As broadcast on the Bloomberg TV channel in the USA.

One of the UK’s leading lager brands, Foster’s, is being given a sales boost this summer by a new, multi-million pound advertising campaign.

The multimedia package includes three TV ads plus digital, social media and outdoor ambient activity, which aim to re-establish the brand’s sunny, care-free view of the world.

Brad and Dan, two laid back Aussie blokes, lead the campaign, giving over-the-phone advice to British callers facing all kinds of social dilemmas.

The pair’s optimistic outlook – helped by the ‘no worries’ attitude to life – means that no problem is unsolvable.

Gayle Harrison, marketing manager for Foster’s at Heineken UK, said: “We know that Foster’s drinkers aspire to the Aussie, ‘no worries’ attitude to life and the new campaign brings it to life perfectly – in a simple, humorous way.”

Foster’s latest campaign also introduces a new strap line for the brand, “Good Call”. The advertising begun on July 2nd and will run for the rest of the summer.

The joint venture of US brewing companies SABMiller and Molson Coors has found an innovative use for one of its breweries’ waste water.

MillerCoors’ brewery in Ohio has teamed up with a company which produces animal feeds from renewable sources to run a full-scale trial.

The new product will use specialist technology to create a fish food ingredient to replace less sustainable ones currently used on fish farms nationwide.

Leo Kiely, chief executive of the joint venture, said: “We aim to ensure that we utilise our waste resources to the greatest extent possible.”

He added that innovations such as this show that there are “innumerable ways” in which one person’s waste can be made useful to others.

SABMiller recently announced that it would also be improving its recycling infrastructure to help reduce the amount of its packaging that ends up in landfill.

The brewer’s Bavaria subsidiary, in Colombia, has partnered with supermarket chain Carrefour to install 15 recycling centres in several major cities.

Almost 20 years after girls last adorned tins of Tennents’ best-selling beer, its so-called Lager Lovelies are back, in a quirky homage to the original branding.

A new campaign by the Scottish brewing firm will see an unusual return to its use of attractive, scantily-clothed models on cans, by putting elegantly-attired chimpanzees in their place.

According to Herald Scotland, the new packaging imagines how company founder Hugh Tennent might have decorated the drink’s cans in 1885, as an eccentric Victorian “with a penchant for pet simians”.

Jane Cannon, marketing manager for Tennents, said: “We couldn’t do the Lager Lovelies today like we did 30 years ago, [but] the Lager Lovelies absolutely have a fond place in the brand. They play a huge part in our history, so this ad fondly pays homage to them.”

The campaign will also include the launch of two new television advertisements, with actor Sam Heughan playing the role of Tennent, who concocted Scotland’s favourite brew in 1885, just five years before his death at the age of 27.

Family-owned investment firm sees potential for brands

Pabst Brewing Company, the third-ranked brewer in the US with a portfolio of once market leading and now underinvested brands, has been bought by a private investor for an undisclosed sum.

C Dean Metropoulos & Co has entered the world of brewing, taking over fast-growing Pabst Blue Ribbon, regional brands such as Rainier and Lone Star, and other brands acquired over the years from now-defunct brewing concerns such as Stroh and G Heileman. Metropoulos & Co has a track record with FMCG investments, with 65 acquisitions in the United States, Europe and Latin America totalling more than US$10 billion.

Pabst is to be headed by Dean Metropoulos as chairman and CEO with his sons Evan and Daren to be actively involved in Pabst’s operation and strategic investments. Pabst’s management team will remain in place under the new ownership.

Speaking to Bloomberg TV, Dean Metropoulos was enthused about Pabst’s portfolio, in particular Pabst Blue Ribbon, already a counter-culture favourite amongst younger consumers. Lone Star was described as a “doubling opportunity” and Rainier and Colt 45 were also cited as having growth potential.

Metropoulos noted, “These were the biggest brands back 20, 30 years ago, 50 years ago.”

MillerCoors will continue to brew Pabst’s brands. Metropoulos told Bloomberg that the deal was contingent on a long-term continuation of the existing contract brewing arrangement.

Pabst, headquartered in suburban Chicago with offices in Milwaukee and San Antonio, was owned by S&P Company, part of a charitable non-profit corporation.

MillerCoors, the US joint venture of SABMiller, one of the world’s leading brewers, has tapped into a new use for brewery waste water. The Ohio brewery of MillerCoors brewery teamed up with a company which produces animal feeds from renewable sources to run a full scale trial of an innovative technology which creates a fish food ingredient from the brewery’s waste water.

The new product can be used in place of the food sources currently employed by fish farms, thereby helping to alleviate the country’s dependence upon stressed natural fish stocks whilst also adding to the ways in which brewery waste can be reused and recycled.

The trials have proved extremely promising, paving the way for further exploration of how the technology can be implemented.

MillerCoors CEO, Leo Kiely said: “We aim to ensure that we utilise our waste resources to the greatest extent possible. Technology and innovative partnerships have a crucial role to play as we work towards becoming a zero-waste operation; advances such as this new development show that there innumerable ways in which our waste can be made useful for others.”

Besides this, MillerCoors on Tuesday released its 2010 Sustainable Development report, titled “Great Beer, Great Responsibility,” which details progress across the company’s corporate social responsibility commitments. The brewer succeeded in exceeding its 2015 goal for waste reduction, by eliminating 20% of the amount of waste sent to landfill, MillerCoors said. In total, the company reuses or recycles nearly 100% of all brewery waste and achieved zero waste to landfill at two of its breweries.

“Surpassing our 2015 waste reduction goal five years early is a phenomenal success that demonstrates the commitment and passion of MillerCoors people across all of our brewery operations,” said MillerCoors Chief Responsibility and Ethics Officer, Cornell Boggs. “We recognize that sustainable development requires a sustained commitment and we’re working to further improve our performance for generations to come. Great Beer, Great Responsibility defines our commitment to creating America’s Best Beer Company by growing our business the right way.”

MillerCoors 2010 Sustainable Development Report includes an assessment of the company’s performance in 2009, specifically in regards to company goals across its five key responsibilities: Alcohol Responsibility, Environmental Sustainability, Sustainable Supply Chain, People and Communities, and Ethics and Transparency. Woven throughout the report is the company’s belief that the privilege of producing “great beer“ comes with “great responsibility“ – to its people, partners, communities and the environment.

In 2009, MillerCoors also:

• Reduced waste to landfill by 20 percent and achieved zero waste at its Trenton, Ohio and Elkton, Virginia breweries.
• Expanded the Miller Lite Free Rides program, which has provided 2.3 million riders with safe alternative transportation on key holidays, to four new markets.
• Reduced total energy consumption by 3.6 percent, lowered greenhouse gas emissions by 1.2 percent and renewed its commitment to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Leaders program, pledging to reduce corporate-wide greenhouse gas emissions eight percent by 2015.
• Recorded a world-class ratio of 3.40 barrels of water for every barrel of beer at its Ft. Worth, Texas brewery.
• Completed the largest installation of membrane bioreactor technology in the U.S.at its Elkton, Va. brewery.
• Began engineering at its Elkton, Va. brewery to reuse biogas from its anaerobic wastewater treatment system for generating electrical power, which the company currently does at two of its four anaerobic wastewater treatment systems.
• Reduced packaging materials an estimated 11 million pounds in Coors Light and Coors Banquet secondary packaging.
• Held its first annual Water Stewardship Month, which resulted in nearly 1,700 hours of volunteer time from employees toward watershed protection and improvement activities.
• Allocated 7.4 percent of its total 2009 spend to diverse suppliers.

MillerCoors also engaged an external assuror, Corporate Citizenship, to review the report. Corporate Citizenship conducted interviews with employees and provided a commentary within the report. According to Corporate Citizenship, “MillerCoors has moved forward significantly in advancing its own sustainable development activities in the past year.”

The ‘female appeal’ of Jacques Cider with Fruit is to be boosted further by the biggest investment in the brand to date.

Heineken UK is launching a marketing programme for the brand to encompass

digital and brand events, with the aim of giving females the opportunity to experience a “stylish and girly summer, courtesy of Jacques”.

Activity will include tie ups with Benefit Cosmetics and Toni & Guy hair stylists.

And for the summer months, the company has established a Jacques Townhouse in London, which will play host to Jacques drinkers looking for a girly haven for the evening.

The campaign will be supported through press activity, with partnership tie-ins with leading women’s magazines.

“This year sees our most significant investment in the Jacques brand to date,” said brand manager Doug Cook.

North American beer firm Molson Coors Brewing Company has revealed its plans to penetrate key overseas markets in a push to increase its global presence.

The brewer will launch one of its flagship brands, Coors Light, in Russia, the world’s fourth-largest beer market.

A spokesperson for the firm said that it would “focus” on developing a Russian strategy for the brand, though it has “no immediate plans” to move other products into the country.

In its quest to position Coors Light as a global brand, the company has already completed moves to China, Spain, Vietnam and Mexico.

Like many consumer goods, sales of beer have been hit hard, particularly in the US, by the recent economic downturn.

Last month, Molson Coors issued a report that noted a significant decline in worldwide sales volumes for the first quarter of 2010.

It said that the firm “continued to face challenging economic and beer industry condition

Heineken UK will soon launch a new marketing campaign to further emphasise the ‘female appeal’ of its Jaques Cider with Fruit product range.

With its largest investment in the brand to date, the firm hopes to position the brand among young, stylish women.

Starting in July, the promotional programme incorporates digital and print elements, as well as sampling bars at a number of fashion and beauty events throughout the summer.

Brand manager for the drink Doug Cook claimed that the campaign would be the “most significant investment in the Jacques brand to date”, working with other female-centred brands to highlight its appeal to women.

He said: “We will be creating a live brand experience that will appeal to female consumers combined with some very exciting partnerships to help bring the brand to all aspects of our drinkers’ social lives.”

Rival drinks giant SABMiller recently announced that it too would be targeting female drinkers with the launch of a premium fruit beer product in Russia.

A cider with caffeine is being launched in the UK this month, to tap into the 40%

of cider drinkers who are also regular consumers of energy drinks.

KC Max has been created by UK distributor KC Brands and consists of a blend of 4.7% ABV Belgian cider made in the renowned Limburg region, and 12mg of caffeine per litre.

The cider is packaged in 275ml bottles and will retail through wholesalers for around £9.99 for a case of 12.

KC Brands CEO Mark Todd said the label had been run past the Portman Group already and had been given the thumbs-up.

“This product is aimed at the many consumers who drink both caffeine and cider, which we believe equates to a potential market worth £800m,” Todd said. “It is a contemporary product, which reflects modern drinking habits.”

In-store promotion, including branded PoS to create awareness of the new product, are in the pipeline, Todd added.

Earlier this year the company launched a caramel vodka called Garvey to tap into the growth in flavoured vodkas in the UK.

KC Brands also distributes the Tequila Rose range and Maxim, the French Champagne and spirit brand, which it launched in the autumn of 2009.

Halewood International is to follow up its successful launch of Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer with a new soft drink for men.

Iron Press, a fruit juice based drink made with malt and barley, which looks like a beer, complete with frothy head, is being launched this month. It is aimed at blokes between 25 and 55 years-old.

The new brand will be the company’s biggest launch in 2010 and was inspired by the growth of the soft drinks category in the on-trade and products such as McCoy’s “man crisps,” Yorkie bars and Lynx.

“At the moment the soft drinks category is very female orientated,” said head of innovation Richard Clark. “Yet there is a growing number of men who want to go to the pub with friends or family but who do not always want to drink alcohol. Iron Press gives them an alternative to a pint of coke or lime & soda.”

Initially Halewood is launching two flavours, a cider-inspired apple variant containing 30% apple juice and a shandy -inspired lime flavour, containing 5% lime juice.

The 500ml brown glass bottles will sell for around £3.00 in pubs and bars, said Clark.

A TV campaign, in store PoS material and sampling activity are all in the pipeline for this autumn to helps support the launch.

The UK Chancellor George Osbourne has delivered the Conservative/Liberal Democrat’s first budget, in which he did not increase tax on cigarettes or alcohol.

However, VAT is to rise to 20% from 17.5%, from January 4 2011.

The trade has welcomed the move not to add more tax to alcohol and cigarettes and this is the first time the Government has frozen excise duty since 2001. Former government Labour’s plan to increase duty of cider by 10% above inflation will be scrapped from July. The Scotch Whisky Association urged the government to press ahead with a review of the excise duty system, which is supposed to happen during the last quarter of 2010.

Wine and Sprit Trade Association (WSTA) chief executive Jeremy Beadles said: “Today’s announcement provides some relief for a sector that has faced substantial tax increases in recent years and I welcome the Chancellor’s decision.

“Repeated tax hikes have produced less revenue for the Treasury and punished responsible drinkers, while failing to tackle the problem of binge-drinking.”

Brigid Simmonds, British Beer & Pub Association chief executive, agreed with Beadles. She said: “We applaud the Government’s decision to freeze beer tax and deliver on its promise made in the coalition agreement to not penalise pubs, responsible drinkers and important local industries.  This is a welcome relief for struggling pubs during difficult times.

“A beer tax freeze will also help the beer and pub sector’s ability to play its part in contributing to much needed economic growth and generating valuable private sector jobs.

“The VAT rise is a price to pay for tackling the deficit and bringing Britain’s balance sheet back in order.  This tax increase is not welcome, but is understandable and applies to everybody.  We hope this will be short-term pain for long-term gain.

“Once the nation’s finances are back on a more even keel, we look forward to VAT rates returning to more favourable levels.  We also look forward to the promised review of our alcohol tax system tax as an opportunity to rebalance our tax system to one that is more fair towards community pubs and our national drink – beer.”

The Scotch Whisky Association welcomed the Chancellor’s decision to freeze the excise duty on alcohol and to press ahead with a review of the system this autumn. But it said the VAT increase would ‘increase discrimination’ faced by the whisky industry.

According to the SWA, the current alcohol duty regime discriminates against Scotch whisky – the drink carries 37% more duty than the same amount of alcohol served as beer, 19% more duty than wine and 224% more duty than cider.

The SWA said that the VAT rise in January 2011 will increase the discrimination faced.

Gavin Hewitt, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association said: “The Chancellor has made a sensible and welcome decision to freeze excise duty. He is also right to press on with an early review of the current excise duty system.

“We encourage the Government to look closely at taxing all drinks at the same rate according to alcohol content, coupled with a ban on below tax sales. We believe this route would help the Government address its concern over the pricing of alcohol, would secure greater social responsibility and would offer increased revenue.

“Today’s announcement on corporation tax will also help Scotch Whisky play its part in growing the UK’s manufacturing and export sector.”

The UK’s best-selling lager brand announced the certification for its barley at an annual cereals trade show in Cambridgeshire.

All of Carling’s multipack units will carry the Red Tractor logo forthwith, with an extension to individual cans planned for later in the year.

Matthew Read, chairman of the assurance scheme for crops and sugar beet, said that the group was “proud” to have a leading brand involved.

He added: “It shows the growing importance for big brands such as Carling to choose quality farm assured ingredients.”

Mr Read explained that the Red Tractor logo is designed to give consumers “complete confidence” about the certified brand’s “strict” standards of production.

Earlier this week, Irish MEP Nessa Childers called for new ‘traffic light’ labelling on beer products to ensure that manufacturers give consumers clear information about their drinks’ nutritional content.

Kopparberg is rolling out a new flavour, following a successful three-month trial through several Orchid venues.

The new strawberry & lime variant will be listed in some Mitchells & Butlers, Barracuda and Belhaven sites from this month, with more pubs and bars to follow, says Davin Nugent, UK managing director of Kopparberg-owner Cider of Sweden.

“The trial was a runaway success, so much so we could barely keep up with demand, a trend that is continuing,” Nugent said. “Now, as the rollout is happening, we are selling out of every shipment.”

The decision to launch the strawberry & lime flavour came as a response to demand from consumers who had tasted it in Spain and were asking where they could get hold of it back in the UK.

“We decided to trial the flavour first as we weren’t sure what impact it would have on the mixed fruit variant, which we launched back in October 2007,” explained Nugent.

“However, it didn’t cannibalise sales from the rest of the range — in fact we experienced an uplift in sales across the whole brand in venues where it was sold.”

The company isn’t planning on a consumer launch campaign, but will be investing in some trade marketing to raise overall awareness in the on-trade.

It will benefit from the £3m marketing investment in the brand this year, however, which will include cinema ads launched last month, a press campaign and online activity.

The brand has already found success with other unusual flavour combinations such as elderflower & lime, which launched in March 2009 and is the best-selling variant in its home market of Sweden, as well as Finland.

SABMiller RUS has announced that production of a new beer brand has begun at its brewery in Kaluga.

ESSA is a premium beer product with pineapple and grapefruit flavours, aimed primarily at female consumers.

The firm hopes to replicate the success of another of its products designed for women, the flavoured beer REDD’S.

Bertrand van Renynghe, marketing director at SABMiller RUS, said: “Russian consumer market research, as well as flavoured beer segment growth dynamics, shows that the ‘female’ subcategory has a great future growth potential.”

He added that ESSA will allow the company to extend its brand portfolio and develop the female subcategory, which it “opened up several years ago”.

SABMiller RUS is one of the leading brewery businesses in Russia, with a market share of 10.8 per cent by value and seven per cent by volume.

The Otley Brewing Company is yet to name its latest seasonal beer for June.

The 4.5% ABV clear, dark beer “drinks like a light beer”, according to the company, and it will be distributed to the trade in its Welsh heartland before spreading out across the UK.

“At Otley we are constantly looking for new flavours and recipes to bring a modern take on brewing,” said managing director Nick Otley. “As a micro-brewery we have the freedom to experiment with new ideas, reinventing beer in its own category.

“This beer contains smoked malt and bags of hop aroma and we’re expecting it to appeal to more adventurous drinkers looking for something a bit different.”

Otley hopes the beer will be as successful as its May offering, O-Mai, which contained hints of raspberry. “It proved really popular in our pubs, particularly with younger and female drinkers.”

Molson Coors has confirmed pubs remain “of great interest” for its Indian beer brand Cobra, despite a strategy targeting curry houses and the off-trade for growth since it acquired the brand last year.

The whole pub channel is of great interest to us and we have plans in the pipeline to target the sector in due course” said Adrian Davey, MD of the Cobra Beer Partnership. “We’ll target pubs that serve curry, obviously, but fortunately there are a lot of those these days.”

Davey said the company was already in talks with several pub companies about promotions and activities but said he was unable to reveal details as yet.

This week the brewer celebrated the first bottling of Cobra out of its flagship Burton brewery — from this week all Cobra will be brewed there — and the launch of a £5m marketing campaign for the brand. This represents a “significant investment” and the most that has been spent on the brand since it joined the Molson Coors portfolio, Davey said.

“The campaign has been designed to build on the association between Cobra and curry with eye catching press ads and a radio campaign running alongside. Social networking sites such as Facebook are also a focus for us, with our 75,000 fans, which we plan to build on with a raft of innovative activities,” Davey added.

A new football-themed Guinness advertising campaign, which launched yesterday, has kicked started the brand’s World Cup related activity.

The “Bring it to Life” campaign aims to drive sales of Guinness around the tournament. The “witty and nostalgic” print ads feature a number of memorable footballing moments, said marketing manager Paul Cornell.

“We’re highlighting the brand’s relevance during this key sales period to help drive purchase and bolster sales for the on-trade,” he added.

A Guinness Pubfinder tool has also been developed, which highlights 1,200 of the best pubs in which to watch sport and drink Guinness.

SABMiller South Africa is spending 170 million rand (£15.3 million) to strengthen sales and beat off its rival Heineken during the forthcoming football tournament.

By helping to clean up and revamp bars close to the World Cup stadiums, the firm is hoping to keep a tight hold on its near-90 per cent share of the South African beer market.

Norman Adami, chairman of SABMiller’s operations in the country, is feeling positive about beer sales over the coming weeks and, in particular, the chance to fight back against Heineken, which entered the South African market last year.

He said: “Our competitor aspires to a 20 per cent share, but we want 90 per cent and we believe we can maintain our current share of around 88-89 per cent.”

The company has responded to the increasing competition with a bigger marketing budget behind its key brands Castle, Carling, Hansa and Castle Lite.

This comes just days after SABMiller announced strong preliminary results for the 12 months to March 31st 2010, having produced 213 million hectolitres in the period.