How Magner's Method is bringing on and offline recommendations together

Last night I was invited along to the launch of Magners Golden Draught, a new lighter draught version of the cider. The launch party was a pretty good recipe too - free cider, good food, freebies + a night of comedy in e4's Purple Cow that is the Udderbelly on London's South Bank. The launch was a chance for Magners to invite along their top facebook fans, bloggers and media and a chance to trial and seed their new Facebook game, which was also being demo'd on the night.

I caught up with Connor Hardy and Richard Barnes, from Magners' marketing team, to find out why they thought tying social media and offline event is so important in generating positive recommendations about a brand.

What was clear from last night's event was that Magners understand that it's crucial to get the DNA of an event right in order to create recommendations that can spread online. By trialling the "Catch n Crush" game with people on site (which I have to say is quite addictive!) they gave attendees something to direct others to, the event itself added a great brand and customer narrative - a story that I know many have already told if you check the @MagnersUK twitter feed, and finally they added that essential brand association - the feeling of exclusivity without being cold or distant - that makes for a great consumer experience.

It appears there is some method in the old Magners afterall.

Over To You...

How important is it for brands to bring to life events on and offline?