1. CAROLINE LAND ◊ KELSEY LEMIEUR ◊ ELENA SANCHEZ

2. MillerCoors: Living the High Life
• 300 years of brewing
history
• 2nd largest beer company
in the United States—
captures 30% of market
• Portfolio that satisfies
every major segment—
premium light, premium
beers, craft & import, and
economy brands

3. “The Champagne of Beers”: A History
of Class
• Founded in 1855 by Frederick
Miller when he moved from
Germany to Milwaukee, WI.
• Referred to as ―champagne of
beers‖ because of high
carbonation
• Sold in miniature champagne
bottles and quickly became
one of nation’s top premium
beers
• Miller’s oldest brand

4. “It’s Miller time!”
• 1971 advertisement
campaign
• Told workers to call it a
day and relax (and
drink a few Millers, of
course).
• Since ―Miller Time‖--
Miller High Life has
ranked among the top
10 beer brands in the
United States.

5. A Crumbling Image
• Miller High Life sank to low
in 1993
• Lost out to Anheuser-
Busch’s premium line,
Budweiser in sales
• New rival brands were sub-
premium lines
• Miller Brewing bought by
SAB PLC (South African
Breweries) in 2002 to form
SAB Miller PLC

6. Brand Revitalization
• Unsuccessful attempts at
brand revitalization
(hyper-masculine, moon
maiden, ―the moments
we savor‖)
• 2007, partners with
Saatchi & Saatchi &
deploys ―Take Back the
High Life Campaign‖
• Overhauls image with
logo, icon, etc.

7. Giving Veterans a Piece of the High
Life
• Campaign started in 2011
• Miller High Life will donate 10¢
toward High Life Experiences
for returning vets for every High
Life cap or tab you drop off
• Bottle caps and beer can tabs
were collected at participating
retailers or customers could
mail them in
• Money raised went toward
paying soldiers’ way into
sporting events, concerts,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqKTdptr-c8 outdoor adventures and more

8. Reason for the Campaign
• To help ease veterans
back into civilian life
• Helps support our
troops while still
promoting their
product
• ―Recognizing our
troops is just common
sense‖

9. Miller Teams Up With IAVA
• Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans
of America
• In order for the vets to be able
to ―win a chance at the High
Life,‖ they first had to register
with the IAVA
• IAVA is a nonprofit,
nonpartisan organization that
supports vets of Iraq and
Afghanistan
– Benefits include: health,
employment, education and
community resources

10. IAVA
• Founded in 2004
• Its mission is to improve the lives of Iraq
and Afghanistan veterans and their
families
• Benefits of joining the IAVA:
– Health, employment, education and
community resources
• Over 200,000 member veterans and
supporters in US
• Charity Navigator, America’s largest
independent charity evaluator, awarded
IAVA 4 stars, its highest rating
• IAVA is also partners with TriWest
Healthcare Alliance, Southwest Airlines,
Citi

11. Advertising the Campaign
• Saatchi & Saatchi
• Multiple television commercials
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=OqKTdptr-c8
• Linked commercials to Facebook
• Large icon on Miller High Life’s
website
• Bottles had yellow ribbons on
caps
• In-store displays
• Miller Girls

12. Advertising the Campaign

13. A Bubbling Success: Awards
Effie Awards:
• 2 Silvers in Goodworks – Brands
and Beverages, Alcohol for
MillerCoors and IAVA
• 3 Golds for MillerCoors’ Miller
High Life ―1-Second Ad‖ in the
Alcoholic Beverage, David vs.
Goliath, and Media Idea
categories.

14. A Bubbling Success: Quantitative Data
• Gave over 4,000 veterans the ―high life‖ over
the summer
• Over $2 million donated over the past 2 years
• $1 million raised in cash and experiences
during 1st year
• Campaign will be repeated for 3rd year
• 21.9% increase in net income from 2009 (for
MillerCoors; data not available or Miller High
Life Specifically)

15. Improvements & Critiques
• Could have had a larger
social media push
• Quantitative data regarding
effect on sales?
• Discrepancy in numbers
between the IAVA site and
Miller High Life site ($1
miillion vs. $800,000)
• Terms and Conditions for
2012 campaign limit
maximum amount to be
donated

16. Conflicting Message? Alcoholism
and the Military
• Preexisting stigma for military
personnel and veterans
• Nearly 9,200 soldiers sought
treatment for alcohol abuse in
2009, a 56 percent increase
since the war in Iraq started.
• ―"I always knew I drank too much.
In retrospect, I was the poster
boy.‖- former General Stanley
Cherrie

17. Is beer as american as apple pie?
• Industry dominated by foreign
companies
• The largest American-owned
company is North American
Breweries, which controls 1.2%
of the market share with Magic
Hat and Genesee.
• Anheuser-Busch and
MillerCoors collectively
controlled 78.4% of the U.S.
market in 2011.

18. PATRIOTISM WITHIN THE
INDUSTRY
• ANHEUSER-BUSH • MILLERCOORS
• Partnered with MLB
VS.Partnered with IAVA
•
• Individual focused
• Family centric • Utilized traditional ―support
• Anheuser-Busch pledged our troops‖ rhetoric
to donate $100 to the • Disassociates and deflects
civic dissent
Folds of Honor Foundation
• rhetoric to persuade
• To provide scholarships for consumers into buying
military families of patriotic beer
deceased or disabled • redefine war as a means to
fight and save our troops.
members.

19. Conclusion/Overview
• Very positive to donate a portion of
sales to a cause such as helping
veterans
– Historically proven
• Overall it was a successful campaign
– Entering its 3rd year
• Area of improvement
– Transparency