• by Larissa Faw , May 31, 2019

MillerCoors is rejiggering its marketing approach to its largest brand, Coors Light. The company has appointed a handful of agency partners to work on the brand after a review. In part the new approach is designed to help bring drinkers back to beer. 

Leo Burnett will serve as lead agency for the Coors Light brand, succeeding incumbent 72andSunny, which did not participate in the review.. The Publicis-owned agency will oversee creative and brand strategy while sibling agency Arc remains the retail activation agency for all MillerCoors national brands.

A broader roster of agencies — including Miller Lite lead agency DDB, part of Omnicom, Arc, Connect at Publicis, ICF Next and others — will be charged with “generating breakthrough ideas to help the brand connect with consumers,” says Ryan Reis, vice president of the Coors family of brands. “This isn’t about which agency is doing what. The focus is on giving this brand the best ideas out there to help move it forward,” Reis says on the MillerCoors blog.

This roster of agencies will work alongside MillerCoors Chief Marketing Officer Michelle St. Jacques to deliver on three priorities. 

First, there will be a "ruthless" focus on recruiting new beer customers, especially among younger drinkers. Second, help build a brand “that more people want to hang out with." 

Also, these agencies are tasked with developing “bolder and faster” new ideas, per the CMO. 

“We will buy brave, awesome ideas,” said St. Jacques. “Brands matter, especially in the beer industry. What you have in your hand or bring to a party matters. So we need big ideas that bring drinkers back to beer and get them excited about our brands again. And I know we can do that.”

First work from the new agencies will launch this summer.

Leo Burnett's appointment shifts the assignment back to Chicago, where MillerCoors is based. 72andSunny, based in Los Angeles, shocked industry insiders when it landed the business in 2015.   

MillerCoors is a joint venture between SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing Co.