Molson Coors Deploys ‘Cart-Stopper’ Displays Ahead of Super Bowl
As football fans stock up for the Big Game on Feb. 12, Molson Coors Beverage Co. is betting on floor displays to grab shoppers’ attention in the physical store.
In a January post to its blog, Andrew McGuire, chief commercial solutions officer for Molson Coors, said retailers have a huge opportunity to entice shoppers in stores the week prior to the Super Bowl, when the majority of beer purchasing occurs.
“One thing we know for sure is displays disrupt people’s shopping habits,” McGuire said. “When you’re walking through the store with a huge beer display, it’s going to be a cart-stopper. Displays add significant lift, particularly in premium lights.”
As Molson Coors prepares to air its first national Super Bowl ad in more than 30 years, it’s uniting Coors Light and Miller Lite in a floor display also promoting Coors Banquet, Vizzy Hard Seltzer and Blue Moon Belgian White at participating retailers.
Affixed signage touts a “High Stakes Beer Ad” retail promotion co-branded with sports betting company Draft Kings, offering fans a chance to win a portion of $500,000 for correctly guessing elements of Molson’s secret Super Bowl commercial it teased in January.
Through an agreement with DraftKings, adults over 21 in the U.S. (except Virginia) could visit the DraftKings site or app beginning Jan. 29 to predict what will happen in Molson’s ad spot, such as the number of beers poured, the facial hair of the cast and the type of dog pictured behind the bar.
“It’s been a really exciting and interesting sell because of lot of it has been pretty secretive. Not often can you say, ‘Hey, trust us, this will be awesome,’” McGuire said. “But people have trusted us, and we’ve gotten amazing pickup from distributors and retailers.”
The manufacturer’s Super Bowl display combines multiple brands in one promotion, though it highlights Miller Lite and Coors Light. Molson anticipates the three other brands are poised to benefit from their moment near the spotlight, said Sherry Courtney, Molson Coors’ vice president of shopper marketing, in the blog post.
Vizzy, for example, offers an alternative to non-beer drinkers in the same spot. According to research commissioned by Molson Coors, 66% of shoppers said they’ll reach for hard seltzers or flavored alcohol beverages ahead of the game, which Courtney said presents a huge opportunity for retailers. “We’re meeting the needs of a lot of different shoppers,” she added.
Displays are most often the reason shoppers make unplanned beer purchases, according to separate consumer data compiled and analyzed by the manufacturer. More than half of shoppers say they buy beer from a display on at least half of their trips, giving brands and retailers a prime opportunity to appeal to shoppers.