How ‘cart-stopper’ displays help sell beer ahead of Super Bowl stock-up

From MolsonCoors & Alex Parker:

When the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles face off Feb. 12 in the Super Bowl, one thing’s for certain: Beers will be consumed. zzubreebym

Fans are already stocking up for the big game, and with more than half purchasing their beer the week prior to the game, retailers have a huge opportunity to stop shoppers in their tracks with floor displays, says Andrew McGuire, chief commercial solutions officer for Molson Coors Beverage Company.

“One thing we know for sure is displays disrupt people’s shopping habits,” he says. “When you’re walking through the store with a huge beer display, it’s going to be a cart-stopper.”

And, McGuire says, it often compels consumers to buy.

“Displays add significant lift, particularly in premium lights,” he says.

Displays are most often the reason shoppers make unplanned beer purchases, and more than half of shoppers say they buy beer from a display on at least half of their trips, according to consumer data compiled and analyzed by Molson Coors. Plus, IRI data show, displays are proven to grow shoppers’ basket size.

As Molson Coors prepares to air its first national Super Bowl ad in more than 30 years, it’s bundling Coors Light and Miller Lite together in a retail display that also promotes Coors Banquet, Vizzy Hard Seltzer and Blue Moon Belgian White.

The “High Stakes Beer Ad” retail promotion is co-branded with Draft Kings and offers fans a chance to win a cut of $500,000 for correctly guessing elements of the Super Bowl commercial. Details of the campaign were unveiled over the weekend after weeks of mystery.

“It’s been a really exciting and interesting sell because of lot of it has been pretty secretive. Not often can you say, ‘Hey, trust us, this will be awesome,’” McGuire says. “But people have trusted us, and we’ve gotten amazing pickup from distributors and retailers.”

The display is unique for Molson Coors in that it’s combining multiple brands in one promotion. But this is no ordinary display – this is for the Super Bowl. And with Miller Lite and Coors Light teaming up, the three other brands are poised to benefit from their moment near the spotlight, says Sherry Courtney, Molson Coors’ vice president of shopper marketing.

“These brands fit the occasion, and we’re saying we’ve got something for everyone at your big game party,” she says. “Especially at larger occasions, it’s comforting for shoppers to know they can make decisions to please everyone. Plus, we know consumers drink across segments.”

And Vizzy? It’s preferred by football fans over any other hard seltzer brand, according to research commissioned by Molson Coors. And with 66% of shoppers saying they’ll reach for hard seltzers or flavored alcohol beverages ahead of the game, according to the same research, that presents a huge opportunity for retailers, Courtney says: “We’re meeting the needs of a lot of different shoppers.”

With most shoppers stocking up this week, the right displays could push retailers across the goal line.

“We want to make history in those 30 seconds, but at the end of the day, we can make history at retail, too,” McGuire says. “We can do that with huge displays, and really knock consumers’ socks off.”