£2m support for Newcastle Brown, McEwan's and Scrumpy Jack
A £2m marketing support package has been placed behind Newcastle Brown Ale, McEwan's, Youngers, Newcastle Exhibition, Woodpecker and Scrumpy Jack.
It is the first major burst of marketing from Heritage Drinks, the joint venture established between Scottish and Newcastle (S&N) and Jygsaw Brands to market and sell S&N's "heritage" ales and ciders.
The campaigns will focus primarily on each of the brands' geographical heartlands, with new point of sale (PoS) material rolled out to these areas this month, followed by new consumer competitions in October.
For Newcastle Brown Ale, the campaign leads with its 'Star of the North' proposition. This includes giveaways and PoS themed around Newcastle - including a new version of the brand's iconic pin badges and new branded schooners, out of which the ale is traditionally drunk in the North East.
An on-pack promotion, "I?NE", gives drinkers in other parts of the UK the opportunity to win a weekend in Newcastle.
The McEwan's campaign is based around "true local heroes" for each of its regional variants, 60/-, 70/-, 80/- and Export in Scotland and McEwan's Best Scotch in the North East. The PoS features working class figures associated with the areas in question, such as fishermen for Aberdeen.
New branded glassware and PoS has bee launched for Youngers Scotch Bitter and Newcastle Exhibition.
Heritage Drinks has built on Scrumpy Jack's sponsorship of the npower Village Cricket Cup with promotions offering the chance to win branded cricket merchandise.
Woodpecker sees the launch of a new range of PoS under the theme "Tap into Refreshment", with promotions offering drinkers the chance to win branded merchandise.
Jygsaw Brands trading director Michael Hardy said: "This is about investing in S&N's non-core brands. As S&N grew, focus moved behind the portfolio of Kronenbourg, John Smiths and Strongbow. The likes of Newcastle Brown and McEwans, while big in their heartlands, were not getting the support they required.
"This activity is reawakening awareness in the heartlands, which in turn will improve perception nationally."
