Submitted by SAMYAgency IPI Score 55/100

Farewell Old Jamaica

Social Media Marketing

Old Jamaica staged a public retirement of its own brand to set up a rebrand, reaching 94% of its target audience and lifting Q4 sales by 18%, per the agency.

94%Reach
18%Sales lift
50%Reach target
26K+Clicks to site
80M+PR impressions
11M+Paid impressions

About the campaign

Old Jamaica, the UK's number one ginger beer, had watched its sales decline and its cultural relevance fade, and a planned rebrand risked passing unnoticed in a stagnant soft drinks category. The tension SAMY worked from was that a familiar national favourite had slipped into background noise: people still felt nostalgia for the 34-year-old brand but no urgency to buy it or talk about it. Social listening pointed to loss aversion as the lever: people voice affection for a brand most loudly when they believe they are about to lose it, and a disappearance creates stakes that a straightforward reveal cannot.

Rather than quietly swap the packaging, SAMY staged a public retirement of the brand, teasing its own disappearance ahead of the rebrand in what trade press described as a potential world-first. The send-off opened in September 2024 with a hero farewell speech film from shelf-stacker Tom on the brand's social channels and YouTube, backed by bus-side out-of-home reading FAREWELL OLD JAMAICA. Over an eight-month run it grew into a farewell tour content series, guerilla bucket-list stunts, a Notting Hill Carnival takeover and retail activations, with fans debating the disappearance online.

Loss framing converted indifference into conversation, and a genuine news hook earned trade and retail press that extended reach beyond paid and owned channels. Content ran across Instagram and YouTube alongside organic social, paid media, out-of-home, retail and events. SAMY reports 94% audience reach against a 50% target, 80M+ PR impressions, 11M+ paid impressions, 26K+ site clicks and an 18% Q4 sales lift, though all headline figures come from the agency's own case page and are not independently verified.

Case in 60 seconds

Old Jamaica, the UK's number one ginger beer, faced declining sales and fading cultural relevance, and its planned rebrand risked going unnoticed in a stagnant soft drinks category.

People voice affection for a familiar brand when they believe they are about to lose it; a disappearance creates stakes that a straightforward reveal does not.

Stage a dramatic public retirement of the brand, described in trade press as a potentially world-first, teasing its own disappearance ahead of the rebrand.

A social-first launch film from shelf-stacker Tom, a farewell tour content series, bus-side out-of-home teasers, guerilla bucket-list stunts, a Notting Hill Carnival takeover and retail activations.

The agency reports 94% audience reach against a 50% target, 80M+ PR impressions, 11M+ paid impressions, 26K+ campaign site clicks and an 18% sales lift in Q4.

Strategy Breakdown

The primary strategy-learning section — interpretation, not a press-release summary.

UK consumers who knew Old Jamaica from supermarket shelves but had drifted away from it, including lapsed drinkers with residual affection for the brand.
A familiar national favourite had faded into background noise; people still felt nostalgia for it but no urgency to buy or talk about it until its disappearance was on the table.
The soft drinks category had grown stagnant, and a conventional rebrand announcement from a declining brand was likely to be ignored by both consumers and media.
Old Jamaica played the departing icon, publicly retiring itself with a tongue in cheek send-off rather than quietly swapping its packaging.
Teasing the brand's disappearance triggered loss aversion, prompting fans to debate online, create their own content and re-express attachment they had stopped acting on.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • Hero farewell speech film and creative suite on the brand's social channels and YouTube
  • Farewell tour social content series with the can appearing at concerts, football matches, convenience stores and bars
  • Out-of-home teasers on buses reading FAREWELL OLD JAMAICA
  • Paid media and organic social
  • Guerilla farewell bucket-list stunts
  • Notting Hill Carnival brand takeover, retail activations and offline events

Partners

  • SAMY (Samy Alliance), lead agency

Participation mechanic

  • Fans speculated and debated the disappearance online
  • User-generated reactions and content around the farewell narrative

Creator role

  • Reactive influencer and community engagement supporting the farewell narrative

Results & Evidence

MetricValueResult typeConfidence
Sales lift18% in Q4commercialAgency reported
Audience reach94% against a target of 50%reachAgency reported
Earned PR impressions80M+earned mediaAgency reported
Paid impressions11M+paid mediaAgency reported
Campaign site clicks26K+trafficAgency reported

Why SAMY's strategy worked

  1. 1

    Launching a rebrand as a story about losing the old identity gave a fading brand stakes that a reveal could not, converting indifference into conversation.

  2. 2

    Loss framing activated lapsed fans, who debated the disappearance online and produced their own content around the farewell.

  3. 3

    Planning unpredictable twists while staying reactive to consumer responses and world events kept a long send-off newsworthy across around eight months.

  4. 4

    A genuine news hook, a potentially world-first brand retirement, earned trade and retail press coverage that extended reach beyond paid and owned channels.

  5. 5

    Pairing the social-first spine with out-of-home, retail activations and event takeovers made the farewell visible where the product is actually bought.

Related Case studies