The rivalry between Molson and Labatt may have yielded a keg-load of marketing innovations over the years, but both companies say that, despite decades of new products, packaging redesigns and technology spins, their respective strategies for their flagship brands – Canadian and Blue – have never wavered.

Each brewer boasts that its flagship brand is, of course, the No. 1 beer in Canada when packaged and draft sales are combined – and since no organization audits share figures of beer sales, why wouldn’t they?

But there is agreement on one issue: while the look and tone of their advertising may change to suit the temper of the times, the positioning behind each brand has remained consistent.

‘For any successful brand, whether it’s Labatt Blue, Coca-Cola or Disney, the success of the brand lies in having a stable positioning,’ says Mike Rapino, marketing director for Labatt Breweries of Canada.

‘It means staying in touch with today’s consumers and altering your executions to continually connect with them, but never playing with the core equity of the brand.’

As an example, Rapino cites the current tv campaign launched just prior to the Nagano Olympics, which he says is based on a strategy used in the 1970s. The ’70s campaign, ‘Blue Smiles With You,’ centred on a group of revelers in a hot air balloon. It represented values like sociability, fun, and – with lots of landscape vista shots – Canadian heritage.

Blue’s new theme, ‘Out of the Blue,’ centres on an impromptu street hockey game in downtown Toronto, set to the Gary Glitter rock anthem, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Part 2.’ The theme? Sociability, fun and – you guessed it – Canadian heritage.

After last year’s experiment with the youth-targeted ‘I Will’ campaign, Rapino says Blue couldn’t possibly maintain its market share without targeting beyond the 19- to 24-year-old demographic.

Molson Breweries, on the other hand, continues to tie its Canadian brand identity to the 19- to 29-year-old demo – its core market – with its ongoing ‘I Am’ campaign.

Bill Coleman, marketing director for Canadian, says listening to and connecting with consumers has kept the brand strong over the decades, and that ‘I Am’ is just the latest executional ‘philosophy.’