The Edinburgh Festival Fringe official sponsor (and official beer of the Fringe) Deuchars IPA ran an innovative initiative for the 2103 event that offered up-and-coming performers to share their talent by performing live at the festival.
The objective of the first ‘Deuchars Beermat Fringe’ was to give both professional and amateur acts the opportunity to be part of the world’s biggest arts festival by taking part in a unique online competition.
Entrants to the competition needed to be 25 or over and the mechanic for submitting their audition performance was to upload their own video to the Deuchards Facebook page.
The prize also includes £750 of vouchers.
The competition was primarily promoted on beermats at selected pubs across the country stocking Deuchars IPA and secondarily supported via social media.
A finalist short list was compiled according to YouTube viewing figures and then a panel of judges was tasked with reviewing the talent and deciding on a winning entry.
The brewer, Caledonian Brewery, teamed up with superstar Scottish author Ian Rankin to judge the competition and present the top act with the ‘Deuchar’ award at the Brewery in August.
A neat fit as the writer’s most famous character, Inspector Rebus, is well known for the fact that his favourite pint is Deuchars IPA.
‘We’re really excited about the Deuchars Beermat Fringe. It’s the first time something like this has run alongside the Fringe and is a great way for anyone who has a talent they want to shout about to be a part of the biggest, most exciting arts festival around,’ explains Stephen Crawley, Managing Director of Caledonian Brewery.
The competition was won by Craig Ralston.
All of the finalists can be viewed on the competition’s YouTube Channel.
Comment
The brand’s ongoing festival Fringe sponsorship campaign runs under the tagline ‘Edinburgh’s Greatest Double Act’.
This is our fourth year of its support of the Fringe and both parties claim to see the partnership as the city’s greatest double act, as both are proud of our associations with the city and both organisations value their balance of history and modernity.
The beer has a strong promotional presence in the Scottish capital during the festival through the Deuchars IPA branded signage in over 250 venues.
Furthermore, Deuchars is available in cask in Edinburgh’s quality pubs and some venues during the 2013 – 2015 events, which attract millions of culture lovers and sightseers from around the world.
The 2013 festival’s other principal sponsor is Virgin Money.
Links
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/DeucharsIPA
Twitter
https://twitter.com/DeucharsIPA
Website
http://www.caledonianbeer.com/home/fringe/
Deuchars Press Release
http://www.caledonianbeer.com/news/launch-of-deuchars-beermat-fringe
Edinburgh Festival Fringe Website
https://www.edfringe.com/
