So, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit South Africa and businesses were no longer able to host live events nor sell their products due to the lockdown, many brands had to quickly put all their plans for the year on ice and rethink how they would stay relevant.
For Castle Lite, however, it was about more than relevance or lost revenue; they had to find a way to keep their consumers entertained and feeling inspired. Led by its extraordinary leader, brand director and chief of all things extra cold, Silke Bucker oversaw the brand as it came up with and successfully executed three campaigns during lockdown.
Castle Lite Unlocks in Bed With
“First and foremost, we set out to promote responsible behaviour. Secondly, it doesn’t matter how hard life gets; we can always find a reason to smile,” that was the philosophy according to Bucker. And with that in mind, the brand team’s first mission was distilling the essence of its mega annual experience, Castle Lite Unlocks into an online show. And so was born, Castle Lite Unlocks in Bed With, a live digital streaming show that brought the brand’s consumers into the homes of the biggest musicians in SA and abroad. This was the brand’s way of unlocking entertainment while people were trapped at home. The content was created true to Castle Lite’s purpose of making the impossible possible – unlocking never-before heard music, collabs and cyphers while donating R1 per live view to the Solidarity Fund.
Billboards
This was followed by an out-of-home campaign that sees the brand make use of its iconic billboards to spread a message of hope. Across South Africa, the lyrics “we gonna be alright”, unlock a sense of hope in everyone who sees them. Plus, Castle Lite used none of its branding on these billboards to signal that not everything has to be about them.
Castle Lite Granny TVC
Finally, everyone would’ve recently seen the granny TVC from Castle Lite - which the brand admits might be seen as a little strange for them, but it left people smiling and that is exactly what they were aiming for.
“We ensured that our consumer stays at the centre of our decision-making. We used social listening to determine the mindset of our followers and used that as input into our content. Castle Lite’s purpose is about enjoyment, unlocking moments of escapism and light-heartedness,” said Bucker. “And with that in mind, we set out to create content that allowed our consumers to do just that – escape,” she continued.
Bucker finds that it is extremely important for brands to step up and leave consumers with positivity. Because the world is in need of some serious role models, and with that lacking, brands play an important role in shaping culture. She believes that the most important thing they could do as a brand during this time was to showcase responsible behaviour, while uplifting people.
While on the topic of role models, Bucker also mentioned that the brand’s influencers were a natural fit for them to be part of the story as they already shared the same values as the brand anyway. “Our influencers are part of the Castle Lite family and they played an integral role during this time, not just to push out content, but also to promote responsible behaviour,” she expressed.
And now as the lockdown restrictions begin to relax, the brand has a lot more surprises in store while still reminding its consumers to be responsible at all times. Castle Lite wants its consumers to have fun despite the challenging time we all live in.
Like virtually all businesses in the world, Covid-19 has forced Castle Lite to relook its plans and deliver even stronger than before. Bucker said that their secret weapon has been their agility, sticking close to their consumers and producing content that is topical and relevant to fans.
Her advice to brands who find it difficult to communicate with consumers and the general public is to “remain true to their purpose – speak only when it is credible for you to get involved in the conversation – don’t use these issues to try jump on trends. It is about doing what is right, and not just what is right for the brand,” she concludes.
For more information check out www.castlelite.co.za or follow the official social media pages:
Facebook: Castle Lite
Twitter: >!<>b/
Instagram: @CastleLiteSA
