Corona Breaks New Creative For ‘Cinco de Mayo’

Corona launched a new campaign for Cinco de mayo this year. Fir the Mexican beers, Cinco de Mayo is what its all about - because everyone drinks Mexican beers on Cinco.
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MediaPost Publications - Corona Breaks New Creative For ‘Cinco de Mayo’ - 04/18/2008

You can tell April is on the wane when the Corona campaign turns to Cinco de Mayo. New this year is a 30-second national TV spot called, simply, “Cinco.”

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Sales Clouds Brewing for ‘Vacation in a Bottle’

Cornona is facing a sales slump.

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Sales Clouds Brewing for ‘Vacation in a Bottle’ - WSJ.com
Corona Extra became America’s best-selling imported beer by pitching itself as a vacation in a bottle. But dark clouds are moving in on the beach party.

The economic downturn, an ill-timed price increase and rising
competition have pushed Corona into a rare sales slump. Mexican brewer
Grupo Modelo SA shipped 1.7% less Corona to the U.S. last year than a
year earlier, according to industry newsletter Beer Marketer’s
Insights. That marks the first such decline for the brand since 1991.
This year, sales by volume at food, drug and convenience stores are
down about 5.9% through Feb. 23, compared with a year earlier,
according to research firm Nielsen Co.

Other Brews May Have Corona Singing Blues

Analysts Blame Import’s First Decline in 16 Years on Growth of Rival Brands; Brand Execs Blame Price Increase

By Jeremy Mullman

Published: March 19, 2008

CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — Corona has long been miles away from the ordinary — and the competition. But for the first time in 16 years, the seemingly unstoppable Mexican import is actually seeing sales decline. And while the brand’s executives put the erosion off to a price increase, analysts and the ever-expanding list of challengers storming its beaches aren’t so sure.

Crown Imports executives seem remarkably unperturbed by gains Corona’s rivals are making.

Wall Street analysts and some of Corona’s rivals point to a frothing head of new or reinvigorated brands that appeal to traditional Mexican import drinkers — including Dos Equis, Miller Chill, the forthcoming Bud Light Lime and even Corona’s resurgent sibling Modelo Especial — as creating a more difficult competitive environment than the No. 1 import has previously faced.

‘Getting growth’
“We’re getting growth from them,” maintained Eduardo Casas, director-Mexican brands at Heineken USA, which markets Corona rivals Dos Equis and Tecate. “There is no question we’re affecting their business.”

Executives at Crown Imports, which markets the laid-back brand in the U.S., seem unperturbed by the situation. “There have been dozens of brands introduced by many competitors who have unsuccessfully tried to emulate the success of Corona,” said a spokesman, “and we don’t see why these attempts would be different.”

He added: “Corona will continue with and evolve the iconic campaign that has made the brand a tremendous success. We plan to remain true to the brand’s well-recognized image, which has helped drive success.”

And one otherwise tight-lipped source at the brand’s longtime ad agency, Cramer-Krasselt, laughed aloud when asked if the brand would alter its long-held “vacation in a bottle” strategy — best known for endless variations of beer drinkers enjoying a Corona on a beach — because of its new competitors, whom he dismissed as the latest in a long line of Tequiza-like beverages that failed to dent Corona.

Competitors better funded this time
But Tequiza and other past challengers to Corona were not as well-funded as the current crop, who are collectively spending more than $100 million. Last year, Miller launched its lime-and salt-flavored Miller Chill, spending $25 million on a national media campaign and perhaps twice that much this year, an amount that would almost equal the $53 million Corona spent on its base brand last year.

While the Miller Chill brand’s flavor profile differs from Corona — even one with a lime shoved in the bottle neck — there’s little question its Spanglish-tinged ad campaign lured some Corona drinkers away. Miller’s internal research found that 15% of the brand’s volume otherwise would have gone to Corona, according to two people who’ve seen the numbers.

Not to be outdone, Anheuser-Busch this year is launching Bud Light Lime — on Corona stronghold holiday Cinco de Mayo, no less — with a $35 million marketing budget that will compete directly with Chill and indirectly with Corona.

“We expect both Miller Chill and Bud Light Lime to gain share at the expense of Corona,” UBS alcohol-industry analyst Kaumil Gajrawala wrote in a recent note to investors.

Shark attack
A-B last year also launched Landshark Lager, a niche brand that swiped Corona’s longtime Jimmy Buffett tour sponsorship and nosed its way into Mr. Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurant chain.

Older Mexican brews are also ramping up spending and picking up share. On the high end, Dos Equis launched its largest campaign last year, dropping $8.5 million on measured media, about 50% more than it spent the year before. The effort appealed to upscale import drinkers with advertisements featuring a Dos Equis-drinking character who claims to be the world’s most interesting man.

On the low end, its sibling Tecate targeted Mexican immigrants with a $16.8 measured-media outlay, a 10% hike over the year before. Tecate also introduced a light version last year.

“Our brands are very specific to two different targets that their very broad brand cuts across,” said Mr. Casas.

Last year’s sales suggest he may be right. According to Beer Marketers Insights, Corona Extra shipments declined 1.7% to 8.3 million barrels, while the far smaller Modelo Especial was up 10.5%, to 1.6 million barrels; Tecate rose 8% to 1.4 million barrels and Dos Equis jumped 17% to 655,000 barrels.

Don’t forget economy
Some of Corona’s struggles can also be attributed to an economy that has been unusually rough on its key markets — such as Southern California — and may wind up tightening the budgets of higher-end drinkers who may be less willing to spring for more expensive beers.

“There’s the economy, there’s the increased competition, there may be some generational issues” because younger drinkers see mega-imports like Corona and Heineken as essentially mainstream brews, while their parents originally chose them as alternatives, said Benj Steinman, editor of Beer Marketers’ Insights. “In the past, they’ve always bounced back. But the past isn’t always a prologue.”

Tecate Beer Targets Its Core Drinkers ‘Con Caracter’

While the idiomatic, nonsensical language of the campaign may not resonate with
non-Mexican Spanish speakers, but, says the brand director, “We know our market,
and we want to talk directly to them. I’ve seen a lot of campaigns that try to
appeal to a broader market and what happens is they get watered down; they kind
of appeal to everyone, but only kind of.”

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MediaPost Publications - Tecate Beer Targets Its Core Drinkers ‘Con Caracter’ - 03/17/2008
PHRASES SUCH AS “FOR THOSE who don’t come because they can, but because they can they come” and “For those who know on which side the iguana chews” may not mean much as a phrase to English speakers (or even non-Mexican Spanish speakers), but Tecate beer is using such colloquialisms to connect with its core audience in a new advertising campaign.

“These are phrases of character,” Carlos Boughton, Tecate brand director, tells Marketing Daily. “It may sound totally senseless, but the idea is to recognize people who have achieved some amount of leadership and success.”

Tecate Crosses Borders To Reach Mexican Men

U.S. marketers have rarely portrayed Mexican
immigrants as heroes among America’s working class. But a campaign from
Tecate distributor Heineken USA will feature a distinct message about
the unsung Mexican men who come here in search of better lives.

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Tecate Crosses Borders To Reach Mexican Men
U.S. marketers have rarely portrayed Mexican immigrants as heroes among America’s working class. But a campaign from Tecate distributor Heineken USA will feature a distinct message about the unsung Mexican men who come here in search of better lives.

The Hispanic effort begins to roll out this week via TV, print, radio and outdoor. Promotional events and sponsorships will support. The campaign targets Mexican male immigrants, who have made Tecate the leading brand in Mexico, per the company.

Michelob To Sponsor Anthony Bourdain’s Blog

Michelob will be a sponsor of an online element of the coming new season of Bravo’s Top Chef.

MediaPost Publications - Michelob To Sponsor Anthony Bourdain’s Blog - 03/06/2008
BRAVO HAS SIGNED MICHELOB TO sponsor an online element of the coming new season of its “Top Chef” franchise. Part of Michelob’s role will include sponsorship of Anthony Bourdain’s blog.

Other “Top Chef” sponsors are Clorox, Toyota and Verizon Wireless. The show premieres on Wednesday.

Miller Launches Year-Long Loyalty Program

Miller Brewing is launching Miller High Life Extras, a points-based loyalty
program that rewards consumers who are “living the high life.” Consumers earn
points by purchasing specially marked 12-packs or 30-packs of Miller High Life
and Miller High Life Light. Each bottle or can is worth 10 points.

By
uploading point codes at MillerHighLife.com, consumers can receive merchandise
ranging from High Life screen savers (worth 60 points) to branded fire pits used
for campfires (worth 31,000 points). Other merchandise includes a Miller High
Life deliveryman shirt, boxer shorts, a hooded sweatshirt and baseball caps.

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Miller Launches Year-Long Loyalty Program
Miller Brewing claims it has created the first loyalty program of its kind for the beer category, which allows consumers to earn redeemable points when they purchase specially marked packs of beer.

The Milwaukee brewer this week launched Miller High Life Extras, a points-based loyalty program that will reward consumers who are “living the high life.” Advertising will include print in April issues of Sporting News, Outdoor Life and Popular Mechanics, and an outreach in online entertainment guides such as Metromix and Austin 360, targeting 25- to 46-year-old males in 24 markets.

Growing Craft Beer Segment Boosts Overall Category

Unlike the boom of craft beers that took place in the early 1990s, the current
segment’s growth seems more sustainable, with more professionals and less
hobbyists in the market now than before, says Beer Marketer’s Insights‘
Eric Shepard. “There’s a lot of strong, small brewers now to make sure [it's
sustained],” Shepard says. “In the ’90s, there were a lot of people [in it] who
weren’t really brewers … There was a novelty aspect to it.”

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MediaPost Publications - Growing Craft Beer Segment Boosts Overall Category - 03/05/2008
CRAFT BEERS–THOSE BREWED BY SMALL local and regional breweries–continued to push the beer category forward, with sales of independent brewers up 12% by volume and 16% in dollars last year, according to the Brewers Association.

Craft brewery dollar sales have increased 58% since 2004, reaching $5.74 billion in sales last year, it said. However, craft beers still only account for a small segment of the overall beer category–about 4% of production and 6% of retail sales, according to the Brewers Association.

Ad Track: Beer brewers juice up their flavor varieties

Sales of flavored distilled spirits and niche and upscale “craft” brews
have shown that a splash of citrus, vanilla, berry or other flavorings
goes a long way with younger drinkers.

Now, mainstream Bud Light will try for a taste of the action. Anheuser-Busch (BUD) will introduce Bud Light Lime (with real lime juice) in May with a $35 million marketing push.

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Ad Track: Beer brewers juice up their flavor varieties - USATODAY.com
NEW YORK — It may seem heresy to purists, but flavored beers are going mainstream as brewers reach for sales growth.

The $90 billion beer industry only recently has seen a little growth after flat sales for about six years.

Anheuser Sponsors Ultimate Fighting Championship

Anheuser-Busch is sponsoring the UFC. This sponsorship will give them a lot of exposure to their main target - men 21+.

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Anheuser Sponsors Ultimate Fighting Championship - 02/29/2008

ANHEUSER-BUSCH WILL BE THE EXCLUSIVE beer sponsor for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the premiere mixed martial arts organization.

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