- Alex Palmer

Daddy Yankee is helping Coors Light connect with Hispanic consumers. The brand is promoting the reggaeton star’s new single and album at a series of sponsored meet-and-greet events across the country.

Fans can enter for a chance to attend one of the six Coors Light En Exclusiva (In Exclusive) events by texting a special promotional number, which is broadcast on Hispanic-targeted radio stations and advertised on in-store promos. The private events will serve to promote Daddy Yankee’s new single, “Grito Mundial,” as well as preview his new album, “Daddy Yankee Mundial,” slated for release in early 2010.

The first event took place in Orlando on November 18 and the next ones will take place in Houston, Dallas, New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. But while the current effort is being run on a national scale, it has a local sensibility for each of the six markets being targeted.

“We have taken that grassroots approach to bringing this to life and it really works well for us because it allows the local teams to have a local solution and activity that helps drive new business for Coors Light,” said Roger Garcia, Hispanic brand manager for the Coors Family of Brands, pointing out that Orlando and Chicago are two new markets for En Exclusiva this year. “We have strong markets up in the northeast as well as through the east coast, which is very Caribbean, Dominican or Puerto Rican. His music just had a right fit with markets that we’re strong with.”

The En Exclusiva series had previously been a showcase just for local Hispanic artists in the New York market. Working with agency The Integer Group, Coors Light expanded it last year for the release of Daddy Yankee’s last album, “Talento de Bario” and because of its success they decided to revive it for his new album.

The music promotions are part of a broader effort by Coors Light to connect with a Hispanic audience. The brand has incorporated NFL teams into its Hispanic marketing in a similar way, tapping local teams to reach specific target markets.

“We’ve seen consistent growth [of the Hispanic market] in our business of about one-and-a-half times or two-times faster than the general market, and that does not look like it’s going to decelerate,” said Garcia. “When we see the 2010 census we’ll feel a lot more comfortable with our investments and know we’re doing the right thing to grow our business.”

Coors Light spent $124 million on advertising in 2008, and is estimated to have spent $93 million between January and November of this year, per Nielsen.