Preference for American beer was becoming a growing threat for Molson as share of Canadian beer was declining by roughly 4% annually.

More specifically, while Molson Canadian had once proudly owned the Canadian mantle, an American beer - Budweiser - began outspending us and stole the top spot. We were knocked down from the #1 selling beer in Canada to #2, and on market share alone, there was an 8 point gap between the two rivals - meaning a beer named Canadian was being outdone by an American.

As the flagship beer with the country's name on it, our goal was to bring collective pride back to our beer loving nation. We wanted to get Canadians to question why they weren’t buying Canadian, give them a great reason to do so, and ultimately, steal market share away from Budweiser.

Introducing The Most Canadian Beer Case Ever - a beer case filled with competitor brands standing label to label for the good of Canadian beer, and get Canadians to #MakeItCanadian

Over 40 brewers had joined the case. From legal agreements to complicated supply chain logistics, everything was handled in real-time and done before Canada Day so we could actually start selling cases full of brands that weren’t our own.

For a country that loves beer as much as Canada, we knew Canadians would be ashamed to learn we were one of the only countries where the best selling beer was an import - from America, no less.

Our strategy was to run this provocative insight across Canada’s major publications, using the uncomfortable truth strategically close to Canada Day to incite media attention, talk-value, and action.

Once we generated unrest with the bitter truth, we followed it up with an even bolder initiative that would allow Canadians to act on their newfound feelings of national pride: The Most Canadian Case Ever, filled with competitor Canadian brands, done in the name of bringing Canadian beer together to take on Budweiser.

Finally, we seeded the case with key opinion leaders and engaged in real-time social conversation, keeping the conversation going and reclaiming the Canadian mantle.

The campaign launched ten days before Canada Day with a letter announcing our mission to #MakeItCanadian. The full page open letter in Canada’s largest national newspaper spoke directly to Canadians and brewers alike, letting them know that the #1 selling beer in Canada wasn’t Canadian. We then invited brewers to participate in the case.

Our social platforms and OLV also served as the playground for custom invites to directly reach out to breweries and all Canadians to join the most Canadian case.

In just nine days, over 40 brewers had joined the case. From legal agreements to supply chain logistics, everything was handled in real-time and done before Canada Day.

Then on Canada Day, we actually started selling cases full of brands that weren’t our own.

Finally, we seeded the case with key opinion leaders and engaged in real-time social conversation, keeping the conversation going and reclaiming the Canadian mantle.

The Most Canadian Case Ever was good business for all Canadian brewers, delivering both a volume and market share increase of Canadian beer. In fact, volume of beer Canadian beer consumption saw a 19% increase. share of Canadian beer consumption increased by 2% while share of American beer consumption declined by the same amount.

The Most Canadian Case Ever was especially good for Molson. It helped close the market share gap between Molson and Budweiser by 7 points. Sales increased 11%. PR and Social earned impressions exceeded +31MM, and with Molson Canadian’s share of voice in the category up from 15% to 71%, it overtook Budweiser for the first time in 4 years.

Finally, Molson Canadian saw a 25% increase in perceptions of being part of the community, and a 36% lift in authenticity metrics as being Canada’s beer, reinstating us on the mantle.