You know it’s about to be football season when influx of beer sponsorships and ad campaigns launch simultaneously. In last coupla, Heineken USA launched digital/social focused campaign for “College Football College,” MC announced Coors Light will become “first-ever official beer sponsor” of ESPN’s College Game Day, and AB made Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer the “official hard seltzer sponsor of the NFL.”

Coors Light: “The Official Beer of Saturday Mornings” MC will tie in Coors Light “Made to Chill” campaign with College Game Day programming for “football-focused television ads” with tagline “The Official Beer of Saturday Morning,” airing thruout live games on ESPN and ABC, co shared on Behind the Blog. Coors Light will also be featured in segment called “Coors Light Saturday Selections,” where hosts make gameday picks. Each week, Coors Light will host “series of events and activations in the run-up to Saturdays” in new host city. And co investing in “targeted local media buys, including collaborative posts on social media with ‘College GameDay’ co-host (and longtime Coors Light partner) Kirk Herbstreit” as well as custom Coors Light GameDay Snapchat filter. “We’ve obviously made large investment[s] in college football over the years,” but “this sponsorship gives us overarching reach across the country on a trusted platform,” sez vp of Coors brand family Ryan Reis. Coors Light has over 30 sponsorship deals with universities, including big college football schools like Ohio State, Texas and Alabama among others, AdAge detailed separately.

Dos Equis Launches Digital/Social Focused Campaign: “College Football Football College” Then too, Heineken USA’s Dos Equis brand continues its run as official beer sponsor for College Football Playoffs this yr with new campaign dubbed “College Football Football College,” co announced. HUSA tapped ex-NFL players Jay Cutler and Martellus Bennett, as well as ESPN analyst Katie Nolan and author John U Bacon, for ongoing “series of free online courses” that give fans an oppy to enroll for “a certificate in watching college football.” Ultimately, fans that take the “final exam” enter chance to win tix to the College Football Playoff National Championship in New Orleans. Co released ten “video lessons” taught by John Bacon along with promo videos from Martellus, Jay, and Katie as “faculty” members. Notably, campaign will not include TV spots, solely focusing on digital and social plus radio and out of home content, HUSA specified. Dos Equis will release limited-edition college football cans as well as pop-up experiences at various games thruout the season as well.

Bon & Viv Official Hard Seltzer of NFL; Bon & Viv Classic vs White Claw Pure Polygraph Test Hard seltzers continue to encroach on beer’s territory in new ways while gobbling up share. On top of AB’s Bon & Viv Super Bowl ads to kick off yr and 360 summer campaign across natl TV, local TV, social, digital and OOH, Bon & Viv will become “official Hard Seltzer Sponsor of the NFL,” co announced via Twitter video with ESPN’s Adam Schefter. This is first time NFL will have an “official” hard seltzer. Indeed, even as Bon & Viv falls further behind White Claw and Truly in hard seltzer arms race, AB continues to throw big money its way. Bon & Viv will host parties in select Chicago bars on Sep 5, the first NFL Sunday of the season, featuring Bon & Viv Classic (unflavored) on draught. At same time, AB released video of consumers doing competitive taste tests of Bon & Viv Classic versus White Claw Pure, calling it the “ultimate #SeltzerShowdown.” Of 50 consumers asked which brand they preferred while hooked up to a polygraph lie detector, 46 “either preferred Bon & Viv Classic over White Claw Pure or were caught lying about their preference,” according to AB.

Bud Light and Cleveland Browns Rekindle “Victory Fridges” for “B.L. & Browns Appliance Superstore” Then too, AB lookin’ to rekindle some buzz from last year’s Bud Light “Victory Fridges” with Cleveland Browns, opening “B.L. & Browns Appliance Superstore – a decked out Browns-themed appliance superstore selling replica Victory Fridges in downtown Cleveland,” AB announced. Store will be open for just two days and fridges range from $199.99-$599.99, including “redemption code to stock the Fridge with Bud Light.” Co also partnered with WWE star, “The Miz” for “exclusive infomercial” that’ll air on local TV starting Aug 30.

OH is #6 US beer mkt and an especially tuff one in last 10 yrs. Total volume dropped 1.2 mil bbls, 14%.  And each of AB and MC dropped even faster as they lost share.  AB had truly dominant 58 share of biz back in 2008.  Ten yrs later, it had lost 6.9 share, but still over half the biz at 51.1.  AB biz fell 1.2 mil bbls, 24% in 10 yrs.  (No wonder AB sought to buy a craft brewer in that state, choosing Platform this summer.)  MC lost far less share. Down 2.2 share to 27.4 over course of a decade. But it too lost 514K bbls, 20% of its volume.  Constellation put up strong 72% gain in a decade.  But it’s still less than 4 share in state (3.7 in 2018).  HUSA lost 20% of its biz too and now only at 1.5 share in state. Pabst lost over 100K bbls, 41% of its biz in OH in a decade. Dropped 1 share, from 3 to 2.  The big gainer: All Others (principally craft until recent explosion of Mike’s).  All other suppliers more than doubled.  Gained 550K bbls in 10 yrs to 1.06 mil bbls.  And jumped over 8 share.  

Find more great state-level info like this in our latest special report Ten Years After. You’ll get shipments and share in 2008, 2013 and 2018 for AB, MC, Constellation, Heineken USA, Pabst and All Others for 42 states in 9 regions. And that’s just one piece of this exclusive report. Take a peek at what’s inside and order your digital copy today for just $200.

Some of wild 2019 changes in US beer biz look perhaps even more pronounced in OH scan data this yr (not including c-stores), a state that has already undergone radical changes in mkt (see below).  Like Mike’s. Yup, them again.  Mike’s volume nearly doubled, up 92% and $$ sales up 88% YTD thru Aug 10 in OH Nielsen xAOC data from Black Apple Consulting. Data set doesn’t include convenience, so understates AB share and other mkt forces. 

Mike’s at 5.8 share of $$ YTD in Nielsen xAOC.  That’s bigger than STZ (5.3) and Boston Beer (5.0), more than 2x as big as Heineken, Diageo, Yuengling and FIFCO.  Constellation still growing, but markedly slower here.  Volume up just 2.9% in OH, $$ up 5%.   Boston Beer up 12%. Without c-stores, AB share of $$ just 1/3. But its $$ sales up slightly in this data set, while volume down 1.4%. And MC $$ down 3%, but volume down 5.6%. Seltzers at 7.7 share of $$ YTD in OH Nielsen xAOC.  

Japanese brewer Asahi’s “buying spree” in recent yrs, including 2 big deals with ABI, prompted Financial Times to observe that chief exec Akiyoshi Koji “took his rival’s [AB InBev’s Carlos Brito] crown as the king of M&A, at least in Asia.”  In wake of $11.3 bil Asahi agreed to pay ABI for its Australian biz, Asahi just tacked on Australian craft brewer Green Beacon.  Recall, Asahi bought rights to Peroni, Grolsch and other brands in Europe from ABI for $2.9 bil in 2016 after the SABMiller Deal.  It also bought Fuller’s brewing biz in Britain.  All in, since becoming prexy of Asahi in 2016, “Mr. Koji has overseen a cultural shift at Asahi as it transformed from a conservative, domestically focused brewer into an aggressive dealmaker with an astounding record of $21 billion in the past three years alone.” 

Asahi has a long way to go to catch up with top 4 global brewers, not to mention ABI.  In 2018, Asahi shipped about 50 mil bbls, vs ABI 430 mil bbls.  Heineken was near 200 mil, Carlsberg and China Resources near 100 mil each.  Then too, Asahi’s EBITDA margin was 10% vs ABI’s near 40%.  For now, Asahi focused on paying down debt (over 4X EBITDA) and on core markets in Japan, Europe and Australia.  But Koji added that Asahi will “subsequently consider whether we will do further merger and acquisition deals.”  Asahi’s deal splurge, FT notes, “driven by the need to reduce its reliance on a deflationary and rapidly ageing home market, where domestic beer volumes have been falling for more than two decades.”  (Yes, it can get worse for US beer.) 

FT also points to irony stemming from Asahi relationship with ABI and a difference between the companies.  “As aggressive as the Japanese group’s deals have been, they have largely been dependent on AB InBev’s own struggle to digest its takeover of SABMiller,” FT noted.  And, while both brewers now focused on executing strategies to build their bizzes in current mkts, “where Asahi succeeded with its acquisitions in Europe was in retaining local management,” one analyst told FT.  “[Asahi] maintains the kind of relationship where it does not interfere too heavily, but it’s not just a hand-off investor,” she added.

Predictably perhaps, in wake of US Sup Ct insisting recently that state alc bev laws need to be grounded in public safety, not solely economic protectionism for in-state entities, safety issues spread across multiple discussions at this year’s Center for Alcohol Policy Conference. Once again, CAP drew notably wide range of attendees: beer distribs and state assn execs, regulators, supplier assns, attys, law enforcement and public health advocates. But “public safety,” and how alc bev laws can/should advance it, a common touchstone. Theme came up in session showing how alc bev law enforcement actions provide “value added benefits” as ABC investigations often uncover non-alc bev violations, from drug sales and gambling to money laundering and human trafficking. ABCs act as “force multiplier” for other local, state and fed enforcement groups, as one speaker observed. Then too, public safety a clear factor in ongoing support for alc bev laws, most recent CAP-sponsored national poll found: “In a number of key questions in the survey, the public expresses that alcohol-related problems are serious concerns and that health and safety should be at the forefront when lawmakers consider alcohol regulations,” New Bridge Strategy’s Lori Weigel noted in presenting poll results.

Mass AG Maura Healy sounded public safety theme in her keynote address, defending her state’s alc bev laws, Alc Bev Control Commission and role 3-tier system plays in protecting the public and assuring level playing field. What’s more, panels on “problem bars,” fraternity bans of hard liquor and lively cannabis debate also picked up on public safety themes.

Separate panel on aftermath of recent Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailer Assn vs Thomas (yup, name of case changed 3 times during litigation) showed even like-minded attys already have differing interpretations/spins. While panel moderator Brandon Denning noted decision dented alcohol’s “exceptionalism” under the law, atty John Neiman not so sure. He suggested even some residency laws still defendable depending on specifics and if some, perhaps very local public safety, interests supported by them. And distrib advocate Mike Madigan confident that state laws that require retailer brick and mortar presence will stand.

Classic Dist, an MC/HUSA distrib that sold off its Constellation biz yrs ago, now doubling down with deal to become much, much bigger.  It will buy Haralambos Bev Co, once more substantial as beer distrib, but for many yrs a leading NA brand-incubation distrib.  Classic purchase of Haralambos will mean it will nearly double in volume and become 14-15 mil cases, about half beer/half NA. (This news first reported in our sibling publication Beverage Business INSIGHTS.)  Deal expected to close Oct 11.  Classic also buying some smaller beer brands from Haralambos, totaling less than 100K cases.  And in Jun, Classic did deal with Ace in non-AB footprint and got some of its beer brands including Karl Strauss, Hanger 24.  With this deal, Classic will triple its customer base and extend far beyond its beer footprint.  Tho Classic reportedly previously explored merger and even sell scenarios, instead it’s buying and betting big on its beverage future.   

Constellation Brands govt filing today acknowledged that it expected to record a loss of $54.8 mil in latest qtr on leading Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth.  But mkt mostly shrugged that off (perhaps already built in). Constellation Brands stock up yesterday, tho down about same amount today.

Corona Premier passed Corona Familiar in Constellation Brands Beer Division portfolio for last 12 weeks, but still behind fading Corona Light. Corona Premier $$ sales jumped $7.1 mil, 12% to $66 mil in IRI multi-outlet + convenience for 12 weeks thru Aug 11, while Corona Familiar up $3.7 mil to $60.9 mil. Familiar still $20 mil ahead yr-to-date.  Just slightly bigger than either of those last 12 weeks is Corona Light, down $9.1 mil, 11% to $72.6 mil.  Corona Refresca not in top 100 brands in IRI.

Certainly weather is a factor, but still some disheartening numbers for beer so far this yr in big midwestern states.  OH shipments down 205K bbls, 4.6% thru Jul, according to Beer Institute data.  Similarly, IL down 196K bbls, 4%, IN down 98K bbls, 4.4%, MI  down 153K bbls, 4.3%.  WI did the best ot the bunch. Down 73K bbls, 2.6%.  Those 5 states down 725K bbls yr-to-date.  IN, MI and OH all had double digit drops in Jul. Yikes.  Hope it gets better from here.

Mike’s Hard Lemonade Co, fueled by White Claw, grew $$ sales 93% for 4 weeks thru Aug 18 in Nielsen all outlet.  It grabbed 5 share of $$, up 2.3, with White Claw franchise at 3.1 share, also up 2.3. And that’s with what now are huge out-of-stocks as White Claw sales continue to explode.  One large distrib who told us a few weeks back that its White Claw supply almost kept up with demand, now sez his distrib could have sold 3x as much last week as it did, and it was up more than 500%.  “Inventory has tightened considerably with another significant step change in seltzer category growth the last 60 days,” acknowledged Mike’s prexy Phil Rosse, “in conjunction with our continued category share growth….   We are working around the clock to increase supply both short term and heading into 2020.” Meanwhile,  White Claw had 3 of top 10 growth brands in latest 4 weeks in Nielsen. Boston Beer $$ also up 30% last 4 weeks and it gained 0.7 share, with Truly franchise up 0.9.  So top 2 seltzer franchises up 3.2 share of $$ last 4 weeks, while missing sales!!

Constellation and AB Now Losing Share Above Premium  Constellation Brands Beer Division continued solid growth even as it has missed out on seltzer phenom.  Its $$ sales up 11.5% for 4 weeks and it gained 0.8 share (compared to 1.0 yr-to-date). But #1 share player in high end now losing share of above-premium segments.   Mike’s gained 3.6 share of above premium volume in Nielsen all-oulet last 4 weeks, and 2.0 yr-to-date.  CBBD lost 0.4 share of above premium volume for 4 weeks and high end share up 0.3 yr-to-date.  AB lost 1 full share of above premium in last 4 weeks and now just even YTD.  MC down 0.7 share of above premium for 4 weeks, slightly better than down 0.8 yr-to-date.  For 4 weeks, above premium volume grew 11.6% and gained 3.7 share to 41.1, while above premium $$ up 13.2%, gained 3.8 share to 54.4.  With White Claw and Truly over 80 share of hard seltzers and up 3.2 share, almost all of that extraordinary 3.8 share of $$ high end growth is seltzer.