Focus Scotland: Tennent's profile

In this world we now live in, where provenance, local sourcing and genuineness is king, standard lager has taken a bit of a knocking.

A former head of the UK arm of a well-known Czech lager brand used to say to me: "Carlsberg, the Danes hate to see it leave… Northampton." Similarly you could say that about Foster's, that great Australian beer brewed in Scottish & Newcastle's breweries across the UK, or Carling, a great English lager, which was originally Canadian, brewed in Burton-on-Trent.

But in Scotland, the biggest standard lager brand does not suffer from such issues. Tennent's has been the number one beer brand in Scotland for over 100 years and is as Scottish as the saltire and is as deeply entrenched in the national consciousness as Robert Burns.

Mike Lees, managing director of Tennent Caledonian Breweries, the Glasgow-based Scottish arm of InBev, said: "The thing about Tennent's is that it is important to the whole Scottish market. We have business all over the country. Distribution sits at 68 per cent and we have done research which shows that if you ask people in Scotland about lager, seven out of 10 will mention Tennent's first."

Despite this Mike does not believe that provenance is the most important thing of all for the brand. "Provenance helps us with some consumers - others really couldn't care less. Provenance's real significance comes into play with speciality beers.

"But it is undoubtedly true that Tennent's lager is seen as a fantastic brand in Scotland. And there is a lot to be said for the 'localness' of the product, enabling us to get it out fresh into the marketplace quickly," he says.

The brewer has done a lot of work to try and keep younger drinkers interested in the brand as well as increase the quality of dispense. The launch of a new concrete font, resplendent with a carved 'T', in 2004, has raised the image of the brand among consumers and was money well spent, according to Mike.

"The font, or as it is better known, 'The Rock Solid' has delivered a very consistent platform for us - it has done a great job," he says. Not only was the design modern, but it had improved dispense features, including small 'traffic' lights, showing the bartender whether the temperature was right before dispense.

The brand does a huge amount to support football - Scotland's number one passion. It is in the 18th year of its sponsorship of the Tennent's Scottish Cup and is the official sponsor of the national football team.

However, Tennent's is coming under increasing pressure from interlopers invading from south of Hadrian's Wall. Carling, in particular, has taken dead-aim at Tennent's position at the top of the tree. The Coors-owned brand only entered the market in 2003 but has swiftly moved into the number two position and by getting shirt sponsorship deals for both Celtic and Rangers football teams it has managed to achieve major brand awareness.

However, Mike says Tennent's welcomes the competition. "We are not complacent - you can't afford to be when you are number one." And he doesn't feel the urge to branch out in a major way into the English market - despite having pockets of "good business" in the North East and Blackpool. "In the whole UK market we are quite a small player and it is not in the plan to grow in England. In Scotland we have continued to follow our core strategy and we are having success. Tennent's is in growth while Carling, Foster's and Carlsberg are all fighting for the number two position."

And Tennent's undoubtedly has more to its marketing strategy than football. It is also involved in a range of activity closely relating the brand to live music. The best known association is its headline sponsorship of

T in the Park, one of the biggest live music festivals of the year. But Tennent's also invests in grassroots music. It supports the 'T-Break', a regional event

for bands in pubs the winners of which go on to play at T in the Park. This is central to the brand's strategy of retaining the vital 18 to 30-year-old core of drinkers.

However, a central bulwark to Tennent's success in the past has been its popularity among drinkers in community pubs. How significant has the smoking ban been on Tennent's sales since it was introduced a year ago?

"We've had a mixed year - the World Cup was good for sales but the weather has been quite poor since," says Mike. "It will be interesting to see the year-on-year figures. I'm sure there has been a negative impact on pubs - especially at the community end. There are a large number of pubs with a high percentage of smokers and no outdoor facilities. Plus local authorities have not been that helpful with planning. And this has caused more closures."

So what has Tennent's got lined up for the future? The company's big focus for the coming year is Tennent's Ice Cold. It has been trialled in the Irish market and is now being rolled out in the Scottish market and is "getting a great response", according to Mike. The company is in the process of designing a condensating font using the 'T' concrete font - it won't be rolled out until later in the year.

It will be some time yet you feel before Tennent's is toppled. A mixture of fierce brand loyalty from Scottish drinkers and an unquenchable thirst from the brand owner to modernise and develop is a tough thing to compete against.