Molson Canada: Social Media Marketing

K603

Table of Contents
Executive Summary……………………………………………………………...

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I. Key Issues……………………………………………………………………...

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II. Analysis……………………………………………………………………….

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III. Alternatives & Recommendation…………………………………………….

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IV. Implementation………………………………………………………………

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References………………………………………………………………………... 16

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Executive Summary
Molson Canada has been facing negative reactions their recent social media marketing initiative,
Cold Shots Campus Challenge. Parties claimed that this Facebook contest promoted irresponsible drinking behaviours among university students. As a result, Molson pulled the contest one week before the scheduled deadline. Now, Molson must
Although they are currently leading with 41% of market share in Canada, Labatt is trailing closely behind. Internationally, Molson ranks in fourth place. The threat of new entrants is low because of high capital costs and the
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existence of established brands. The threat of substitute products is medium because alcohol is composed of readily available products, competition is high in the industry and there is little differentiation between products. The bargaining power of buyers is medium because of availability of substitute products, buyer information and little differential advantage. Finally, bargaining power of suppliers is medium because of fluctuating input costs. The following graph illustrates the constantly changing price for barley.
Graph 1: Barley Monthly Prices, October 2006 to December 2007
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US dollars/metric ton

200
190
180
170
160
150
140
130
120
Oct-06

Jan-07

Apr-07

Aug-07

Nov-07

Feb-08
(Barley Monthly Prices, 2007)

Graph 2: Stock Market Prices of Molson (TAP) in 2007

(NYSE; http://www.wikinvest.com/wiki/TAP)

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Looking at the share prices from October 2007 to December 2007, we can see that when the Cold Shots Campus Challenge was launched in mid-October, there was an increase in the stock price to the mid-50’s, however,