AKQA

Client: Beck's
Product: Beck's beer
Title: Beck's Frequency
Media: Digital
Country: Brazil
Date Of Campaign: 19 November 2020 - 19 December 2020

Background: Beck’s is the most bitter mainstream beer in Brazil, a market where people are still used to lighter beers.And as newcomers, we still had way less distribution and media investment than the competition. We needed to stand out and get people to massively taste the difference between Beck’s bitter flavor and the other beer brands. To achieve that, we did the unthinkable. We asked people to drink the competition.

Idea: Beck’s Frequency. A sound frequency that makes any beer taste more bitter.Studies from Harvard and Oxford proved that high-frequencies make our taste sweeter and low-frequencies make our taste more bitter.So, we tasked ten top DJs to mix their hits in a high 1043Hz frequency and low 73Hz frequency, a nod to Beck’s 1873 birth year.Through an innovative experience housed at becksfrequency.com we asked people to listen to these tracks while listening to any less bitter beer. And an integrated campaign teased disbelievers to try for themselves.

Results: By adding a little bit of bitterness to everyone's regular beers, we teased their interest in Beck's bitterness. Positioned Becks as the most bitter in the beer market. And even left a bitter taste on our main competitor’s mouth.25MM ReachTripled the volume vs 2019Biggest growth in brand perception amongst premium categoryBiggest Steal in market share from the leader (Heineken)But this is just the beginning. When things get back to normal, this signature frequency will allow us to hack the competition's taste in bars, nightclubs and festivals.