Molson Coors Gets Yellowstone IP for Fall Coors Banquet Promotion
The question of when Molson Coors’ wholesaler partners would be able to use Yellowstone branding on point-of-sale items for Coors Banquet was finally answered during last week’s convention in Nashville. The answer: today (September 26).
Stubby bottles and cans of the nearly 150-year-old Coors Banquet brand have shown up in scenes on the Dutton family’s Montana ranch since the start of the show in 2018. Those appearances coupled with cameos on Netflix’s Karate Kid revival, Cobra Kai, have helped Banquet find its groove and it is now “one of our fastest growing beer brands,” chief marketing officer Michelle St. Jacques said.
“This relationship has catapulted Coors Banquet’s brand awareness and brand love to new heights,” Katie Feldman, marketing director for Coors, added.
Feldman announced that the wait to use Yellowstone’s intellectual property was finally over and in the lead up to season five of the Paramount show, Molson Coors will launch a consumer promotion called “Live Like a Dutton,” that will allow the winner to spend a weekend living the western lifestyle.
“National PR and paid media will make this program even more famous than the Duttons,” Feldman said.
The announcement of Banquet’s tie-up with Yellowstone received one of the biggest rounds of applause of the week.
Year-to-date through September 4, off-premise dollar sales of Coors Banquet are up +8.6%, to more than $207.6 million, while case sales are up +3.3%, according to market research firm IRI. Dollar sales have accelerated over the last 12 weeks, increasing +9.5%, the firm reported.
Banquet, Molson Coors’ fifth largest brand within its portfolio, holds a 0.67% share of beer category dollars, a 0.06% increase year-to-date.
Peroni 0.0. Coming to US, Along with Formula 1 Aston Martin Sponsorship
Peroni 0.0 — the non-alcoholic version of the Italian pilsner — is coming to the U.S. market and bringing with it a sponsorship deal with one of the hottest sports, Formula 1 racing.
The zero alcohol version of Peroni will first launch in core Peroni markets in time for Dry January.
“Peroni 0.0 has been formulated to get as close to the classic taste of Peroni as possible,” Joy Ghosh, Molson Coors VP of marketing for above premium beer and FMBs, told wholesalers last week. “In fact, it tastes significantly closer than either Heineken or Stella to their alcoholic counterparts. In our testing, 90% of consumers agree that the taste of Peroni 0.0 matches our full-flavored Peroni beer.”
Ghosh highlighted the growth of the non-alcoholic beer market, up +15%, with above premium driving the majority of the segment’s growth at nearly +30%.
“We think there’s even more potential to drive the segment by bringing an elevated Italian offering to create a cool factor and a badge brand that everyone will be proud to hold at a bar or social setting,” he said.
Molson Coors will support the launch with media in Q1 in time for Dry January, PR and retail tools, plus sampling in the spring and summer. As part of that launch, Molson Coors will also bring Peroni’s Formula 1 partnership with Aston Martin to the U.S. at launch.
“We’ll be activating in a big way across all three U.S. races in Austin, Miami and the highly anticipated night race on the Las Vegas Strip,” Ghosh said. “If you’ve seen [Netflix series] Drive to Survive, you know that F1 has seen a resurgence in culture. It’s one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S. with over 27 million fans, growing 50% since 2021 This partnership will also help halo the core brand and enable us to activate together in markets that have both 0.0 and base Peroni.”
Peroni 0.0 is one of the company’s big bets for 2023 (more on those to come in the weeks and months ahead). Jamie Wideman, Molson Coors VP of innovations, told distributors that 35% of legal-drinking-age adults abstained from alcoholic beverages for the entire month of January, the largest increase since 2019.
Meanwhile, Peroni is “red hot, growing in every region and up double-digits in four of five,” Ghosh said. The goal is to double the size of Peroni over the next three years, he added.
What’s pushing the brand’s upward trajectory? Ghosh pointed to the launch of the “Live Every Moment” ad campaign, investments in regional media, the return of brand ambassadors, and the support of its distribution network in retail and “especially the on-premise” channel.
Off-premise dollar sales of Peroni are up +2.4%, to more than $27 million, in off-premise multi-outlet and convenience stores year-to-date through September 4, according to IRI.