2021 Winner

CASE SUMMARY

THE CHALLENGE
For decades, Molson Canadian proudly claimed the Canadian mantle as the only beer with the country’s name on the label. As a result, Canadians proudly held a Molson, making them the number one selling beer across the nation; that is, until global competitors started to outspend, steal share and saturate the market.

Tragically, Molson went from the number one selling beer in Canada to number two as Budweiser (an American beer) took the top spot. This made Canada one of the only countries in the world where our highest selling beer is an import.

The challenge was for Molson to reclaim its leadership position and get Canadians to question why they weren’t buying Canadian beer in order to drive a wedge between our biggest competitor, Budweiser.

INSIGHT
With the rise of the craft beer movement slowly eroding Big Beer’s reputation, consumers have been presented with the opportunity and new reason to question their beer choice: macro or micro? Import or local? Armed with this insight, Rethink set out to do the unthinkable: make Canada’s #1 selling beer Canadian, even if it isn’t Molson. The agency decided to ask Canadian brewers across the country to join the brand on an ambitious mission to overtake Budweiser in support of Canadian beer.

EXECUTION
Ten days before Canada Day, the agency launched on social and in print with a letter from the Molson family to announce the mission to #MakeItCanadian – a call to all to support Canadian brewed beer with The Most Canadian Case ever: a case of beer filled with Canadian competitor brands, joining together for the good of Canadian beer.
In just nine days after launch, over 43 brewers from across Canada raised their hands to collaborate with Molson and join the case. From confusing legal agreements to complicated supply chain logistics, everything was handled in real-time and made ready for Canada Day.

The campaign ran on TV, OLV, and social. The social platforms served as the playground for real-time custom invites that allowed the agency to reach out to (and playfully challenge) breweries and all Canadians across the nation to join the movement.

Finally, on July 1st, it was time to actually start selling a case of beer full of brands that weren’t Molson via delivery apps and e-commerce across the country. We even let the brewers keep the money. Why? Because Molson is Canadian, and that’s the Canadian thing to do.

RESULTS
Everyone wanted a piece of the Canadian case, including celebrities. Sales increased 11%. PR and Social impressions exceeded 31MM, and with Molson Canadian’s share of voice in the category up from 15% to 71%, it overtook Budweiser for the first time in four years.

The campaign generated over 85 million impressions and over one million dollars in earned media, helping Molson dethrone the king of beers in the hearts and minds of Canadians and make Molson Canadian matter.

Credits

Chief Creative Officer: Aaron Starkman
ECD: Mike Dubrick
CSO: Sean McDonald
Head of Art: Joel Holtby
Creative Director: Dhaval Bhatt
Art Director: Zachary Bautista, Patrick Shing, Natasha Michalowska
Designer: Brandon Methner
Writer: Allan Topol, Justin Santelli
Strategist: Julian Morgan, Sean McDonald
Broadcast Producer: Anna Tricinci
Digital Producer: Todd Harrison, Kyle Hicks
Print Producer: Narine Artinian
Editor: Alex Fleming
Animation House: Gimmick Studio
On-Line: Gimmick Studio
Printer: ProPrint Services Inc.
Audio House: Vapor Music
Audio Director: Ted Rosnick
Audio Engineer: Ryan Chalmers
Group Account Director: Karim Tubbeh, Niki Sahni
Account Manager: Megan Christopher
PR Agency: Citizen
Senior Director: Joe Cariati
Senior Account Manager: Kimberly Riddell
Media Agency: Wavemaker
Strategy Manager: William Hart
Strategy Director: Jared Aldridge
Community Management: We Are Social
Editorial Director: Jaclyn Lacroix
Associate Art Director: Claire Tremblay
Community Manager: Jasmin Husain