Perhaps you got the email from Untappd the other day announcing their March collaboration with Guinness. Drink a couple Guinness beers, get a badge. Drink a couple more, level up. Drink yet a couple more, level up again.

Now, I like Guinness, and I’ve enjoyed trying some of their new/throwback recipes, but I don’t honestly drink it that often. But when I saw the email I found myself thinking, “Hmm, am I gonna do this? I could probably do this…”

Well played, Guinness.

I don’t generally go in for promotions, but they already had me imagining myself doing this one. Why does this promotion work on me? Three things, I think.

The Friend of My Friend

Collaborations always feel special, and the beer world is rife with them. Of course, there’s something special about learning that two brands you already love also know and like each other. It’s like when you find out you share a mutual friend with someone, and now you can all hang out together.

Collaborations are also a great way to meet new brands, which in the beer world usually means a new brewery. The world gets a little larger for you.

Timeliness

Guinness knows what they’re doing: They’re launching a promotion for their Irish stout during the month in which St. Patrick’s Day falls. That’s one sort of timeliness.

The other is that they put a 1-month time limit on their promotion, which means if you want to participate, you have to act soonish. This is, of course, a familiar tactic in retail when they run a sale.

Incentives

Incentives tap into a basic psychological principle: That we are more likely to do something when we are rewarded for it. The incentive does not have to be particularly expensive or special, it just has to be meaningful to the recipient.

Let’s face it, an Untappd badge is not a big deal, but they are part of the fun of being on Untappd. They key into a game element of the app–getting new badges, leveling up your badges, getting the most badges, etc. When the stakes are low–spending a few bucks for a Guinness, which you like anyway–then a silly badge may be enough to tip your decision-making the next time you’re in the beer aisle.

And kudos to Guinness, anyway, for going back to old recipes and exploring their heritage. They could be happy being a huge import brand that every bar feels required to carry, but they’re playing the craft game in an authentic way.

Well, it’s almost 2 p.m. Time for a Guinness.

Image sourced from Untappd.com.