• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, June 25, 2008

A new ad campaign from Corona Extra aims to leverage and expand the brand's bond with the entire U.S. Latino community.

Previous Hispanic ad efforts by Corona have focused on using the brand's Mexican heritage to create an emotional link with Mexican-Americans. Now, the brand is seeking to convey that "Corona is not only a brand that represents Mexicans, but an iconic brand that symbolizes all Latinos' success," in the words of Guillermo Gutierrez, director of Hispanic marketing for Crown Imports, Corona's U.S. importer.

"With the total Hispanic population continuing to grow and diversify, and with our distribution expansion to the East Coast, it was important to ensure that our message resonates with non-Mexican Hispanics as well," Gutierrez told Marketing Daily.

The Spanish-language TV campaign that keystones the new multimedia effort for the country's number one imported beer is themed "Nuestro Orgullo. Nuestra Cerveza" ("Our Beer. Our Pride."), and showcases Latinos celebrating their culture and successful lifestyles.

Developed by Hispanic agency Casanova Pendrill, the TV campaign includes two 30-second spots--one featuring scenes of Latino athletes winning at baseball, boxing and soccer, and the other celebrating Latino music and traditions with vignettes from fiestas in New York, Los Angeles and San Antonio. The spots will run on Univision, Telemundo and Telefutura through the end of the year.

Supporting media--also all-Spanish-language and also created by Casanova Pendrill--include radio commercials that will be rotated in 46 spot markets, including emerging markets in Washington, North Carolina, Minnesota and Philadelphia. Radio spots feature jingles tailored for each station's genre, including a story of the "King of the Grill" set to a fusion of hip-hop and cha cha cha music.

Out-of-home, targeted print and retail promotions with regional focus will appear in key markets. The creative for these media also showcase Latino pride. Images include charros (Mexican cowboys) competing next to traditional cowboys and an oversized Corona neon sign lighting up Miami Beach nightlife.

In addition, Corona Extra is continuing its sponsorship of the Latin Grammy Award winner Alejandro Fernandez's U.S. tour as part of the Conexión Corona concert series. The sponsorship is supported by an integrated retail campaign and radio added-value promotions.

The broader Latino outreach strategy and creative approach was based less on research than on "what's happening in the streets," Casanova Pendrill creative director Elias Weinstock says. "Corona has gone from being a Mexican beer to being a beer widely adopted by Latinos. It's everywhere in the Latino community."

Gutierrez declined to specify the brand's planned total ad spend for this year, but reported that it will be "up slightly" over 2007, stressing the significantly expanded number of creative executions involved in the new campaign. He also said that the new strategy/campaign will continue through 2009.

Corona Extra's U.S. sales in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers (excluding Wal-Mart) rose by 6.4% to $489.6 million in 2006, as its case sales rose by 4.7%, to 18.3 million, according to Information Resources, Inc., the Chicago-based market research firm. However, the brand's sales declined slightly (0.9%) to $484.9 million last year, with case sales down 5.9% to 17.3 million.