Coors Tries to Buy Its Way into Hispanic Community
 Coors and other beer companies are using campaigns like to this to reach Hispanic communities in an effort to court new consumers and increase profits |
Coors isn't the first company you would connect with Latino heritage initiatives. So why is Coors promoting successful Latino professionals in its "Lideres" campaign? The seven-month print ad campaign highlights twenty Latino leaders, all of whom were nominated by prominent nonprofits with an existing relationship with Coors. This leads us to believe Coors is trying to build good will in the Hispanic community. But why? Perhaps it has something to do with the Hispanic population being "younger than the general population, which is important to brewers because drinkers aged 21 to 34 consume more beer than older drinkers."1 Or perhaps its because Latinos are the fastest growing segment of the US population and are expected to comprise almost 25 percent of it by the year 2050.2
Rafael Fantauzzi, corporate relations manager for Coors says, "These leaders are as diverse as the Hispanic community itself and through this campaign, Coors aims to recognize and highlight their accomplishments so people know who they are and what they do."3 But we have to ask: what's really being promoted? It seems more like Coors is using leaders to promote its brand in the Hispanic community. Given that this group already suffers a disproportionate share of alcohol-related problems, Coors might help Hispanics more by reducing advertising that targets them. Coors is not just giving kudos to the Hispanic community-Coors is buying its way into a profitable market.
1 Brewers Focus on Hispanic Market. The New York Times. November 15, 2004
2 Annual Guide to Hispanic Marketing & Media 2006 Edition. Advertising Age. July 17, 2006. p 39
3 http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2006/06/05/daily36.html
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