Guinness Pop-Up Drives 900% Sales Jump at Taste of Dubai

Guinness recorded a 900% year-on-year increase in sales at Taste of Dubai, driven by a pop-up activation billed as Dubai's smallest pub. The Thirsty Toucan by Guinness, created by independent agency Those That Do for long-time client Diageo/African and Eastern, has now become a travelling fixture of the emirate's festival calendar.

The campaign adapts Guinness' global 'Lovely Day for a Guinness' platform for the UAE market. Instead of a conventional event bar, the agency built a compact pub with what it calls the classic craic (Irish slang for fun, lively conversation) of a proper Irish local. Guinness' black and gold palette gets a neon twist, the brand's iconic toucan sits front and centre, and visitors get perfectly poured pints, surprise Irish-style pop-up performances and 'Would You Rather?' playing cards designed to spark conversation among festivalgoers.

What does this change for Guinness in the Gulf?

The answer, according to the brand, is perception. Grace Murphy, Head of Beer, EEME, Guinness, said: "When we started conceptualising The Thirsty Toucan, the job to be done was clear: bring Guinness out of the dark and into the light." She said the team wanted to break stereotypes of Guinness as "a traditional Irish pub drink, a man's drink, a winter drink, dark and heavy", and described the activation as "a proper Irish pub welcome with a nod to local culture, all packed into Dubai's smallest bar."

Murphy added: "The Thirsty Toucan has succeeded in getting people talking about Guinness, driving consideration by turning the pop-up into a must-visit destination in Dubai."

The tour schedule shows the strategy in practice. The Thirsty Toucan launched at Taste of Dubai, then took over Barracuda's store in Umm Al Quwain for the start of the English Premier League season. It popped up at Summer in Nashville and at dog festival 'Woofstock' over the Halloween weekend. Next stops are Dubai's biggest pizza festival, Slice DXB, and music festival In the Park, both in November.

At Taste of Dubai, beyond the sales lift, the activation ranked among the event's most talked-about activations.

Why the pint matters commercially

Ginny Jackson, General Manager of Those That Do, framed the build around one operational decision: the serve. "At the heart of that is the perfect serve. Every pint is poured properly and served to the standard you'd expect in Dublin, because the pint is the brand," she said. "Get that right, and you give people a reason to stay, to purchase, to engage and to enjoy the moment, rather than grabbing a drink and moving on. The results speak for themselves."

She added that the combination of "distinctive creative thinking and commercial purpose" turns a global platform into "something that feels fresh, relevant and unmistakably local."

Those That Do operates offices in Dubai, Sydney, Melbourne and London, and has worked with brands including KFC, Corona, QV, ING, Kmart Target, Vodafone and Bumble.

Credits: Creative Director Dubai, Mary-Anne Trant; Creative Director Group, Claire Sutton; Designers, Robbie Gray and Molly Jermyn; Artwork, Dana Mica Dela Cruz and North Domingo; General Manager, Ginny Jackson; Senior Project Manager, Charlotte Johnson.