Molson Karaoke Jam

2001 Best of Show/Alcoholic Beverage Promotional Campaign-Gold
This promotion really had the PROMO! Awards judges singing its praises. Not only was the concept unique and on-target, but it also helped increase sales of Molson's two main brands-Molson Dry and Molson Export-in the Quebec market during last year's Christmas holiday season.

The Molson Karaoke Jam promotion was designed with three objectives in mind: From a quantitative perspective, it was intended to increase sales of Molson's two key brands during the holiday season. In terms of qualitative objectives, it was meant to reinforce the equity of each brand without exploiting its unique positioning and demonstrate Molson's generosity and involvement with consumers during the holidays.

The promotion offered consumers a one-in-five chance of winning a karaoke videocassette by peeling off a coupon inside specially marked cases of 24 Molson Dry or Molson Export. The videocassette contained 10 popular songs-five in English and five in French-with the words scrolling across images matched to each song.

The promotion employed a number of media vehicles for support, including television and radio spots, radio promotion, promotional packaging, point-of-purchase materials (including displays, banners, streamers and prize cards), and a Web site component. The 30-second TV spots played on the idea that "Molson Karaoke Jam" was the perfect solution to boring holiday parties, while the Web site encouraged users to record their karaoke performances and send them to friends via e-mail. The best performances were rewarded with karaoke kits consisting of a videocassette, T-shirt and cap. Similarly, radio listeners of COOL-FM, CKOI-FM and CHOI-FM were also invited to record their performances online. Callers were randomly chosen to perform live on the air and were rewarded with karaoke kits and were eligible for a trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Overall, the promotion posted strong results. Combined sales of Molson Dry and Molson Export increased by 3.34% during the holiday period between November 2000 and January 2001, over the year before. Market share for both brands equalled the previous year's share during the same period. That's no mean feat given that the brewer's previous holiday promotion-the 2000 beer mug-resulted in a 15% increase in sales.

Almost 60,000 videocassettes were claimed, a claim rate in excess of 30%. The result is impressive given that consumers had to pick up the prize themselves at 161 participating branches of Le SuperClub Vidéotron.

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