How Molson Coors uses creative ways to collect first-party data

In its quest to collect first-party data, Molson Coors has an advantage over a lot of marketers—and it involves plenty of beer swag.

The brewer in recent months has given away or sold everything from Miller High Life-branded gingerbread "dive bar" kits to “shoezies”—beer holders in the shape of a shoe co-branded by Miller Lite and New Balance. The giveaways, which have also included a backyard dive bar set valued at $15,000, typically involve sweepstakes in which consumers trade personal information for the chance to win.

“It’s a value exchange,” said Sofia Colucci, the brewer’s global VP of marketing for its Miller family of brands. “We are clear we want to get to know our consumers better. And we are giving them something valuable. In our case, it's pretty cool because we can give everything from beer to amazing swag.”

Colucci discusses the strategy on the latest edition of Ad Age’s Marketer’s Brief podcast, where she also dives into other topics, such as how the brewer is experimenting with the metaverse and how it views multicultural marketing. 

The brewer’s biggest metaverse play to date came during the Super Bowl, when it opened a virtual bar in Decentraland where viewers could watch its game-day ad that poked fun at many of the staples of Super Bowl advertising.

Colucci said the metaverse campaign drew 1.5 billion earned media impressions, and the virtual bar drew 40,000 visitors who stayed an average of 20 minutes.

“There is an insane amount of chatter about the metaverse right now,” she said. But “what I think is really important when you are getting into these spaces is to do it in a way that makes sense for your brand—and your brand has a clear role.”

Metaverse and Web3 glossary—key words and terms brands need to know

The brewer’s more recent marketing moves include expanding its relationship with music superstar J Balvin. He is featured in a campaign called “Es Jose Time” that Molson says is its “biggest push ever to court Latino drinkers.” The effort was recently expanded to include national distribution of specially packaged Miller Lite aluminum pints with a design that features J Balvin’s signature lightning bolt.

Colucci said the brand first introduced the cans to distributors last September. “It was met with such an enthusiastic response that we decided to go even bigger with it,” she said. “People love it just because it feels modern and vibrant and edgy and just because it's bringing a whole new look to Miller Lite.”