttime sky in downtown NYC. 

Of course, there was a risk—rain or clouds could have blurred the view. But C-K and Corona were game to try and, in doing so, created the first celestial interactive billboard ever.   

Results: From June 15, 2013 to July 31, 2013, Corona depletion levels—the total number of cases sold by beer distributors to retailers—increased nearly 8%. The Luna Corona buzz video on YouTube received 142,000+ views and Luna Corona posts on the Corona Extra Facebook page generated 5K+ “likes” while more than 100 unpaid media placements occurred in the U.S. and abroad. 

For Corona, the billboard was so successful, they extended the outdoor buy for an additional phase of the moon.  

Effie Awards are known by advertisers and agencies globally as the pre-eminent award in the marketing industry and recognize any and all forms of communication that contribute to a brand's success. Gold, silver and bronze Effie winners will be announced at the 46th annual North American Effie Awards gala tonight in New York.