Carlsberg UK has marked the entry of San Miguel into its portfolio by relaunching the brand.
It is the first major piece of marketing for San Miguel by Carlsberg UK since it took over full responsibility for the Spanish beer from Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) in November of last year. It followed Carlsberg and Heineken's successful joint bid for S&N's UK brewing and pub operations.
San Miguel - Britain's biggest selling world beer, according to Nielsen - has become one of Carlsberg's crown jewels, and it hopes to further improve the brand's rate of sale with this activity.
The relaunch involves a £7m advertising campaign, a new draught font and branded glassware.
A TV campaign will launch on May 9, supported with outdoor posters, regional print and cinema ads, as well as sampling activity at train stations throughout the UK.
The new font and enamel nucleated chalice glasses are more akin to the versions used in San Miguel's home market and have been designed to emphasise its Spanish heritage.
On-trade customers will be able to order new San Miguel point-of-sale material from Carlsberg UK, which will also be offering advice on footfall-driving activity related to the relaunch.
Carlsberg UK customer marketing director David Scott said: "We're not trying to push water uphill with San Miguel. World lager is growing and consumers want a variety of beer to try. We would encourage many pubs, where they have two or three premium lagers on draught, to replace one of them with San Miguel, a world lager that will achieve a faster rate of sale and offer a point of difference."