May 1, 2005 12:00 PM, Patricia Odell

• CAMPAIGN: Tecate Tu Musica…Tu Pasion
• AGENCY: EastWest Creative
• CLIENT: InBev USA/Tecate

Refreshing a brand's image can be tricky, but for Tecate, music became the passion that moved the needle on distribution and sales in key Hispanic markets.

Labatt USA, along with promotion agency EastWest Creative, turned to Latin music in a partnership with Virgin Music and EMI, which provided Latino artists, to create an incentive for young (drinking age) Hispanics to take a fresh look at its Mexican import brand while spotlighting popular Hispanic musical artists. The goal was two-fold: to get Tecate represented in a store environment other than the typical grocery and liquor stores and to introduce the brand to younger Latinos.

“Tecate as a brand is very familiar to Mexican expatriates and really first generation Latinos,” said Simon Haddad, VP-group creative director, EastWest Creative, New York. “What we wanted to do was introduce it to the second and third generation Latinos, without alienating the first generation.”

The August 2004 promotion hit 34 key markets in Illinois, Ohio, Florida, Texas, California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado and New York and delivered an EMMA to New York-based EastWest Creative in the Recorded Music Category.

The promotion, Tu Musica…Tu Pasion! (Your Music…Your Passion!), focused on a $5 rebate by mail on the purchase of Latin music from the Virgin stores or through VirginMega.com.

In-store, Tecate sponsored the Latin music listening station in each of 21 Virgin Megastores, backlit with branded images. Tabletop units and bag stuffers at checkout detailed a savings of $5. Rebate forms and music clips were available at the Tecate Web site., cervezatecate.com. At the Ontario, CA, Megastore, Tecate co-sponsored in-store appearances of EMI recording artist Chuy Jr. who appeared with the Tecate Chicas (scantily dressed young women) and passed out Tecate key chains and CD rebate forms.

During the promotion, Andres Siefken, the senior brand manager for Tecate, told EastWest Creative, “the most important thing is the unique relationship between both brands and the exposure generated in non-traditional places during the promotional time.”

Tecate, which has since been sold to Heineken USA, received +3.7% growth during the promotional period, as total beer was down 1.9% and total imports were down 4.9%, the agency said.

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