Reactive marketing has become a big trend that can gain exposure while playing well with fans of a brand. And Coors Light was quick to spot an opportunity when Los Angeles Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani took out a section of one of its digital billboards with a long foul ball at New York's Citi Field.
Videos soon began circulating on social media, and Coors reacted fast to create a clever souvenir that would allow fans to claim a little piece of baseball history. It's produced a special edition replica can with a design inspired by the square of dead pixels that Ohtani's ball left on the billboard (see our pick of the best billboard advertising).
Ohtani's influence on the Coors Light can design is eminently simple. It's simply the addition of a small black square. But the humourous, and rapid, response from Coors and its advertising agency Rethink went down a storm with fans.
The limited edition $17 empty cans sold out online well before the estimated shipment date. The brand also added the black square to beverage wraps and stadium signage at Angel Stadium for a home game against the Mets and to social media imagery, accompanied with the tagline "Hits the spot".
It shows how quick thinking and execution can allow a brand to tap into, and commemorate, a viral moment. It saw the potential of an incident that happened in the real world and went viral online to create a real-world product which in turn went viral on the net, expanding the exposure.
For more branding news, see the new Android logo and our pick of the best new logos so far this year.
