Liberty Mutual's in-house agency lands a beer client

Liberty Mutual’s in-house agency Copper Giants has landed a brand that isn't Liberty Mutual: It's doing project work for Boston-based brewery Harpoon Beer. Since the in-house agency's 2017 launch, Copper Giants has grown to a 30-person team, including creatives, strategists and producers. In 2020 it took on the responsibility of the humorous "Truth Teller" ads that became popular with the “Struggling Actor” spot, which was done by Goodby Silverstein & Partners, the brand’s agency of record. Subscribe to Ad Age Sign up now for the latest industry news and analysis Click here Copper Giants now handles about 80% of the consumer-facing creative for the business, focusing on the "Truth Teller" campaign. Goodby handles the "LiMu Emu and Doug" spots for Liberty Mutual’s broadcast, radio and online video content. Taking on outside clients has always been a part of the agency’s five-year plan, said Cliff Stevens, VP and managing director at Liberty Mutual. Once the agency began to “really understand the project lifecycle” for its Liberty Mutual work, he said, it was able to branch out with another brand. “We wanted to make sure we did this thing in a very methodical, organizationally and operationally, excellent way. It’s really about balancing and making sure Liberty Mutual is our No. 1 when it comes to our work,” Stevens said. He added that the agency had to make sure the work was getting “better and better year-over-year and we had to prove that over a few different years.” 'Little Victories' The regional campaign for Harpoon Beer is entitled “Little Victories” and is the first from the beer maker in three years. It includes multiple 15-second videos of people celebrating the small victories in life, such as finding an onion ring in a pack of fries or finally completing a hole on the golf course. The campaign highlights Harpoon’s Rec. League beer. Harpoon’s last campaign was for its flagship Harpoon IPA, its biggest brand. Harpoon IPA brings in 60% of the brewer's overall revenue and was struggling, so the company initially put its focus on improving the IPA’s sales. During that time, its Rec. League product was on a nice trajectory, according to Jon London, Harpoon’s chief marketing officer. The IPA's sales stabilized, but Rec. League recently started to slow, prompting the brewer to shift marketing focus to the 120-calorie beer that contains 4% alcohol by volume. Coming out of the pandemic, London felt that there was “more and more focus on people trying to live healthy, active lifestyles” and that there was an opportunity for Rec. League as a versatile beer offering a low-calorie option for any kind of occasion. "We think it is such a unique proposition,” said London, noting that Copper Giants brought the “opportunity to really drive awareness and education by coming up with a really compelling campaign.” Copper Giants and Harpoon don't currently have plans for another ad, but London said “it’s fair to say that they would be the first in line for the next campaign.” The agency is focused on working with three to five project-based partners a year, but will be sure to create a “nice balance” between external and internal work, Stevens said. “It’s great to see [Copper Giants] add new clients, break new ground and grow their capabilities dramatically in just a few short years," said Danny Gonzalez, executive creative director at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, which coincidentally handles another Boston brewer, Sam Adams. "Copper Giants is a model for how creative and in-house agencies can thrive in tandem. They’ve always been excellent partners, and we’re lucky to work with such a talented team.”

Liberty Mutual's in-house agency lands a beer client

Featured Stories