Molson Coors boosting marketing spend by $100 million to capitalize on gains made against Bud Light

Molson Coors is increasing its marketing spend as the brewer looks to capitalize on share gains its beer brands have made against Bud Light. The brewer of Miller Lite and Coors Light will spend an extra $100 million on marketing in the second half of the year, executives said Tuesday during a conference call reviewing the company’s second-quarter financial results. Molson Coors' 2022 U.S. ad spending totaled $692 million, according to the Ad Age Datacenter. Become an All Access subscriber Get access to exclusive resources including Leading National Advertisers, World’s Largest Advertisers, Agency Report, Agency Review Tracker and TV Pricing Report. Click here “We intend to invest very strongly behind the momentum that we’ve got,” Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley said during the conference call. “Hence, the $100 million extra marketing … Our job is to maintain those gains that we’ve got.” While Bud Light has been reeling as a result of a consumer boycott related to a promotion involving transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney—parent company Anheuser Busch InBev announced plans to lay off about 350 people last week—Molson Coors’ domestic beers have been big beneficiaries of its rival's struggles. Net sales revenue in the company’s Americas division increased by 11.5% to $2.6 billion in the quarter. U.S. brand volumes were up by 8.7%, with Coors Light, Miller Lite and Coors Banquet each up by double digits. Hattersley was quick to attribute the performance to effective brand building and investment over the last three years that put Molson Coors’ brands in a position to win the share shed by Bud Light. “Over the past three years, our strategy has made our brands demonstrably stronger in 2023 than they were in 2019,” Hattersley said. “We didn’t plan our largest competitor’s largest brand losing volume by nearly 30% during the quarter. If this had happened in 2019, we would surely not have seen the sales benefit that we did in 2023 or even been able to meet the demand.” Miller Lite, Coors Light and Blue Moon had a particularly strong quarter on-premise (which includes bars and restaurants), with 12,000 tap handles added, about a 10% increase, Hattersley said. Nearly 20 retailers are expected to give Molson Coors brands more space than they had before, Hattersley said, adding that Molson Coors brands are winning a greater share of in-store displays. A number of retailers have also moved their annual shelf resets from the spring to the fall, “which we expect will make some portion of the current trend structural,” Hattersley said. Ad Age Small Agency Awards See all of the 2023 winners Click here One area of increased investment will be behind convenience store shopper marketing, with Hattersely noting the company has historically under-indexed in the channel. The $100 million in marketing represents “a significant investment and commitment to the momentum that we're experiencing,” Hattersley said. “And we're seeing that in the data. We’re seeing the new tap handles we're getting. We’re seeing the shelf changes. We’re seeing the display dollar share gains. And we’re going to push hard to maintain that and more.” Molson Coors posted net income of $342.4 million on sales of $3.26 billion in the quarter. Sales were the highest since the merger of Molson and Coors in 2005. The company’s stock was trading down Tuesday as the revenue number was below expectations, despite higher-than-expected profits. AB InBev will report its second-quarter earnings on Thursday.

Molson Coors boosting marketing spend by $100 million to capitalize on gains made against Bud Light

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