Crown Imports is looking for new ways to help boost their popular Corona brand. They're not going to abandon the long-standing beach campaign, but they are willing to try new things that align with the brand's equity. For example, Corona is taking a cue from big premium light beers by running a mega summer promotion. In addition, the promotion will be supported with national TV spots. A beer promotion during the summer months isn't big news; the big news is how they're using above-the-line advertising.
Very rarely do the big beer brands put resources into developing TV spots to support retail promotions due to the price tag associated with TV production. Kudos to Corona for promoting their promotion! However, the biggest news lies in how the TV spots are directly driving shoppers to retail. From the 1/25/10 issue of Beer Business Daily, "One ad shows a couple on the beach, and the camera pulls back faster and faster through the jungle and back to the store where the beer was purchased." It's a huge win for a retail promotion to have promotional TV spots. But to actually depict a retail environment on TV in an effort to closely link the promotion to purchase? That's relatively unheard of. With the exception of Keystone Light, no other beer brand has shown the retail space in ATL executions. This overt link of ATL and retail promotion could arguably be viewed as a new genre; perhaps we could call it "ATL shopper marketing".
It's great to see Corona branching out with a summer promotion, supporting it with promotional TV, and linking it closely to retail. I wonder if other brands will continue down a similar path and see the value in integrating all consumer and shopper touch points with a cohesive message. I'm sure they'll find that the sum is grater than the parts.
--Contributed by Robyn Gelfand
