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Molson Coors Goes After Women

By: Dwayne W. Waite Jr.

The beer industry, especially in the UK, is facing a decline in sales that it has never seen before. There is much effort to turn that trend around, from creating a campaign by beer advocacy groups to advertise the health benefits of beer (similar to the "Got Milk" U.S. campaign) to figuring out which demographics need to consume more.

Molson Coors is homing in on the latter. In July 2011, the brewing company launched Animée, a beer designed specifically for women. It comes in three flavors: standard, rosé, and citrus. The light, finely filtered beer was developed for two years before being released, and now Molson Coors, along with Sense Marketing will be activating its 15-week experiential campaign and a four-month sampling campaign across the UK.

The experiential campaign will involve 400 bars across the region, and they will be given Animée-themed makeovers. The sampling campaign will be in Tescos (grocery stores) around the region as well. The brand also partnered up with salon Toni & Guy, and will run a sampling campaign with 100 of its salons.

McCready, communications partner for Molson Coors, says that the beer will repair its reputation with women by "being sophisticated withought being patronizing."

Does the U.S. have a female beer equivalent? It does, actually. Meet Chick Beer. Chick Beer is a premium light beer that is exclusively designed for women. It is positioning itself slightly different than Animée, though. Instead of jmping on sophistication, it is trying to turn the word "Chick" into a good thing. It is trying to ask the question, "Since when is "chick" a bad thing?" It hasn't launched a huge marketing campaign like Animée, yet, but it has become an official sponsor of "Chick's Night Out" and vows to be an aggressive marketing partner to those distributors that carry its beer. Like its British counterpart, though, Chick Beer has a very active Facebook page.

With the female population surpassing the male, and the ever-growing purchasing power of the demographic, it is no surprise that beer brands are turning to women to boost their bottom lines.

Will more beer brands follow the trend? Probably. With Michelob Ultra basically being a part of the market, and Miller Light desperately scrapping for ways to stay relevant and keep its marketing budget, we may see those brands dive more into the female market.

Here's one for the ladies. Cheers!

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About the Author

Dwayne W. Waite Jr. is partner and principal at JDW: The Charlotte Agency, a marketing and advertising shop in Charlotte, NC. He enjoys consumer behavior, economics, and football.

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