It seems Molson is making a strong case for its case – more than 24 other brands, the majority of which are competitors – signed on to make it into a special “#MakeItCanadian” two-four.

Last week, the beer behemoth put out a call to other Canadian brewers to create “the most Canadian case of beer ever.” While the brewers that were referenced in the spot (such as Labatt, Alexander Keith’s and Moosehead) have not joined the cause, Molson says it got interest from more brands than can fit in a case, so it is working with its third party e-commerce delivery partner to alternate what goes into the Canadian cases.

Consumers could begin pre-ordering their limited edition cases on the Canada Day holiday on Wednesday and start receiving them as soon as today (as of this writing, cases were no longer available in Vancouver, but could still be ordered in Ontario, Saskatoon and Regina). Some of the brands include Lake of the Woods and Caledon Hills, and also Molson Coors-owned brands like Granville Island Brewing (the full list can be found below).

“Make It Canadian” is the brand’s aim to proudly spotlight peers from Newfoundland to British Columbia, creating a Canadian’s guide to Canadian beer just in time for Canada Day, according to Joy Ghosh, marketing director for the Molson family of brands, who calls the Canadian Case “the ultimate symbol of the campaign sentiment.”

“The market is becoming more and more fragmented,” Ghosh says. “Consumer repertoire has grown over the years, where more brands and types of beverages are in their carts than 5 or 10 years ago.”

Ghosh says the brewer has been doing a lot of organic and paid social to let people know which brands signed on. It’s also had some influencer drops with the breweries themselves, like Big Rock, which had Instagram posts showing beers before and after being delivered so it can get some social “unboxing”-style content. There has also been paid influencer posts about the case, in addition to Molson informing consumers with targeted social on how to get a case if they are within partner delivery cities.

The campaign, which was in the works pre-COVID, has been supported by TV, OLV and social and will continue to run this month. According to Ghosh, it will be spotlighting brands through featured and collaboration posts, and may tap newspaper again, similar to the open letter that ran for its launch.

According to the latest Beer Canada industry data, the slight 1.5% increase in foreign beer sales from 2018 to 2019 was not enough to offset the 3.9% domestic declines. Most of Canada’s breweries, like the ones included in the novelty case, are small, local operations with 94% producing less than 15,000 hectolitres of beer. By comparison, Chicago/Toronto-based Molson Coors produces worldwide brand volume of nearly 100 million hectolitres.

While Molson Coors has been headquartered in Chicago since the 2005 merger between Canada’s Molson and the U.S.’s Coors, it still boasts the oldest brewery in Canada, and its flagship Canadian brand has frequently marketed itself around its roots and place in culture. The company also owns a number of made-in-Canada brands that began as craft breweries, like Granville Island and Creemore.

Molson will also be announcing a charity partner in July, donating $5 from every printed “Canadian Case” (up to $25,000) to a local charity helping communities and people in need during this particularly hard year.

Rethink handled creative for the campaign, with Citizen Relations on PR, Wavemaker on media and We Are Social on community management.

The full list of brewers at the time of publication includes Lake of the Woods, Something in the Water, Picaroons, Something Brewery, Big Rock, Foundry Brewing, Fort Garry Brewing, Post-Game Brewing, Hockley Brewery, Vimy Brewing Company, Storm Brewing, Holman Brewing, Crank Lite, Red Truck Beer Company, Gan Brewing Company/Naughty Otter, Farmery Brewery, Caledon Hills Brewing, Ridge Rock Brewing, Powerhouse Brewery, Smithavens Brewing Company, Hard Knox Brewery, Radical Road Brewing Co, Wasaga Beach Brewing, Newark Brewing, Brock Street Brewing, William Street Beer, Clear Lake Brewing Co and Foghorn Brewing Company. Molson-owned brands in the case include Granville Island Brewing, Creemore, Rickard’s and Old Style Pilsner.