# Customer-Controlled Happy Hours The Carlsberg HappyBeerTime Stint Revamps the Drinking Experience By Jamie Danielle Munro | Published 2014-03-11 | Marketing Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/drinking-experience References: [creativecriminals](http://creativecriminals.com/carlsberg/happybeertime) & [vimeo](http://vimeo.com/87084480) The drinking experience varies depending on where you are, who you're with and of course what you're drinking. In a move to merge social media with how one normally socializes at a bar, [Carlsberg](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/jubel-billboard) introduced its #HappyBeerTime campaign to promote both itself and the bars that use this technology. When employees plug in the HappyBeerTime USB stick, a timer comes up on the bar's TV showing how much time is left during [happy hour](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/reverse-happy-hour). To add more minutes, patrons must add photos of themselves to [Instagram](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/emojiless) with the hashtags #HappyBeerTime as well as the name of the bar. These photos will then appear on the screen and add time to the clock - quite the clever marketing move by the Carlsberg brand. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 3.7/10 - Popularity: 29% | Activity: 73% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America, Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Marketing](https://www.trendhunter.com/marketing) > [Interactive](https://www.trendhunter.com/interactive) ## Key Themes ### Key Themes Behind This Trend - **Social Media Integration:** By merging social media with the drinking experience, there is an opportunity to create immersive and interactive marketing campaigns. - **Gamified Marketing:** Introducing interactive elements like a timer and incentivizing user-generated content can create a fun and engaging experience for customers. - **Collaborative Promotions:** Promoting both the brand and the bars through customer participation can foster a sense of community and drive foot traffic. ### Where This Applies - **Beverage:** The beverage industry can explore leveraging technology and gamified marketing techniques to enhance the drinking experience and build brand loyalty. - **Hospitality:** Bars and restaurants can incorporate social media integration and collaborative promotions to attract customers and differentiate themselves in a competitive market. - **Advertising & Marketing:** The advertising and marketing industry can capitalize on the trend of customer-controlled experiences to develop innovative campaigns that drive consumer engagement. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Beer-Branded Happy Hour Locators](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/stella-hour-finder.md) - [Automated Beer Stations](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/trust-bars.md) - [Beer-Pouring Party Billboards](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/jubel-billboard.md) - [Anti-AI Beer Billboards](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/heineken-friend.md) - [Dating-Style Bar Discovery Platforms](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/bar-dating.md) - [Bar-Focused Dating Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/bar-dating-1.md) - [Minimizing Phone Usage Initiatives](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/heinekens-latest-campaign.md) - [Colleague-Connecting Pubs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-office.md) - [Authentic Connection Campaigns](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/hijack-socialization.md)