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The making of ‘Kasteel: True Wealth is all Around You’

  • Kasteel
21 March 2024

From our family brewery in Izegem, Kasteel manages to create moments of true wealth all over the globe. Around Kasteel’s 30th anniversary as a leading beer brand, CEO Xavier Vanhonsebrouck had the ambitious idea to create a film that would capture the impact sipping a glass of Kasteel has on people. In Geronimo, a production company known for producing high-end TV shows, films and commercials, Xavier found a like-minded partner.

In 2021, Kasteel celebrated its 30th birthday, a milestone celebrated with a commemorative label and a new Kasteel beer: Kasteel Xtra. Behind the scenes, the anniversary also heralded the start of a new campaign: ‘Kasteel, true wealth is all around you’.

Since the commercial launch of Kasteel Donker in 1991, our Kasteel beers have been available in over 60 countries worldwide. I’m not exaggerating when I say we get emails from Kasteel fans almost every day. These messages come from all over the world. From a daughter messaging us about how her 91-year-old father Marcel still enjoys a glass of Kasteel every day to an Israeli expat in Texas missing their favourite brew Kasteel Rouge. As a brewery, these stories show how Kasteel is able to create moments of true wealth all over the world.

Creative partner in crime

The plan was set. Now, the challenge was to find a creative partner to develop the idea. ‘When we launched a campaign around Filou in 2019, we did so in collaboration with Geronimo. Creative Director Gertjan De Smet and his team came up with many fun ideas, including the wall of buckets in front of the Flemish Parliament and the vaccination beer that was handed out at the market in Izegem. So the choice was an easy one’ Xavier explains.

Gertjan De Smet of Geronimo adds: ‘Two years ago, during one of the already legendary brainstorming sessions I would frequently hold with Xavier over a drink at Michelles Pub & Brasserie in Izegem, the idea emerged to realise Xavier’s long-standing dream: to map out the global export of – and love for – Kasteelbier in a cinematic way. In no time – and only slightly hindered by a global pandemic – we put together a top team, with director and top photographer Jef Boes at the helm. The palpable synergy between Geronimo and Kasteelbier, both creatively and strategically, resulted in a wonderful campaign that beautifully portrays the role of the beer brand in the lives of people all over the world.’

Destination X

When shown the first video, Xavier knew he had found the perfect campaign partner in Geronimo. ‘Both the message and the images were exactly what I had in mind. This left us wanting more! The production team then travelled to four other countries to capture moments of true wealth with Kasteel. While we were developing our campaign, Gertjan told me about a new game show.’

 

Kasteel is more than a beer brand, it is a beer moment. A moment of true wealth.

Xavier Vanhonsebrouck

 

‘When we launched a super-ambitious TV project not much later – Destination X: a brand new, misleading game show filmed across Europe – we immediately linked the core premise of that programme (the search for and discovery of amazing locations across Europe) to the Kasteel concept, i.e. the discovery of true wealth, wherever you are. A born entrepreneur, Xavier Vanhonsebrouck didn’t hesitate for a second before jumping on the project. Not only did the programme’s reality segments feature new moments of true wealth, but the ‘True Wealth is all Around You’ campaign also had its first airing in the form of seven TV ads around the prime-time VTM show. Now that the campaign, along with the premise of the Kasteel campaign, can finally be shared with the world, we can’t wait to further develop the story over the coming years’, says Gertjan.

 

 

‘Kasteel is more than just a beer brand. It is a beer moment. A moment of true wealth. I hope that consumers can identify with the stories we tell. Above all, I hope that these stories inspire consumers to treat themselves to their own moments of true wealth, because true wealth really is all around you’, concludes Xavier.

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