According to AdAge, Diageo has pulled creative advertising from CP&B for Jose Cuervo, the biggest tequila brand in the United States, and put the account in review. Dentsu’s 360i has also been tapped as digital agency for its Guinness beer brand.
“We are huge fans of Jose Cuervo but we just don’t share the same vision for their brand,” a CP&B spokeswoman told Ad Age. “We’re confident that they will find a like-minded agency and wish them the best of luck.”
Last year, Diageo spent half a billion dollars in United States advertising across its many brands. Diageo moved Tanqueray gin from Wieden & Kennedy to Mother, New York, and then tapped Anomaly for Captain Morgan rum. Cuervo hasn’t stayed true to one agency for very long either, with the brand spending one year at WPP’s JWT before spending two years with CP&B.
Diageo spent $10.6 million in measured media on Jose Cuervo in 2010, with the most recent push being their “Cuervo Games,” an event-driven campaign held in several cities. However, the brand’s performance has been slipping in grocery aisles. Cuervo, which commands 35.6% of the United States tequila market, had $92.8 million in U.S. sales in the year ending March 20, a drop of 3.6%, according to SymphonyIRI. The decline came as the second-ranked brand, Sauza, by Beam Global Spirits & Wine, increased sales by 13.1%, upping its market share to 17.28%.
According to Beer Marketer’s Insights, Guinness is the sixth-largest beer import in the U.S., with 3.5% of the import market last year. Of the $7.7 million in measured media Diageo spent on the import in 2010, just $636,000 was on digital. However, Diageo plans to increase their online presence in the upcoming year.
“Digital is a space that we are looking to have stronger presence in. it’s where our consumers live these days,” said spokesman Jim Sias. “We’re looking for digital to play a larger role as part of our marketing mix.”
