The main stage show at Molson Coors’ 2022 distributor convention officially kicked off earlier this week with company leaders sharing how the revitalization plan launched three years ago is working.
Molson Coors CMO Michelle St. Jacques gave a high-energy speech, while channeling the wisdom of a Nashville icon, Dolly Parton. Within St. Jacques’ presentation, she shared how the company has evolved its approach to media for a digital age, as well as how the company is connecting with the next generation of Americans.
St. Jacques explained “where we’ve come from as a company, our history and our heritage and where we are going in the future.” And just like Parton, who has embraced change while remaining true to her roots, Molson Coors has followed a similar path in its reinvention as a “beverage company.”
“Over the past three years we too have embraced change, driving relevance with our big iconic brands, while strategically launching cool new ones,” she said. “Investing behind the drinkers who already love us, while showing up in culture to attract the next generation of lovers. And it’s working.”
As proof, St. Jacques offered that:
- Molson Coors has posted its best dollar share growth numbers in more than a decade, growing share in the spring and summer.
- Its premium lights (Coors Light and Miller Lite) grew sales in 2021 and have their strongest industry share over the last four years;
- Blue Moon and Peroni grew sales in the first half of the year;
- The company’s hard seltzer portfolio grew more share than any other other company in the category;
- Topo Chico is “millimeters” from being the No. 3 dollar share brand in seltzer in less than a year after launching nationally;
- And the recently launched Simply Spiked is “kicking ass.”
As St. Jacques laid out Molson Coors’ marketing strategy for 2023, one big piece of it was light on details: The company’s first Super Bowl ad in more than 30 years. She explained with Super Bowl Sunday five months away, the company, for now, is keeping its cards close to its vest.
“A small team is busy working so hard to make sure we make it count,” St. Jacques shared. “In fact, our goal is to make Super Bowl history, so you know, no pressure there.”
However, St. Jacques explained that Molson Coors didn’t hesitate to jump into the Super Bowl commercial fray once Anheuser-Busch InBev relinquished exclusivity rights, calling the opportunity a “once in a lifetime moment.”
“We spent the past three years hacking our way into this conversation,” she said. “So how can we pass on the opportunity to get back onto the big stage after 30 years?
Going Big In Digital, Podcasts & Sports
As younger consumers shift away from traditional media and more into the digital sphere, Molson Coors is also moving to meet them where they are gravitating.
St. Jacques noted that Molson Coors was “the first and the largest beer advertiser on Hulu.”
“We even have category exclusivity for any Hulu original content,” she said. “We are literally the only company to have this deal.”
Molson Coors was also the first and exclusive beer partner of NBC’s Peacock streaming service. The increased investment in streaming is due to streaming officially surpassing cable over the summer, St. Jacques said.
Beyond streaming, Molson Coors opened the first beer branded bar in the Metaverse and is investing in advertising on sports betting, as the strategic beer partner of DraftKings. The company is also investing more in ads on podcasts, spending more than its top competitors combined, according to St. Jacques.
“We own category exclusivity for the top three sports podcasts, including our buddies who we [took] from ABI, Pardon My Take,” she said. In addition to Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take, the company sponsors the Bill Simmons Podcast and the Dan Le Batard Show, as well as fantasy football podcasts from ESPN and FantasyPros.
Sports remain a major focus for the company, with 75% of its traditional TV spend going to sports.
“Whether it’s our approach to digital to podcasts to web 3.0, or certainly to sports, we are not afraid to blow things up, to do things differently from our past and from our competition, to forge a new path that meets our drinkers where they are,” she said.
‘Walking the Talk’ on Sustainability, ‘Inviting More People to the Bar’
Finally, St. Jacques highlighted the company’s work on sustainability and reaching more multicultural consumers.
“I think we can sell more beer by doing the right thing,” she added.
St. Jacques promised more partnerships and new approaches to connect with the next generation of Americans – the nation’s most diverse yet. And that generation is “making choices based on brands that walk the talk,” she said.
To that end, Molson Coors became the first major brewer in North America to commit to the removal of plastic rings earlier this year.
St. Jacques stressed the importance of “inviting more people to the bar” by “expanding and connecting with new drinkers,” including multicultural consumers.
Molson Coors now invests in media across diverse audiences, including the Black Effect, the No. 1 podcast network for Black audiences, which was founded by radio host Charlamagne tha God. Molson Coors also advertised on Spanish language broadcasts of the World Cup.
St. Jacques added that the company is “finding more ways to authentically drive change,” such as the Miller Lite Open and Proud program, which aims to make bars safer and inclusive for members of the LGBTQ-plus community.