Entry Type
Product/Service
Guinness is more than a beer brand in Ireland—it’s a cultural institution, deeply embedded in national identity and ritual. Nowhere is this more evident than in its longstanding association with rugby, the only major sport played by a team that represents the entire island of Ireland. In recent years, it has recognised a shift in its role—from celebration to transformation.
Our research showed that too often, visually impaired fans are absent from the full match-day experience, with only 0.1% of fans in the 52,000-seat national stadium identify as visually impaired.
In collaboration with assistive tech start-up Field of Vision, a new haptic language was developed to translate real-time rugby data into touch, enabling visually impaired fans to feel the intensity and momentum of the game. The experience was co-designed with the community it served, ensuring the result was authentic, meaningful, and built to last. We combined empathy-led design with technological innovation. A hybrid of AI-powered pitch tracking and manual observation ensured accurate, real-time data capture.
Central to the campaign was a long-form film following real fan Martin Gordon, with audio description crafted not as an afterthought, but as the lead version — combining clarity with emotion. A creative step towards systemic change in how sport can be experienced, driving awareness, deepening brand trust, and building a more equitable fan culture.
• Legacy Commitment: Guinness has committed to scaling the initiative to all Irish home games in 2026, and stadiums across the Six Nations in Europe by 2027
• Awareness Shift: Post-campaign, a shift from -82% to +85% of those exposed reported increased awareness of accessibility issues in sport.
• Cultural Perception: Before the campaign, 83% of respondents were unaware of any brand tackling visual impairment in sport. Post-launch, Guinness was firmly associated with driving change.
• Brand Impact: 68% of people who had seen the campaign were “much more likely” to support or purchase Guinness products as a result.
• Social Engagement: Our film earned over 1.8 million engagements (+5,400% on average branded content on Guinness channels) on social media, sparking national conversations about inclusion in sport.
• Behavioural Impact: Only 1% of respondents believed initiatives like FanFair would “not at all” improve the experience for visually impaired fans.