Carlsberg’s Instagram Campaign Links Bars & Drinkers

A new Carlsberg campaign in Denmark, called #happybeertime, aims to bring bars and their patrons closer together over social networks. Dubbed “Happy Hour 2.0,” the beer company extended happy hour via Instagram and hashtag mentions. Bar-goers upload their photos to Instagram and tag them with the name of the bar and #happybeertime, and a counter displayed above the bar fills up with more time for half-priced beer, effectively adding a few more minutes to happy hour. Bars add specially hacked HDMI sticks to HDTV’s to make it work, and as a result their name is shared across the social network. The goal, of course, is to bridge online and offline, brick-and-mortar and digital landscapes into one effective solution that brings customers closer to the bars while creating organic marketing for the bars. And by exploiting two major consumer trends – happy hour and Instagram sharing – Carlsberg is cashing in on serendipitous sharing that drives brand engagement.