Molson has just launched its first alcoholic lemonade in Ontario and Quebec, but has branded each differently.

Last month, Molson launched Arctic in Ontario and Tornade in Quebec with the intention of gaining a share of the rapidly expanding alcoholic lemonade segment of the beverage industry.

The separate launch strategies for the product are due to different market conditions in the two provinces, says Sylvie Levesque, brand manager, Molson Breweries, Ontario Division.

‘The development of the different segments within both provinces is very different,’ she explains. ‘Mike’s Hard Lemonade (the market leader) is very developed in Ontario but it’s not in Quebec.’

However, Molson’s major adversary, Labatt, launched a lemon malt drink containing 6.1% alcohol in Quebec last May called Boomerang. Tornade and Arctic also have a 6.1% alcohol content, but Molson is targeting a younger skew of adults between the ages of 19 and 24, including beer-drinking males.

Advertising for Arctic, created by Mississauga, Ont.-based The Mohan Group, consists primarily of campus newspapers, urban press (including Now, Eye and The Toronto Sun) and washroom advertising in campus pubs and dance clubs.

Advertising for Tornade, created by Montreal-based Cossette Communication-Marketing includes television, print, radio and point-of-sale advertising, along with billboards and Zoom posters.