E-Malt.com News article: USA: Miller Brewing Co. started promotion for low price Miller beer

Star Telegram published November 10 that a new ad campaign by Miller Brewing Co. embraces Miller High Life's emphasis on value, saying it's OK to savor a lower priced brew.

Milwaukee-based Miller, the nation's second largest brewer, targeted affluent 20-somethings with an ongoing ad campaign that proclaims Miller Genuine Draft is a "grown up" beer for drinkers who want the better things in life.

But that campaign missed older drinkers, typically 35-year-olds with kids, who still want a low-priced brew, said Tom McLoughlin, marketing director for Miller High Life.

With sales of domestic beer dropping, the company can't afford to leave out prospective customers.

On November 10th Miller launched new television ads in 14 markets in the Midwest, including Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio. The ads feature a delivery man removing Miller High Life from a bistro, dance club and other highbrow establishments, saying the brew doesn't belong there.

People can't have the finer things in life all the time and have to balance their purchases, McLoughlin said.

"As much as people trade up to experience more luxury goods, they can't do that all the time," he said. "There are places where you have to trade down."

Miller is banking on Miller High Life to help it offset a decline in U.S. sales. Its parent company, London-based SABMiller PLC said November 09 that U.S. volume was down 2.6 percent overall in the first six months of the year.

But sales of light value-priced beer have been up the past few years, according to a new report by research firm Mintel. Sales of both Miller High Life Light and Busch Light were up about 4 percent from 2004 to this year, while sales of the full-calorie equivalents were down about 6 percent each, the report said.

With sales of imports and crafts up about 11 percent in the first half of this year, Miller's new campaign shows the company is trying to capitalize on any growth trend it finds, said Eric Shephard, executive editor of the trade publication Beer Marketer's Insights. In this case, it's value-priced beer.

"Any kind of little bit of apparent change, even if they're not real, tends to get people reacting," Shephard said. "These could be short trends, but people have looked at it."

The new spots for Miller High Life could be the first of many, McLoughlin said. All three spots feature a delivery man who becomes indignant at the cost of items in establishments selling the beer. In the bistro clip, he looks at a menu, sees that burgers cost $11.50 and then hauls away cases of the beer.

"This beer is about helping people live the high life," he says. "It's a good honest beer at a tasty price."

McLoughlin said Miller believes some consumers don't really want to pay for higher-priced brews. A six-pack of High Life sells for about $4.99 in the Midwest, while Miller Genuine Draft goes for about $1 more.

"We want to call people on that and show them there's a way they can live the high life and that we rail against pretentiousness," he said.

Christy Brinnehl, a beverage analyst with Mintel Customs Solutions, said people tend to stick to beers in one price range. The ads aren't likely to convince people to switch to Miller's economy brew, but they could help reinforce attitudes among existing customers, she said.

The image of the delivery driver ought to resonate with those drinkers, many of whom are working class - and that's a smart move, Brinnehl said.

"I think that sometimes when the manufacturers are always targeting those affluent, younger 20s people who just started drinking," she said, "they're kind of leaving out those older drinkers or baby boomers."


15 November, 2006