Sleeman Brewery & Malting of Guelph, Ont. has awarded its account to SMW Advertising of Toronto following an extensive agency search.

The business had been with Promanad Communications for the past two years.

Dan Fox, director of marketing for Sleeman, says smw was chosen because it was an agency that could not only help the company build brands but also understood its culture.

Fox, who moved to Sleeman this fall after 16 years with Labatt, says the plan is to go to market with a new campaign in early spring but that a lot of ground work needs to be done.

‘Essentially we have to lay a strategic marketing foundation for the brand. Almost everything that has been accomplished has been done on a more tactical than a strategic basis.

‘We’ve got momentum. We’re the category leader. We’ve got a tremendous bag of assets,’ he says. ‘We just need to intelligently put it together in a nice package, tie it with a bow, and go to market.’

Sleeman, Canada’s leader in the fast-growing premium craft segment, makes and markets Sleeman Cream Ale, Silver Creek Lager, Original Dark and Premium Light beers, and brews under licence Stella Artois for Interbrew S.A. of Belgium, and Watney’s Red Barrel and Cream Stout beers for u.k.-based Scottish Courage.