Guinness Smooth

Guinness is an instantly recognizable global brand icon, but it had become closely associated with a narrow drinking occasion and a traditional stout-drinker profile. The challenge was to move the brand beyond the dark, masculine world of the bar and into a broader, more vibrant and optimistic cultural space, making Guinness feel relevant and inviting to emerging audiences.

Enduring icons remain powerful when they behave as cultural signals. People value the familiarity and heritage of Guinness, but they also expect the brand to move with the moments around it. This gave Guinness permission to become more dynamic, expressive and inclusive, while holding onto the distinctive equities people already know and trust.

As Agency of Record, we led a multi-year, multi-pronged approach that brought Guinness into new cultural spaces through campaigns, innovations and brand experiences. Each move was designed to connect with a new generation of global Guinness drinkers, while retaining loyal fans and protecting the distinctive equities that make the brand iconic.

Guinness reached a new level of cultural relevance, translating renewed energy around the brand into measurable business momentum. Globally, Guinness delivered multiple consecutive years of double-digit growth, including +15% organic net sales in FY2024 and a reported +13% sales / +14% volume growth in FY2025. In the U.S., the brand outperformed the beer category, grew beyond its traditional St. Patrick’s Day and Irish pub associations, and became one of the fastest-growing major beer brands in the on-trade.

The growth was not just bigger, it was broader. Guinness expanded its appeal among younger, more diverse and female drinkers, with reported U.S. penetration gains across Gen Z, Millennials, Hispanics and women, and strong public indicators of rising relevance among young women and younger drinkers more broadly. Every initiative became a chance to build the new Guinness ecosystem: culturally fluent, more inclusive and more occasion-rich, while still protecting the distinctive equities that made the brand iconic in the first place.