How Voodoo Ranger crafted a strong can to market its high-alcohol beer

Craft brewer Voodoo Ranger needed some marketing magic to get around advertising rules that prevented the brand from promoting its heightened alcohol content. Its agency, Opinionated, found a loophole. See all of the 2024 Small Agency award winners here Rather than state that the beer, which has 7% to 9% alcohol content, was stronger than the average beer’s 5%, Opinionated found another way to project strength. The agency, based in Portland, Oregon, created a nearly impenetrable can that was physically stronger than typical beer cans and marketed it as “The World’s Strongest Can of IPA.” The ultimate can weighed 6.5 kilograms or about 14 pounds; it was a half-inch thick and welded of iron and steel. The chunky can was then sent to a group of creators famous for wrecking stuff in their videos using creative means, including hydraulic presses and intense heat. Voodoo even sent the can to strongman Mitchell Hooper to see if he could crush it with his bare hands. The can withstood 4,350-degree heat, 45 tons of hydraulic pressure and liquid nitrogen treatment. The campaign was a creative way to solve a marketing conundrum and an example of powerful design work. It also incorporated YouTube, TikTok and Instagram creators who focus on science and machines. For instance, the can went to the Gojzer channel on YouTube, which is popular for putting random products through extreme stress tests. Gojzer has 4.3 million subscribers. The can also was featured on the @TheScienceFactory account on TikTok with 81,000 followers, among others. See all of the 2024 Small Agency award winners here The campaign helped propel Voodoo Ranger to 12.4% higher sales of its Imperial IPA in 2023 compared to 2022, according to Opinionated. That represented a nearly $19 million sales jump.

How Voodoo Ranger crafted a strong can to market its high-alcohol beer

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