Molson Coors has launched a new corporate social responsibility initiative for which cases of the brewer’s beer are stamped with an image promoting responsible drinking.
The “stamp of responsibility” includes icons of a pregnant woman and a vehicle – both with diagonal lines crossed over them to represent the dangers alcohol poses to pregnant women and drivers.
The stamp also includes the letters “iD” to encourage the prevention of underage drinking and a plant icon symbolizing Molson Coors’ stated focus on corporate social responsibility.
The stamp was designed by the in-house creative team at Molson Coors.
The brewing company began stamping cases of Molson Canadian, Coors Light and Molson Dry in Ontario and Quebec earlier this month. According to Gavin Thompson, senior director of public affairs for the company, the stamp will roll out nationally in the coming weeks.
Thompson said the stamp is an extension of the company’s general commitment to social and environmental sustainability, which Molson Coors refers to internally as its “beerprint.”
“We started an internal dialogue around that and thought, ‘why shouldn’t we be proud of that and put it right on the packaging?’” he said.
Thompson said any marketing objectives related to the stamp were secondary to the company’s social goals.
“I think there is an alignment [with marketing] there that ultimately would be great to achieve, but for the most part we felt like this was something we just had to do,” said Thompson.
Toronto agency Manifest helped develop the communications strategy behind the launch of the stamp initiative, including media outreach and social media.
The company has invited other brewers to use the stamp on their own packaging, an offer that has been taken up by smaller brewers such as Picaroon’s Traditional Ales, Village Brewery and the Cassel Brewery Company.
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