When all my friends gather to watch Canada play in The World Juniour Hockey Championships, celebrate Canada Day, or cheer Canadian athletes on in the Olympics there is no doubt in my mind everyone will be drinking Molson Canadian. This clearly is not a coincidence. Molson has effectively positioned themselves as the beer of Canada through naming, patriotic commercials, and relevant promotions.
The most recognizable and arguably the most effective form of Molson’s patriotic marketing is the name, Molson Canadian. It is literally named after this country; it really does not get more patriotic than that. And if for some reason it was not clear to you where the beer is from after reading the name, the beer also features a maple leaf on it’s bottle/can (pictured below).
Picture Link: http://www.molsoncanadian.ca/en/Index.aspx
Branding is a major component for a company such as this, and to maintain brand equity they produce commercials such as the beer fridge commercial below. This commercial taps Canadian audiences by making them feel proud about their nationality with a fridge, which opens only with a Canadian Passport. People in the commercial are heard yelling, “Is anybody from Canada?” Next, it takes that proud feeling and relates it to their product when the fridge opens to a bunch of Molson Canadian Beer. It creates an identity for the beer. Promotions such as this create subconscious ties between the consumer and producer which arise largely during patriotic situations like Canada Day or a big Canadian hockey game.
Molson Canadian Beer Fridge Commercial
When seen by a foreigner, Molson Canadian may be seen as just another Canadian beer, but to a Canadian it is much more than that; it’s a national icon. Molson has positioned itself into Canada’s beer, through creative commercials, branding and many other promotional tactics.