SMC x Molson Coors

Overview:

Molson Coors is a multinational drink and brewing company that produces numerous brands including Vizzy Hard Seltzer which was the focus of this project. SMC partnered with Molson Coors on a 4-month project led by Senior Project Director; Salonee Singh, Project Directors; Shiraz Sigouin and Nick Green, and supported by Consultants; Taylor Johnson, Ethan Carley, Ella Tran, and Mandy Soung.

Problem:

The goal of this project was to create, select, and lead a brand ambassador program for Vizzy Hard Seltzer at Queen’s University. The SMC team gathered internal and external data to understand the nature of the seltzer market at Queen’s University including current competitors, their market share, and brand presence.

Solution:

SMC created a 3-phase breakdown for this project. SMC collected internal data through a 33-question survey, with 147 respondents distributed primarily to Queen’s University undergraduate students. Phase 1&2 was conducted simultaneously and consisted of creating a Competitor Analysis slide deck on brand ambassador programs at Queen’s, as well as a Target Market Report highlighting key insights and recommendations from the market research survey. Phase 3 consisted of selecting and launching the brand ambassador program. The survey gathered data on students’ awareness, purchase, and consumption behaviors of Vizzy Hard Seltzer, and its competitors. The survey also collected data on student’s perception and engagement with various brand ambassador programs at Queen’s University.

Impact:

SMC made numerous recommendations that focused on best practices for creating and selecting brand ambassadors, as well as how to leverage the network of the selected brand ambassadors to meet the client’s objectives. The market research survey led SMC to recommend a selection of brand ambassadors with mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive networks. Based on the market research survey, it was evident that Cottage Springs is the dominant player in the seltzer market with both high rates of awareness and consumption. Conversely, Vizzy Hard Seltzer reported to be high in awareness relative to their competitors, but lower in consumption. Therefore, SMC recommended best practices for utilizing the brand ambassadors to drive purchase intent by fostering a community around Vizzy Hard Seltzer through sponsorship opportunities, house gatherings, social media posts wearing its merchandise, and featuring beverages, as well as distributing Vizzy Hard Seltzer drinks for students to try.