Molson Canada is expected to make a decision in mid-March on the future of its relationship with HHCL, the agency of record on its Export brand, when the contract for the British ad boutique is due to expire.
HHCL was awarded a six-month contract to work on Export last October, but sources say Molson has been unhappy with the long-distance relationship, and there is speculation in Canadian agency circles that the brewer may drop the agency and assign Export to another shop.
Molson spokesperson Marilyn McCrea acknowledges the contract with HHCL is nearing its term, but says no decisions have been finalized.
‘(HHCL) was selected before we had a crew in on Export,’ she explains, referring to the recent overhaul of Molson’s marketing department. ‘Whether they were going to be a long-term partner or not was always a question mark, and they knew that going in.’
McCrea admits that Molson may have to stage another review, but says it shouldn’t affect the brewer’s advertising timelines, since it hadn’t planned to launch any new creative on Export until late summer.
‘We did an exhaustive look at agencies last summer, so I don’t think we have to start from square one. But we didn’t have the team in on Export last summer, either,’ she says. ‘Business changes all the time, and whether we would do a full fledged review or not really depends on what the guys feel they need at the time.’
In January, Molson named Michael Downey as its new senior vice-president of marketing, and hired a pair of vice-presidents to oversee its major brands: Rob Guenette was placed in charge of Export, while Brett Marchand was handed responsibility for Canadian.
The assembly of a new marketing team prompted speculation that Molson might rethink its Export assignment. That speculation only intensified last month when former senior vice-president of business development Richard Kelly, who helmed Molson’s last review and was largely responsible for hiring HHCL, left the brewer.
