The brand, which launched in the UK in 2008 and has experienced steady success since, has aligned itself with high-end food outlets, such as gastropubs, and recently seen a sharp rise in sales.
Dinklage’s film, La Vida Nuestra, is the third in a series Estrella has released over the past three years, with plans afoot to release more in the near future, brand manager Anna Ferrer Magrià told The Morning Advertiser (MA) at the screening in Hoxton, east London, last night (2 May).
“We have worked with people like Peter Dinklage from Game of Thrones to raise our international brand awareness,” she said. “So over the past three years, we have seen people go from not knowing what Estrella Damm really is or how to pronounce it, to now really liking the beer and looking for it.”
Top 50 Gastropubs
The brand, which is the proud headline partner of the MA’s Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs list, saw its UK sales rise five years ago after aligning the brand with food occasions, with sales rising further three years ago with the launch of its series of short films.
“The thought process behind creating short films is that you get to create stories consumers can engage with, which is more than a standard advert,” said Ferrer Magrià.
“With a standard ad, consumers are getting a limited story and they aren’t engaging with the brand for as long as they could.
“People are bombarded with adverts and that’s not what we wanted to do, so our films give people more to talk about and something to enjoy.”
Plans to invest more in the brand in the UK are already under way, with a focus on experiential consumer marketing, as well as activations at events and other more traditional activity, added Ferrer Magrià.
Demand for premium draught beers is currently outweighing the sales performance of standard lagers, with consumers seeking a better quality experience in the ‘drinking less but better’ culture, recent CGA figures show.
‘A quality manager’
“Consumers want something that is authentic and of great quality, this is what we put our effort into letting people know about,” explained Ferrer Magrià. “A quality manager has recently joined the team to ensure our beers meet the standard it should.
“We want people to understand that it is a high-quality product that is 100% looked after from the start.”
La Vida Nuestra follows in the footsteps of short films Vale starring Dakota Johnson and Little Things, which featured Jean Reno.
Of the new flick, Estrella Damm UK country manager James Healey said: “The launch of the Estrella Damm brand film has become an annual event in the UK, and we look forward to sharing the next chapter in our exploration into short films with the UK’s film and beer fans.”