From rec league softball games to backyard barbeques, beach days to bonfire nights, summer is all about hanging with friends and having some cold ones. And we needed to make sure those cold ones were Miller Lites. To do it, we wanted to excite our loyal base and recruit new drinkers. So we turned our base into Miller Time advocates, and their networks into our own.
Miller Time is about sharing times with friends in real time. And so is Twitter. So we kicked off summer on Memorial Day weekend with The #ItsMillerTime Awards—the first-ever UGC award show on Twitter—celebrating the times our guys spend with their friends, and setting the example for what everyone should do all season. We did it in true award show fashion, with everything from invites to swag bags to nominations. And we had the biggest audience anyone could ask for. The entire country.
Throughout the day, we used Twitter's top trend to call for the best BBQ Pics, Fun in the Sun Pics, Summer Games Pics, and more. When photos rolled in, we rewarded the best ones in real time, with trophies and things like grills, coolers and concert tix to make summer even better. And right before the curtain closed, we handed out the award for "Best Picture," along with a stockpile of beer to last all summer long.
When it was all said and done, we got 93MM impressions (more eyes than a Super Bowl spot). And we dominated the social conversation with a 68% share of voice in beer category. Plus we doubled our mentions and saw a 5x lift in photos shared, setting a record for user-generated content by a beer brand in a single day. Ultimately, our fans showed drinkers how to Miller Time. And that not only kept Miller Lite top of mind the entire summer, but it allowed us to keep the title of "#1 Beer Branded Hashtag" for the second year in a row.
