Brand Watch: Molson Coors Celebrates with Drizly

The summer selling season was the perfect time for Molson Coors Beverage Co. to highlight one of its hard seltzer brands on the Drizly platform.

In August 2022, the manufacturer executed a delivery-forward brand activation to create awareness of Topo Chico hard seltzer on Drizly’s BevAlc e-commerce site. The program focused on hard seltzer versions of a raspado, or a Mexican-style shaved-ice drink, traditionally topped with fruit, flavoring, syrup and various condiments.

“Topo Chico hard seltzer has an authentic legacy and tie to the Latin community, so crafting a raspado with this brand was a meaningful extension,” says Stephanie Spesia, senior marketing manager, e-commerce, at Molson Coors. As part of an agreement with The Coca-Cola Co., Molson Coors produces, distributes and markets Topo Chico hard seltzer.

The idea promoted both Drizly and the hard seltzer, furthering the partnership with Drizly and delivering excitement for the consumers, Spesia says. The target audience was Gen Z and Millennial consumers ages 21 through 34. These consumers are likely already familiar with using delivery platforms as a way to explore and experience new brands, she says.

Four unique raspado recipes were developed with a mixologist to align to four flavors within the Topo Chico hard seltzer variety pack. “The promotional assets — from recipes to media to photography — were developed to deliver a one-of-a-kind experience for our Drizly shopper,” Spesia says.

Molson Coors’ influencer partners, including @nibblesnfeasts, @cocktailsbyc and @Bad_Birdy, posted their own video on Instagram demonstrating how to create one of the raspado drinks. The paid influencers, earned media and recipe-focused ads on Facebook drove drinkers to a Topo Chico hard seltzer brand page on Drizly. This is where Molson Coors staged a sweepstakes to drive awareness of the hard seltzer and its delivery availability via Drizly. For a chance to win a raspado party at home, participants were asked to text “Raspado” to a dedicated number or visit TCHSRaspado.com.

The program resulted in a 3.5% increase in dollar share of seltzer during the program timeframe and an increase of 2.5% dollar share of seltzer in the four weeks post-program, Spesia says. Paid media delivered 136 million impressions, which was three times the benchmark. There was also an 83% message penetration, which exceeded the benchmark by 13%.

Nicole Werner, customer marketing manager, e-commerce, and Bill Holland, associate marketing manager, e-commerce, partnered with Stephanie Donelson, associate marketing manager of the Topo Chico hard seltzer brand team, to ideate and execute the program.