Molson Canadian

It was a focus group participant that said it best: “Molson Canadian is everywhere without saying much.” A brand that was once a mainstay in backyards, bars and patios across the country was now nearly irrelevant to Canadian beer drinkers.

As the world changed, Molson Canadian was wildly inconsistent in strategy and advertising, the only constant being its volume and share in decline. The challenge was to break indifference and get people to reappraise the brand.

For CP+B, the answer to connecting with beer drinkers was lying right under their feet – it’s the land that makes Canadians who we are. Research showed that nature functions as a safe haven that offers freedom from the stresses of modern life – a role not unlike that of beer.

The road ahead was clear: Molson Canadian is Made From Canada. That means being shaped by the vast, and at times humbling nature that also happens to provide the ingredients to brew beer.

Leaving behind the traditional beer target demographic (men, legal drinking age to 29) they began to target a mindset: people who believe in the virtue of Canadian beer and who value the freedom of the outdoors. The “Gifts” spot launched during the World Junior Hockey Championships, touting Molson Canadian as “Made from the best this land has to offer.” With the start of the Winter Games, “Awesomeness” was launched, an anthemic ode to “the best backyard in the world.”

Since beer is a social product, the “Gear Up For Gold” Facebook campaign and Molson Canadian Hockey House Olympic activation were launched. Both helped reinforce that the brand was doing things differently.

Molson Canadian market share and volume performance are above projections since the campaign launched, showing and sustaining volume growth for the first time in almost a decade. And loyal drinkers have come out of hiding – the Facebook page has grown to over 400,000 engaged, very vocal members.