Foster's was feeling the pinch of the recession more than most lager brands. The general decline in on trade lager sales across 2008 sat at 5%, however Foster's volume sold declined by closer to 10% across the same period. In early 2009 the brand was looking for a partner that would allow them to leverage their existing campaign messages and assets at the same time as encapsulating positive messaging about what it means to be a young bloke who loves going out with his mates.

2009 Foster's branding woven into relevant Nuts editorial that 'effortlessly' reminded the target audience about everything they loved about being out with their mates.

Unique opportunity for a commercial brand to create content in partnership with an editorial product delivering on joint objectives. Each aspect of the Nuts core online proposition that touched social ammunition and going out was infused with the "no worries" attitude and Foster's branding. Branded content was easy to stumble across and simple to engage with. The editorial schedule delivered new items of Foster's related editorial 7 days a week Jun -Sep.

The display ads were tagged so we were able to identify who had actually been exposed to the display ads. Exposure to the sponsorship features and the advertorials were measured by recall. Key findings of the research included: Increase in awareness. Spontaneous awareness rose by 16% points between those not exposed to the display ads. Awareness of the Fosters activity was highest amongst those exposed to the online display ads as well as the sponsorship features. The integrated Nuts partnership delivered a 23% uplift in the key communication message Fosters was aiming at.