Miller Lite & Guy Fieri Are Heating Up Summer Beer Sales

When they do, retailers can make sure Miller Lite is on the menu by participating in MillerCoors’ Guy Fieri “Get Grillin’ With Guy” program. The 2015 plan builds on the success of the partnership with the popular celebrity chef that helped boost Miller Lite volume for participating retailers in 2014.

“Miller Lite ‘Get Grillin’ With Guy’ delivered strong results in 2014, with plenty of interest from shoppers,” says Matt Dzarnowski, channel solutions director for MillerCoors. “We believe we are just getting started and have plenty of opportunity to build upon our partnership with Guy to further develop the program.”

Guy Got Sales Going in 2014

Get Grillin’ With Guy, introduced in Summer 2014, is a customizable, easy-to-activate program that allows retailers to modify promotions to fit their needs and objectives.

Compelling recipe content, video demonstrations and how-to tips from Guy Fieri inspire shoppers and drive purchase intent for Miller Lite.

“Our media team placed a digital buy to help launch and introduce the program to consumers [in 2014]. Additionally, we leveraged social media to introduce a new recipe every couple weeks,” Dzarnowski says. “Videos of Guy’s grilling tips were especially well received by visitors to the website and recipe downloads were very strong, too.”

The website attracted an average of 82,555 visitors per month, with the video content receiving more than 11 million views. The digital content increased purchase intent and improved brand health and awareness. Original Lite Can awareness increased; the number of shoppers who said they would take Miller Lite to a party grew; and the number of those who identified Miller Lite as a great tasting light beer also improved.¹

Most significantly for retailers, stores that executed Get Grillin’ With Guy grew Miller Lite volume during those time periods in comparison to their competitors.²

“When we created the Meijer Tail Greater program, the goal was to take tailgating to another level by offering our customers fantastic recipes with the brands they love for their game-time needs,” said Randy Stewart, group VP of merchandising for Meijer. “The hard work paid off because our customers really embraced the program, especially when we partnered with Miller Coors to offer an opportunity to see Guy Fieri.”

Meijer’s Miller Lite case volume was up 5.6 percent during the promotion according to internal MillerCoors data.

“Each retail execution was unique to our retail customer’s needs,” Dzarnowski explains.

“Integration into tailgate programs, burger bash programs and summer grilling programs was commonplace,” Dzarnowski adds. “Every execution was different than the next, which is what we were hoping to achieve. Miller Lite ‘Get Grillin’ With Guy’ is built with the flexibility to allow for customization across retail customers.”                                                                    

New Opportunities for 2015

The ability to customize Get Grillin’ With Guy to retailers’ local markets is a key element of the program. This year, there is room for even more customization thanks to new videos, recipes and coupons retailers can leverage to engage shoppers during the key summer entertaining season.

A new website, launching in April, will feature 15 new Cooking Tips & Tricks videos starring Fieri. According to Dzarnowski, the chef will share information about selecting the right fish or meat for the right meal, preventing barbecue sauce from burning, creating a great marinade, brining, pouring the perfect beer, making a perfect burger, and even drinking responsibly this summer.

The 2015 program also offers 26 new Miller Lite recipes, four new recipes for Leinenkugel’s side dishes, plus a customizable 16-page Summer Grilling Guide featuring brand recipes, coupons and grilling tips. Retailers can also take advantage of the Get Grillin’ With Guy mobile truck tour, which brings a replica of Fieri’s Camaro to participating stores.

Media will drive awareness of the Miller Lite-Guy Fieri partnership along the path to purchase in an impressive, omni-channel approach. Pre-shop components include retailer website integration, paid media with food-focused digital partners, Miller Lite brand website features, Guy Fieri website features, and social posts including tweets and re-tweets from Fieri, Dzarnowski says.

In-store execution support will include the Summer Grilling Guide, Guy Fieri point-of-sale, coupons, and the mobile truck tour, followed by social media posts encouraging shoppers to return to the website to look for content after they have left the store, Dzarnowski adds.

So as the first barbecues of the season approach, don’t miss out! With all of the in-store and online support, MillerCoors’ Guy Fieri Get Grillin’ With Guy program is poised to heat up Miller Lite sales—and retailers’ profits— this summer.

¹ Insight Express, AOL, Sizmek and ComScore VCE 2014 data

² Nielsen          

Customization in California: Roy Choi and Blue Moon