Secretary of State Brings Home 24 Canadians

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry found himself to be the proud owner of a case of Molson Canadian Thursday after settling a bet with Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird.

The pair had wagered cases of beer over who would win the women’s world hockey championship and the US came through on Tuesday with a 3-2 win. Baird will have to live without the case of Sam Adams, brewed in Kerry’s home state of Massachusetts, that would have been coming to him. 

They made the exchange in London, where they are holed up for the G8 conference, leading one to wonder if they each always travel with a case of brewskis—just in case.Continue reading...

They "tend to drink beer more often at restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues, and they like to consume large volumes over a short period of time."

That quote was not about beer consumption habits among US college students, but about those of the Chinese. Speaking to The China Daily, Carlsberg China CEO Stephen Maher described China's market for beer in that oldest of Chinese tropes: "a challenge and an opportunity."

One such opportunity is a familiar one to foreigners in China: the chance for a schlub to be a star -- just for being foreign. 

Not many in the west would ever describe Budweiser as a luxury beer brand, but in China, it's a premium label retailing for more than twice some of its competitors. A spokesperson for Bud parent InBev told Bloomberg that the "premiumization trend continues with double-digit growth and Budweiser is further consolidating its leading position within this segment.” Continue reading...

Is "consultability" part of your brand's marketing campaign? Is that a remarkably dumb question that makes no sense at all?

If you said "yes" to the second question you might take interest in the saga of Budweiser's failed "Drinkability" campaign and the subsequent report from Ad Age depicting the petty infighting as all involved scrambled to assign blame (elsewhere). The story also wonders if an increasing, maybe unnecessary, reliance on consultants is hurting brands. Then again, consultants may just be getting scapegoated... as expected. Continue reading...