Feeling pressure from competitors, Brewers Retail has launched a $2-million campaign to convince Ontario residents to buy beer at their local Beer Store.
‘We aren’t alone anymore,’ says Jan Westcott, a spokesperson for Brewers Retail, adding that liquor stores, U-brews, brew pubs and breweries themselves are now all in the retail game.
Brewers Retail, controlled mainly by Molson Breweries and Labatt Breweries of Canada, along with Sleeman Brewing and Malting, is the organization that runs the Beer Stores.
The added competition has translated into a near 10% loss of business for what used to be a retail monopoly, estimates Westcott. In fact, he says there are now 1,000 places other than the 429 Beer Stores where one can buy beer in Ontario.
The three 30-sec. spots, created by Bensimon Byrne of Toronto, star John Ratzenberger and George Wendt, formerly barflies in the sitcom Cheers.
Each spot shows the two buddies in different parts of Ontario, humorously delivering a specific message about Brewers Retail – its strict policy regarding the sale of beer to minors, its highly effective recycling program and the wide selection of beer available in a typical store.
The spots all share the same tag line – ‘The best place in the world to buy beer.’
This is the first time the retailer has advertised on tv, says Westcott. Before this, it stuck to point-of-sale promotions.
Mid-winter is not a high-consumption season for beer, but the campaign was planned to build on the momentum of extended holiday hours and Sunday openings in December, says Westcott, for which Brewers Retail received permission from the provincial government.
The spots will run for a month now, and then again in May. At that point, the breweries will decide whether to create another campaign or support this campaign further, says Westcott, adding, ‘We’re sticking our toe in the water.’
Media was handled by Harrison Young Pesonen & Newell of Toronto.
