Scotland's lager sector is heating up as Carling's Extra Cold variant crosses the border
It wasn't long ago that Carling and Tennent's were friends, operating harmoniously within the same Bass Brewers portfolio.
The situation suited both parties. Carling was the forerunner in the English mainstream lager market and Tennent's dominated proceedings north of the border, both driven by a marketing strategy based on an association with football and music.
But all good things must come to an end and the division of Bass Brewers at the beginning of the year saw Carling sold to the American Coors Brewers for £1.2bn, while Tennent's remained with Interbrew as part of the deal.
Six months on, the dust has settled and the gloves are coming off with the former stablemates set to compete against each other in the mainstream Scottish lager market. This summer, Carling is making its first foray north of the border with the roll-out of its recently launched Extra Cold variant into premium outlets.
While the arrival of a quintessentially English lager brand is unlikely to be welcomed by partisan Scottish pub-goers, Paul Miller, Coors sales director for Scotland and Northern Ireland, dismissed suggestions that the "auld" rivalry will hamper the brand's progress.
"We don't have an issue with that at all. If we were going for working men's clubs then it might be a problem but we don't believe it's a concern for our core audience of 18 to 24 year-old drinkers," he said.
"Our research shows there is demand for a new mainstream lager with a point of difference and that's why we're initially leading with Carling Extra Cold. We're going for a focused targeting of top-end venues and consumer reaction has been very positive so far.
"Scotland has a larger mainstream category but a smaller premium sector so there's more for us to go at there."
Rob Bruce, communications manager at Tennent's, played down the prospects of the new arrival from England.
"We're not concerned at all," he said. "We've been expecting it. Our consumer research has shown there's not really a demand for extra cold lager in Scotland - Carling is regarded as a last resort for Scottish drinkers, similar to Skol."
Despite that stinging dismissal, Carling will take comfort in the fact that Scottish lager drinkers appear to be more receptive to brands from south of the border than ever before. This year's Publican Brands Report showed Foster's gaining a strong following among Scots while the continued growth of Stella Artois and Grolsch is testament to a small but developing premium lager sector.
Coors is targeting the premium packaged lager sector with Grolsch and has embarked on a "silver service" initiative aimed at café and bar outlets in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Interbrew's Scottish arm also sees potential at the top end of the market.
"We expect the premium market to grow in the next few years and we're well placed in that sector with Stella Artois," added Rob. "But Stella's distribution needed improving and that's where Tennent's came in. We tested Stella alongside Tennent's on the bar and found that, if you get the price differential right, both lagers benefit."
The speciality beer sector is also showing signs of progress and both Coors and Interbrew are in strong positions to compete thanks to the recently launched Gulpener and Hoegaarden respectively.
The arrival of this legion of foreign brews shouldn't faze a Scottish lager market that, by 2006, is expected to account for 77 per cent of all beer.
However, few of the new arrivals are likely to loosen the stranglehold of Tennent's.
The brand leads the way in marketing and advertising spend in Scotland and has invested £3m in an on-trade quality and service scheme designed to make sure the perfect pint is served.
The brand also followed up its award-winning "Pintlings" advertising campaign with an eyebrow-raising "Not at the World Cup" initiative that played on Scotland's failure to qualify for the tournament.
The Scottish lager ran a tongue-in-cheek campaign that drew tenuous links between Scotland and other competing teams. As well as a fantasy football website, a poster campaign was launched featuring the flags of other countries with a Scottish twist. These included Brazil (Coppabannockburn) and Belgium (Jock Claude Van Damme), but not surprisingly it was the flags of England's group opponents that ruffled feathers south of the border.
The Nigerian ad had the slogan "Och Aye Kanu", referring to their Arsenal striker; the Argentinian one said: "C'mon the Tartan Argie"; while the Swedish version encouraged Scottish drinkers to "Support Sven's Team".
In spite of a few mild condemnations from English media commentators and Scotland's absence from the tournament, Tennent's saw overall sales grow by 47 per cent over last year.
The brand bolstered its links with music through sponsorship of the recent T in the Park music festival.
Tennent's has also made its first incursion into English territory with outlets in the north taking it on - but Interbrew has no intention of straying any further from its native roots in the near future.
Related articles:
Interbrew outlines plans for future growth (3 July 2002)
Coors to roll-out Carling Extra Cold (29 May 2002)
Tennent's risks England fans' wrath with World Cup campaign (25 April 2002)