Brahma holds unpaid pitch for 2008 campaign

Top ten global beer brand Brahma is side-stepping professional design services to engage consumers in its 2008 promotional campaign.

The group is running a ‘public art competition’ – Visto Brahma – for a design that will be used on packaging and on trade promotional material this summer.

Anne Sheridan, brand manager for Brahma, explains that the thinking behind the competition came from the need to stay true to Brahma’s roots as a ‘brand of the people’.

‘Rather than, say, working with a design consultancy on this, which honestly would be much cheaper and easier, we wanted to get the public involved in creating and choosing the designs and artwork for the bottle sleeve. This isn’t about changing the Brahma packaging – the bottle is fantastic – it’s an addition, giving it more visibility,’ she says.

Branding and packaging group Boxer, Brahma’s below-the-line group, will oversee implementation of the winning design.

Boxer account executive Ollie Vandenburgh says that it doesn’t see unpaid creative competitions as a threat. ‘It’s really just a way to give more prominence to the existing packaging design,’ he says.

Sheridan adds, ‘We know that people could view this as a free pitch, but it’s about giving opportunity [back to the consumer]. Getting work on packaging would benefit those who wouldn’t normally have the chance to work with a big brand,’ she claims.

Artists Stella Vine, Jimi Crayon and Harry Pye will choose the winning design, which will receive a cash prize of £5000.

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