Uber Eats launches petition to rename the capital CanBEERa in new campaign via Special PR

Uber Eats has launched a petition to change the name of our nation’s capital to CanBEERa, in an irreverent new campaign by Special PR.

Generating national media coverage, the campaign showed it passed the pub test – just weeks after Uber Eats launched its offering in Canberra to help local bottleshops power their deliveries in the ACT.

As well as commencing last mile delivery for a range of merchants in Canberra, Uber Eats has also grown its beer selection by double digits in the last 12 months and now has Canberra-made beers available on the app in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Accordingly it made sense for this campaign to spark demand for Canberra’s exports on the East Coast.

Says Lucas Groeneveld, general manager retail, Uber Eats ANZ: “Goulburn might have the Big Merino and Coffs the Big Banana but nobody has ever had a town named after their most popular export – why can’t CanBEERa be the first?

“This campaign is a tribute to Australia’s true ‘hop spot’ for local brewers. The nation’s capital has an outsized contribution to award winning domestic beer production and our petition to rename it CanBEERa has brought national attention to these incredible brewers that we hope will translate into national demand for their quality products.”

The campaign drove awareness through a mix of media including roving billboards as well as relics of a bygone era including a town crier to carry the petition to rename the city to Parliament ahead of International Beer Day on August 4.

This was the first campaign by Special Australia’s new offering – Special PR.

Says Alex Bryant, managing director, Special PR Australia: “What a campaign to kick-off with! Pretty quickly we realised Canberra was in fact the home of some of Australia’s best breweries and we simply couldn’t look past the pun. With the catchy Town Crier and the ‘Welcome to CanBEERa’ sign outside Parliament House – it was the perfect backdrop for our petition and to get people outside of Canberra talking about it. It’s been a true partnership with the Uber Eats team and the perfect way for us to launch Special PR to show the type of work we can do – with earned at the heart.”

The tongue in cheek campaign launched in partnership with some of the territory’s favourite breweries, including Capital Brewery.

Says Laurence Kain, founder, Capital Brewery: “Craft beer has taken off in Australia with Canberra over-indexing when it comes to brewing some of Australia’s best beers. So it’s only right that we grant the Capital with this honorary title. We are excited to partner with Uber Eats on this fun campaign.”

The campaign is continuing to roll out across earned and OOH channels.

Uber Eats is a member of the Retail Drinks Association and partner to DrinkWise.

Client: Uber Eats
Head of Marketing ANZ: David Griffiths
Communications Director ANZ: Peta Fitzgerald
Senior Communications Manager ANZ: Nick Vindin
Brand Lead ANZ: Channa Goonasekara

Agency: Special PR
Managing Director – PR, Special Australia: Alex Bryant
Managing Director – Uber, Special Australia: Lauren Portelli
Team Lead: Caity Cowper
Account Director: Ed Nash
Business Manager: Genevieve Bowes
Creatives: Joel Grunstein and Jeff Seeff
Design: Maggie Webster
Studio: Jen Bailey
Head of Production: Nick Lilley
Senior Producer: Danielle Senecky
Senior Producer: Kat Stephens