✓ Molson Coors is going on the offense with its core beer brands—Coors Light, Miller Lite, and Coors Banquet— to win new occasions, grow share and attract new consumers
✓ Its core brands have over 60 pro and college football partnerships, with plans to make major investments in soccer and rodeo
✓ The company is using high-profile music partnerships and culturally relevant campaigns to connect with 21+ Gen Z drinkers
PHOENIX – On stage at the 2025 Molson Coors Distributor Convention, Chief Commercial Officer Michelle St Jacques wasted little time before addressing industry headwinds, and more importantly, how Molson Coors plans to tackle them head on.
“To sum it up in a few words, we are going on the offense,” she said. “Moving with speed, being aggressive, and making sure that everything we do is focused on driving the category, our retailers, and our brands within it.”
She highlighted that a major piece of that plan involves winning with its U.S. core power brands – Coors Light, Miller Lite and Coors Banquet. This has been a central focus for Molson Coors for years, and it has been paying off. Since 2022, the company’s core brands are collectively up 1.7 share points, according to Circana for the last 13 weeks ending 8/31.
And St Jacques was clear that Molson Coors plans to fight to grow share of the beer category, with plans to do even more to support and grow the core.
According to Chief Marketing Officer Sofia Colucci, “We are doing things differently on every single brand to win new occasions, win share and attract new consumers.”
That starts with the company’s plans for Coors Light, Miller Lite and Coors Banquet, tied to expanding its lineup of powerful alliances in pro and college sports, as well as its roster of well-known fans in music – another key occasion for beer drinkers.
Big scores in sports
Few occasions are as intertwined with beer as sports. That’s why Molson Coors has plans to appear prominently at some of the year’s hottest sporting events, from pro and college football to some of the biggest soccer matches of the year.
This football season, Molson Coors has put together a strong collection of pro and college alliances – more than 60 in total. These partnerships give its brands high-profile, high-visibility opportunities to activate in local markets and excite existing brand fans and new 21+ consumers alike.
Coors Light continues to expand its roster of college football alliances, which now includes more than 40 programs, including Ohio State, Michigan, Oregan and Texas A&M. Plus, the brand recently added new teams including Wisconsin and Iowa State.
From football-themed national packaging to on-premise tap handles, Coors Light has plans to get in front of 21+ fans in impactful ways, including big time television partnerships on college Saturdays. On the pro front, the brand is continuing its successful alliance with the Las Vegas Raiders. And when it comes to big-time players, you can expect more with one of the biggest quarterbacks in the game, Patrick Mahomes.
Along with continued celebrations of its 50th anniversary, Miller Lite is going big as “The Football Beer for 50 Years” with 18 pro football alliances – more than half of the league’s teams, including a recent renewal with the Detroit Lions. With key media partnerships and national football-themed packaging, Miller Lite is poised to show up in some of the most exciting markets in football.
Next summer, two international soccer competitions are taking place in the United States. With viewership booming, Molson Coors plans to invest heavily behind media and activations around many of the biggest games of the tournaments.
Finally, Coors Banquet will continue its support for the most Western sport of sports, rodeo, with even more support when the rodeo comes to town. What’s more, with more planned national media investment than ever before, the brand will also have premium placements during live national sports.
Big Stage, Big Campaigns
Also crucial to driving beer occasions with 21+ Gen Z is embracing the music and stars they surround themselves with – and Molson Coors’ brands have a stacked roster of authentic fans to help out.
Coors Light plans to turn up the volume on its music program, Chill on Shuffle, by putting even more focus on its biggest star, Lainey Wilson. Wilson will also continue her partnership with Coors Banquet, Coors Light and Barmen 1873 Bourbon, which she began collaborating with earlier this year. And for Miller Lite, it has a country superstar fan of its own with Luke Combs.
Coors Light, Coors Banquet and Miller Lite are also planning to unveil new creative campaigns to surround these moments with strong marketing support throughout the year. More details to come for Coors Light and Banquet, while Miller Lite looks forward to more with Christopher Walken, leaning into an evolution of its Legendary Stories Start with a Lite platform.
Colucci closed by making it clear, Molson Coors means business going into 2026.
“We will be bold. We will be on the offense. And we will make every day count. We’re not wasting a day.”