SAB pushes Pilsner Urquell in £2m UK assault
South African Breweries (SAB) is looking to step up its presence in the UK beer market on the back of its Czech lager brand, Pilsner Urquell.
As part of ambitious plan to turn Pilsner Urquell into a leading international brand by 2010, SAB is launching a £2m drive on the UK imported bottled lager market.
Tomas Chytil, brand manager at distributor Ubevco, said: "South African Breweries is very strong in a number of local markets without having a truly international brand, but Pilsner Urquell has the potential to be just that."
Before it was taken over by SAB in 1999, Pilsner Urquell had received limited support in the UK but the new owner is looking to establish the brand in five major cities as part of a plan to double volume sales of the brand by 2002.
"Our aim is to increase consumer awareness which we feel is very low at the moment and we want to raise the profile of the brand and make it more relevant to our target audience" added Mr Chytil.
"The consumer is increasingly looking for niche brands and abandoning mainstream beers, and we still see a lot of potential there."
The UK premium speciality beer market is currently showing annual growth of more than 20 per cent in a stuttering PPL market and Pilsner Urquell is set to go head-to-head with the likes of Budvar and Staropramen in the battle for the growing 25 to 35-year-old male target audience.
Under an umbrella "Inspiring Originality" theme, Pilsner Urquell is embarking on a "viral teaser" campaign in London, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester and Glasgow.
Golden ambassadors will visit outlets and "tease" customers with more than 8,000 golden calling cards designed to direct them to the new Pilsner Urquell website, www.inspiringoriginals.com.
Further stages of the campaign, earmarked for later this year, will be based on the themes of travel and gadgets.
The brand will also be supported by a £100,000 advertising campaign that will primarily target national press, consumer magazines and in-bar publications between June and September.
