Blokey beer is not trending. So SABMiller is focussing much of its attention on the top tier of the beer market.
In 2014, SABMiller’s marketing director, Nick Fell, stated that the brewer was keen to change beer’s image from "just a drink for guys watching sport" to something that paired well with certain foods or appealed to more women.
The company has already launched two new premium beers in key beer markets. Its upcoming “gourmet” beer launch is expected to be global.
In September, SABMiller’s Brand Union Madrid launched 507, a new premium beer for Panama. The new beer was crafted under the guidance of master brewer, Galaxis Ardila, in collaboration with new wave chef, Mario Castellon.
The beer’s branding and packaging mimics the style of spirits brands. The name is through derived from the telephone dialling prefix through which Panama connects to the rest of the world. The bottle itself is embossed with a representation of the Panama isthmus, and was created by famous Panamanian artist, Cisco Merel. The typography echoes Panama’s maritime heritage.
In India, it launched a new brand called Miller Ace, in response to changing tastes for strong beers and a willingness to pay more for premium brands.
“Many consumers were expressing the need to trade up to a world-class strong beer that would have the taste profile of a strong beer but comes with a premium brand and premium packaging. Miller Ace caters to that need,” SABMiller India marketing director, Darioush Afzali, stated in an interview during the launch.
Strong beer sales grew at a compounded rate of nearly 40% over the past two years, Afzali noted. “Premium strong beer has been growing even faster and this trend will continue for the foreseeable future so there’s a lot of opportunity there.”
In Australia, CUB launched yet another brand extension to its flagship Crown Lager, Crown Golden Ale, mid 2014 - even though the revamped brand had posted volume declines and received negative feedback about the change. Previous brand extensions, Crown Pilsner and Crown Gold, had also both failed to find a market. These two were launched prior to SABMiller acquiring the company.
SABMiller is currently looking for an advertising agency to launch its new global beer. SABMiller was part of the coalition of brewers that came together in 2013 for a marketing drive to rescue falling beer sales across Europe and is part of the UK initiative, Britain’s Beer Alliance.
