CorpComms Magazine

With more than 200 brands, including Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Miller Genuine Draft, and operations in 75 countries employing over 70,000 people, SABMiller is a truly global company selling 213 million hectolitres of lager every year.

The demands from journalists can, as a result, become overwhelming, which is why SABMiller has come to rely on its website as a 'media channel in its own right,' explains senior media relations executive Briony Clarke. 'We wanted to create an entertaining and engaging experience for our ultimate audience.'

SABMiller wanted to create a one-stop shop containing press releases, information on the company, publications, presentations, as well as broadcast footage that can be downloaded by media organisations, such as the BBC, in minutes. 'They can create their own package at speed,' adds Clarke. But it is the image library of which Clarke is most proud.

Recognising that a suitable image can determine whether or not a story appears in print, SABMiller has spent the past four years creating a free to access image library, with more than 600 photographs, that can be used by any media outlet.

Capturing the culture

'We did our first shoot in September 2006. I have sent photographers across the world to capture images [of SABMiller's brands and operations],' adds Clarke. These range from photographs of the 'Blind Tasters' Club' in Peru, where a panel of sightless experts taste and finesse the beer, to drinks kiosks in Russia, which comprise one fifth of SABMiller's business in the country, to the Pilsen brewery's copper brew kettles in the Czech Republic.

The library also contains photographs of SABMiller's directors and images of its work in sustainable development. Every image is available for download as a print resolution, page ready JPEG file with embedded caption and copyright details.

'We have invested time and money on our image library, and it is starting to pay off,' says Clarke. 'I have built up a network of contacts on the pictures desks of newspapers. When it's results time, for example, I can contact them with three stunning pictures and nine times out of ten, they will use them. If a picture runs against a story, it brings it to life and the story gets noticed.'

SABMiller has also established its credentials by sponsoring the first ever annual awards ceremony hosted by the UK Picture Editors' Guild, which this year celebrated its 34th anniversary.

Increasingly, newspapers are using images from SABMiller's library to illustrate articles on alcoholrelated subjects. As each image contains at least one SABMiller brand, whether explicitly, as a bottle, glass or can, or implicitly, whereby an SABMiller advert or branded distribution truck might be in the distance, the initiative is building brand awareness.

Authenticity is key

'These are not specially posed shots. The key is reportage photography, showing real people going about their everyday lives,' adds Clarke. 'The photographs cover the whole process from production through to consumption. We are showing real life people, not models, both working with and enjoying our brands.'

SABMiller employs a specialist agency, One Red Eye, working with up to four regular photographers, to both build up and maintain its library. 'We have been working with an art director for the past four years,' says Clarke. 'And we seem to have hit upon a winning formula.'

Every year, the brewing giant will concentrate on three to four shoots of country markets and brands. 'This year our photographers went to Uganda and South Africa, to capture the World Cup fever,' she explains. 'They've also travelled to Honduras, visiting three different locations capturing city and rural beer culture.' In the past, photographers have visited Botswana, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, India, Netherlands, Peru, Romania, Russia and the United Kingdom. The schedule for next year is still undecided, but a new shoot for Peroni, one of SABMiller's international premium brands, is on the cards.

'It is such a major brand that our images have been used so regularly that they need a refresh,' says Clarke. 'We are also returning to the United States as it is one of our biggest markets and the existing images reflect the old branding. We need images of current branding.' Shoots in one African and one European country are also likely.

Results matter

Whilst this library was initially created for a media audience, the internal community has also benefited. The imagery has been used in stakeholder presentations, internal conferences, hung on walls as canvases in offices around the world and throughout the corporate website.

While the image library is on SABMiller's corporate website, it is hosted by independent visual communications consultancy newscast. 'They have the experience in managing image libraries,' explains Clarke. 'They built us a bespoke library which fits exactly to our criteria.'

Unlike other image libraries, however, there is no complicated registration process to access SABMiller's pictures. Its purpose is to serve the media community and the brewing giant has no intention of capturing registration data. It is this attention to detail that has paid dividends. More than 1,500 images are downloaded every month.

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