Cheers

Cheers - September, 2015

Cheers is dedicated to delivering hospitality professionals the information, insights and data necessary to drive their beverage business by covering trends and innovations in operations, merchandising, service and training.

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www.cheersonline.com 35 September 2015 • STELLA ARTOIS Anheuser-Busch InBev 13 Growth Brand Awards 2014 Cases sold: 22.8 million Production of Stella Artois-style beer dates back to 1366 in Leuven, Belgium. But the brand took a little while to evolve into what is sold today. Sébastien Artois became the new head brewer of the Den Hoorn brewery in Leuven in 1708, and nine years later gave his name to the business. The other half of this brand's name came about 218 years later, when Stella Artois was launched in Canada as a festive beer named after the Christmas star. Stella Artois remains a popular brand sold worldwide by evolving with modern consumers while also keeping an eye towards the past. "Today, our consumer is more frequently looking to enjoy authentic, high-end beer brands," says Ricardo Marques, vice president of high end marketing at Anheuser-Busch. "This is a trend that is here to stay and that favors Stella Artois, the number-one Belgian beer brand in the world that boasts 600 years of brewing heritage, a unique chalice glass that elevates the moment, and a detailed, nine-step pouring ritual." Stella Artois has benefi tted from modern marketing as well. The brand launched the "Host Beautifully" campaign this past May to "inspire the next generation of hosts to reinstate the ritual, art and level of intent to entertaining guests," Marques says. "To bring the campaign to life, we partnered with singer John Legend to host our launch event in southern California, where he treated guests to an intimate musical performance," he says. Legend and 20-plus "fi eld experts and infl uencers" also crafted hosting tips for each letter of the alphabet, as part of 'The A-Z Guide to Host Beautifully,' available online at HostBeautifully.com. "Host Beautifully kicked off with great success: Since the launch of the program this summer, we've sold more than 1.2 million cases of Stella Artois," Marques says. Earlier this year Stella Artois kicked off "Buy a Lady a Drink," in partnership with Water.org, the brand's fi rst global social responsibility campaign. To date, the program has sold over 60,000 limited-edition chalices, the proceeds of which provide funding for clean drinking water for people in developing countries. GROWTH BRANDS HALL OF FAME MODELO ESPECIAL Constellation Brands 19 Growth Brand Awards 2014 Cases sold: 59.9 million Modelo Especial is the second- highest selling imported beer in America. It was fi rst brewed in 1925 as the innaugural beer released by Mexico's Grupo Modelo brewery. With more than 60 million cases sold in 2014, Modelo Especial claimed a 15.5% share of the imported beer category, doubling its market share in just fi ve years, according to Jim Sabia, chief marketing offi cer of Crown Imports, part of Constellation Brands. Modelo Especial has grown by double-digits for 29 of the past 32 years, gaining tremendous momentum. This is helped in part by the continued growth of America's Hispanic population. Expected to increase by 15 million from 2012 to 2025, this is the fastest-growing portion of the U.S. population, and will continue to affect sales within the U.S. beer market. "While 60% of the Modelo Especial brand's volume is driven by Hispanic consumers, the 2015 marketing campaign is driving product trial with new consumers. It features national general market and Hispanic market advertising, partnerships with popular professional soccer athletes, and a broadcast sponsorship of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup on Univision," Sabia says. To that end, Modelo successfully sought a national draft mandate at Buffalo Wild Wings, meaning that the brand would be on tap at the casual restaurant chain's locations. Modelo also formed a partnership with Clint Dempsey, the U.S. men's national soccer team captain and Seattle Sounders FC player. This overall marketing push represents the largest of such investment in Modelo's history. The brand also launched Miledo Chileda in 2013, an authentic "cerveza preparada," or beer mixed with tomato juice, hot sauce, or salsa. This new brew contains the former, along with salt and pepper. As for Modelo Especial, the new advertising campaigns includes "Discover the Authentic Story of Modelo Especial," which educates consumers about the history of Modelo Especial's growth "from the bodegas in Mexico to its current popularity in the United States," Sabia says. "By telling our story to a larger customer base, we believe this brand can eventually exceed 100 million cases and become a top-fi ve beer brand in the U.S."

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