This article was originally published in 2023 and was last updated June 12, 2025.
- Tension: A legacy beer brand faces a crossroad between tradition and transformation.
- Noise: Industry narratives flatten real adaptation into either nostalgia-driven marketing or tech‑soaked gimmicks.
- Direct Message: True brand evolution means harnessing heritage to navigate cultural shifts—from premium refreshment to diversified, mindful consumption.
Read more about our approach → The Direct Message Methodology.
When Carlsberg, a brewer with roots in 1847, starts tweeting about eye-tracking and taprooms for taxi drivers, it’s no longer just about beer.
As of mid‑2025, Carlsberg has moved beyond its century‑old tagline, “Probably the best beer in the world,” to embrace a multi‑category, attention‑centric, and experience‑driven strategy.
But this isn’t mere reinvention, it’s a response to deeper dynamics: shifting consumer identities, economic headwinds, and rising wellness values.
The question at stake: How does a storied brand balance legacy DNA with cultural relevance in an age of meaning‑driven consumption?
What Is Carlsberg Doing—and How?
- Global brand campaign anchored in curiosity.
Since April 2024, Carlsberg has run a worldwide campaign built on human curiosity: “Do the best things begin with curiosity? Probably.” It ties the brand’s heritage—dating back to the pH scale—to a universal mindset for progress. - Attention‑tracking research in China.
Partnering with iProspect and Lumen, Carlsberg executed the first attention‑tracking study in China (February 2025), establishing a cross‑market model (“Carlsberg Effect”) to link media and creative to attention metrics. - “Fare Game” activation at the UEFA Nations League.
In Berlin’s UEFA semi‑final, unemployed taxi drivers unexpectedly attended the match and sampled Carlsberg 0.0—reflecting the brand’s pivot toward non‑alcoholic innovation and thoughtful experiences. - Diversifying via Britvic acquisition.
In January 2025, Carlsberg merged with Britvic, boosting its soft‑drinks portfolio to ~30 % of its business and solidifying its “Beyond Beer” strategy. - Strategic backbone: Accelerate SAIL.
Carlsberg’s Accelerate SAIL plan (launched 2024) pushes 4–6 % CAGR organic growth, with marketing spend rising from ~8 % to 10 % of revenue by 2027.
The Deeper Tension Behind This Shift
This isn’t only about selling beverages. It’s the weight of legacy versus relevance:
- From Premium Beer to Portfolio Player: Premium beer once functioned like brand armor. But economic pressures—like flat volumes and inflation—have muted that armor. Carlsberg needs more categories to stay resilient.
- Aligning with Modern Identities: Wellness, mindful drinking, and inclusive choices reframe consumption. The brand that resonated with a 1970s pub crowd must now appeal to Gen Z sipping alcohol‑free drinks.
- Culture of Attention: In the social‑media era, brand ignition is less about domination and more about emotional hooks and attention architecture—especially in regions like China.
This tension—between a proud past and a flexible present—drives Carlsberg’s transformative strategy.
What Gets in the Way
Several forces muddy Carlsberg’s path:
1. Conventional wisdom: “Stick to beer, stick to brand DNA”
Beer purists caution that soft drinks or non‑alcoholic suites dilute Carlsberg’s core identity. But Carlsberg reframes these offerings as complementary, not distractions.
2. Trend‑fatigue: “Another branded activation—so what?”
In a world of experience stunts, the “Fare Game” could look gimmicky. But it stands out by meeting unserved human needs—taxi driver fatigue and restricted fans—rather than chasing virality.
3. Expert overload: “Data doesn’t tell the brand story.”
Marketers often distrust metrics like eyeballs or attention. Carlsberg, however, uses attention science pragmatically to inform media choices—not replace emotional storytelling.
4. Digital echo chamber: “Advertising = impressions.”
Flooding channels with creative assets doesn’t guarantee resonance. Instead, Carlsberg is embedding interactive insight—from curiosity films to non‑alcoholic rituals—to build engagement that endures .
The Direct Message
A brand’s future isn’t in preserving every legacy asset—it’s in deploying heritage to spark relevance across new lives and new meanings.
Integrating This Insight
1. See heritage as springboard, not anchor
Carlsberg didn’t just lean on its 1970s tagline—it reframed curiosity as a timeless orientation. Legacy becomes launchpad when it connects to current mindsets (like wellness or belonging).
2. Leverage attention as active design
Attention metrics aren’t holy; they’re practical tools. By studying attention in China or during UEFA events, Carlsberg ensures media investments resonate at the moment of truth.
3. Build purposive experience
“Fare Game” wasn’t just a spectacle—it honored overlooked fans. Your brand doesn’t need grand gestures, but it should fill a real emotional or social gap.
4. Invest in adjacent relevance
Britvic isn’t hollow dilution—it’s insurance. As consumer tastes shift away from alcohol, non‑alcoholic and soft drinks become anchors of inclusivity, boosting resilience and brand relevance.
5. Align strategy, spend, and culture
Accelerate SAIL isn’t a buzzword—it’s a framework aligning investments, organizational behavior, and future‑fit capability. Your brand’s strategy also needs internal coherence: clear ambition, incentives, and learning mechanisms.
Final Thought
Carlsberg’s mid‑2025 evolution showcases how a heritage brand can chart a dynamic future.
It’s not about abandoning roots—but extending them into new soil. That means curating foundational narratives (curiosity), science‑infused insight (attention data), human‑centered experiences, and adjacent innovation (Beyond Beer).
The result? A brand that’s both trusted and transformational
In your own field, reflect: what legacy can empower your next leap—if only you let it?
