- Noreen O'Leary

In its latest marketing shift, Crown Imports tapped La Comunidad as its Hispanic agency for Corona Extra and Modelo Especial, replacing Interpublic's Casanova Pendrill Publicidad,
 
Spending in support of Hispanic marketing for the brands could not be immediately determined.
 
The Miami-based independent was selected after a review that included strategic and creative proposals. The company declined to identify other shops in the pitch or to say whether the incumbent participated.
 
The change is the most recent move by Jim Sabia, a long-time Coors executive who joined Crown in January with responsibility for overseeing marketing brands like Corona Extra, Corona Light, Modelo Especial, Pacifico, Negra Modelo, St. Pauli Girl and Tsingtao. In June, Sabia moved Corona Light from independent Cramer-Krasselt, Chicago, to Publicis N.Y. And earlier this month, Crown said it would launch a media review to consolidate buying and planning with a media-only agency for 2010. (The media assignment, which has mainly been handled by C-K, covers Corona Light, Corona Extra, Model Especial, Pacifica and Negra Modelo brands. C-K will continue to handle the creative for Corona Extra and Creature, Seattle, which has handled media chores on Pacifico, will retain creative responsibility for the brand.)

Sabia, Crown's evp, marketing, said La Comunidad won the business because of the breadth of the agency's creative ideas across multiple media platforms.

"We were looking for an agency partner that has successfully managed major consumer brands and also demonstrated expertise on how to leverage consumer insights into integrated communications platforms," he said in a statement. "The Hispanic consumer for Corona Extra and Modelo Especial represents an important segment of our business for these brands and we look forward to partnering with La Comunidad as well as increasing our marketing support."

Corona Extra is the No. 1 imported beer in the U.S. market and No. 6 beer brand overall, selling more than 100 million cases annually, according to Crown. Modelo Especial, the No. 3 import with sales of over 25 million cases per year, grew at more than 10 percent last year.


Nielsen Business Media