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St. Patrick’s Day Is Coming And As Always The Guinness Is Expected To Flow

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Bangkok, March 14, 2014 - St. Patrick’s Day, the celebration of the patron Saint of Ireland, always falls on March 17th, which this year is a Monday, though in reality the St. Patrick’s Day parties will likely start the week before. This is undoubtedly the most popular, and most well-known, Irish holiday, and Guinness, is certainly the most famous Irish beer in the world. Thus, it should come as no surprise that the two are linked in the minds of many people. That said, in reality it is quite rare for a holiday, and particularly a religious holiday, to be so closely associated with a specific brand for so long, but today a pint of Guinness is as much a part of ‘St. Patty’s Day’ as the color green, or corned beef and cabbage.

In pubs are bars around the world, Guinness, the dark, creamy Irish beer takes on significantly increased popularity during St. Patrick’s Day, and offering it on tap is a key selling point for many establishments. This is as true for Thailand for any other country, with pubs like Dubliner, O’Reilly’s Irish Pub, Molly Malone’s, Finnegan’s Irish Pub and Jamesons doing a brisk business on the holiday and making the most of their ability to offer patrons a refreshing pint, or more, of Guinness. Further, beyond the pub scene, one of the major attractions of the Thai-Irish Chamber of Commerce’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Party is the free flow of draft Guinness.

Market data highlights the connection between the holiday and the brand. On a ‘normal’ day it is estimated that 5.5 million pints of Guinness are consumed, while on St. Patrick’s Day the figure is 13 million pints globally*. The numbers for Thailand show a similar trend with the average Guinness sales volume for the February/March period in both 2012 and 2013 is 20% higher than the average sales volume.

"We normally see a significant increase in interest and consumption of Guinness around St. Patrick’s Day with most of our regular customers stocking up in anticipation of the spike in demand," said Prin Malakul, Legal and Corporate Relations Director, Thai Asia Pacific Brewery Co., Ltd. "The relationship between the holiday and Guinness is a special thing and has gone beyond traditional marketing to become part of the culture. It is also quite a busy time for our team, as we co-promote St. Patrick’s Day parties at approximately 80 pubs and bars in Bangkok and other urban areas across Thailand. We are very pleased to able to provide this key part of people’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities and we hope that many of the consumers who try Guinness during the holiday go on to make it their regular beer."

The reason behind the brand-holiday connection seems to involve the fact that both are quintessentially Irish. A 2013 study from Northumbria University found that the linkage between the St. Patrick’s Day celebration and alcohol consumption was firmly ingrained in Irish culture and Guinness was a major part of the experience. Beyond the holiday, the powerful connection between the Guinness brand and Ireland are clearly seen in the most iconic photos to come from President Obama’s trip to that country - the President and First Lady raising glasses of Guinness at a traditional Irish pub in Moneygall, Ireland.