Excerpted from WSJ, “Miller Reprises an Old Theme” By David Kesmodel, Mar 20, 2009
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Beer giant MillerCoors, seeking to revive its flagging Miller Lite after a string of marketing missteps, is spending more than $100 million on a new campaign that features redesigned cans and bottles and new ads centered on the brand’s familiar theme: “Tastes Great.”
The campaign … is aimed at grabbing market share from leader Anheuser-Busch InBev and its top-selling Bud Light brand. While the new ads don’t attack Bud Light by name, they are clearly designed to persuade consumers that Miller Lite is the better-tasting brew …
Miller Lite, which introduced Americans to light beer in the 1970s, mostly has posted sales declines in recent years, and its performance has worsened under its new owner, a joint venture of SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing … One problem is that Miller Lite has bounced from one ad strategy to another in recent years. “The brand has lacked a clear identity for so long … They just haven’t been able to find its voice” …
Now, MillerCoors, borrowing a page from Coors Light, says it will convey a consistent and straightforward message about the Miller Lite brand. That message will be built around taste … In a new twist on the “Tastes Great” theme, MillerCoors is rolling out ads that herald its “triple hops” brewing process, in which hops — the flowers that give beer its distinctive bitterness and aroma — are added to the beer at three different stages. The company says this gives the beer its flavor, “balance” and proper level of foam.
Miller Lite’s new “taste protector” cans will likewise tout the process. The cans have a lining on the inside to keep the beer from touching the aluminum, which can cause a metallic taste. The company also will promote new bottles with different labels as well as a “taste protector cap” designed to preserve the taste of the beer …
Highlighting the brand’s brewing process, however, carries the risk of backfiring with consumers, who are increasingly knowledgeable about beer ingredients. Light lagers like Miller Lite, have a low hops content, especially compared with many of the small-batch “craft” beers that are enjoying the industry’s highest growth rates.
“By overtly marketing their multiaddition hopping process, the consumer would presumably expect Miller Lite to be an overtly hoppy beer; it’s not” … MillerCoors also might find it hard to boost Miler Lite sales at the same time Coors Light sales are growing …
Miller Lite dominated the light-beer wars of the 1980s with its famed “Tastes Great, Less Filling” pitch. Miller Lite is now the No. 2-selling light beer in the U.S. after Bud Light, whose sales volume rose less than 1% last year … Coors Light, the nation’s No. 3 light beer, has been enjoying healthier sales growth than either Bud Light or Miller Lite.
MillerCoors won’t disclose how much it plans to spend on the new ad campaign this year, but Mr. England said it would be “well north of $100 million” …
Edit by SAC
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Full Article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123750883420290503.html
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