Molson came to Change as a result of our ‘MapChange’ research – an omnibus study tracking 20 brands’ real sustainability efforts vs their ‘green cred’ with consumers.
Molson, although performing reasonably well in terms of actual sustainability measures, performed dismally in consumer ‘green cred’ perception.
The solution was to make a concerted effort to engage in sustainability innovations that consumers could understand, appreciate and reward.
The Molson and Change team decided that Molson’s 2010 Olympic project would be an ideal launchpad for the innovations. Change began the green brand innovation process with an Audit. All Molson’s sustainability efforts were analyzed against the competition, both local and international. Best practices were benchmarked, and consumer reaction to those practices gauged with available sales results.
Next, stakeholders were engaged. This group ranged from Molson fans to ‘conscious consumers’, NGO’s to Vancouver Olympic Committee members. The resulting findings provided a good ‘outside the jar’ glimpse into Molson’s sustainability strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.
The complete results of the Audit were compiled, analyzed and distilled into idea platforms to take forward into the Build sessions.
The Build, a creative brainstorm, was a two-day process that engaged a broad range of Molson stakeholders – from the head of corporate social responsibility to the local brewmaster. In addition, global experts like VANOC’s head of sustainability were invited to the session.
From the brainstorming, it quickly became apparent the ‘sweet spot’ for Molson’s sustainability efforts would focus on water. The brand had a strong ‘clean Canadian water’ perception; consumers could easily appreciate the value of clean water in a beer; the winter Olympics were held on frozen water; and water, after carbon, was the most pressing issue in the climate change scenario.
Hundreds of ideas were brainstormed around ‘water’. They ranged from communication ideas, to partnership ideas, to actual infrastructure ideas.
Following the brainstorm, the Change team worked with Molson to cull and optimize the ideas. Molson then went on to create the innovations.
Although the results will not be unveiled until the Olympics, there is already a significant indicator of success for Change’s work. VANOC has granted Molson a ‘Sustainability Star’ for its efforts – which ensures the brewer will receive maximum exposure in the international Olympic press in any sustainability-related stories.
