| Filosofia | Alexander is a small Israeli boutique beer brewery, that was known mostly to Israeli beer connoisseurs. Very few people in the general public had heard of it, let alone considered buying it. That, coupled with the fact most of Alexander’s competition came from the well-funded big international beer brands – meant we had some serious challenges on our hands. We needed on the one hand, to devise a way to break into the Israeli beer drinker’s consciousness and consideration set. On the other hand we also needed to create a compelling enough reason for Israelis to choose our beer over the well-known international brands they usually bought and loved. To answer both challenges, we decided to give Israelis a cause to rally around and launched the Alexander “Gaza Border Beer”. A first-of-a-kind limited edition beer, made with wheat salvaged from over 28000 hectares of wheat fields along the Gaza border, that had been torched by incendiary kites. A new measure devised by Gazans to keep the Israel-Palestine conflict center stage that was causing national outrage as nature and wildlife were being decimated and turned to ashes. A phenomenon that put farmers of Israel’s border towns and kibbutzim squarely on the frontline as the fires ravaged their crops and wiped out their livelihood - in the process also turning to ash the very wheat Alexander depended on to make beer. That’s why, betting on Israelis’ solidary nature (well yeah when you go to the army and your life depends on the guy standing next to you – you’ll go to any extent to have his back ), the brewery offered Israelis a way to help their brothers: Buy Alexander Gaza Border Beer and all proceeds of the beer would go to replanting farmers’ fields. The brewery began by issuing an initial batch of 200.000 bottles which were made available at supermarkets, bars, restaurants and online with free ‘next-day-delivery’ anywhere in the country. It launched the initiative with a heartbreaking commercial where Gaza border farmers spoke about the pain and despair they felt, as they witnessed the fruit of their hard labor go up in smoke. The commercial ended with a call to buy the beer in solidarity. Israelis, a solidary bunch by nature, responded immediately and bought up the entire supply of limited edition beer in just five days. Alexander Gaza Border Beer became a trending topic on Google. The press raved and morning shows, evening news broadcasts, the daily press –all covered our limited edition launch. Sales wise, Alexander sold more beer in one week than it sold in the past 6 months. In fact, Israelis’ demand for the beer was so fierce Alexander had no choice but to make more, so that what started as a limited edition beer is still being sold today. So far Alexander has given back over 60000$ to farmers…and that’s just the beginning. The little brewery has gone from a little unknown local boutique beer brand, to the beer that’s on everyone’s lips (literally and figuratively) – with its sales growth rate outpacing those of the competing big international beer brands. ‘Alexander Gaza Border Beer’ turned out to be an initiative that guaranteed the beer brand would from now on own a very emotional place in Israeli consumers’ minds and shopping carts. Now that’s something we’re happy to drink to! |