• Bloomberg, Friday, February 26, 2010 11:11 AM

After 18 months of reduced advertising expenditures and discounting, the president of Diageo's U.S. unit says the marketer of Johnnie Walker Scotch, Captain Morgan rum and Smirnoff vodka is "stepping up activity pretty significantly." Larry Schwartz isn't saying how much the company will be spending, but he's ready to talk price with the "new consumer out there."

"We're spending more to convince them to pay another one or two dollars a bottle," Schwartz says. "The level of promotions has bottomed out." One target consumer will be middle-aged women, who reportedly account for 62% of vodka purchases made in stores. Diageo will run advertising and promotions in food and lifestyle Web sites such as NBC Universal Inc.'s "Today" show.

Andrew Cleary also reports that the distiller is launching an iPhone app that allows users to scan the barcode of a bottle of Smirnoff or Tanqueray gin and be shown cocktail recipes based on that liquor.

Read the whole story at Bloomberg »