Behind the Brew is a column where Molson Coors employees explain in their own words what’s new in their department and how it’s driving the company forward. Elizabeth Oates is our VP of Consumer Insights based in Chicago.
There was a pivot-point moment earlier in my career: I gave a presentation about the latest consumer trends when someone stopped me to compliment the work. “That was interesting,” they told me.
As nice as that sounds, I wasn’t happy to hear it. At all.
As someone in Consumer Insights, I’m not here to be interesting. I’m here to push the business forward by understanding consumers and by speaking their language. We drive strategy and decisions by uncovering what the consumer needs, thinks, and does.
So, after that moment, I pivoted. I now challenge myself and my team to be purposeful in how we’re showing up and bringing work that moves the needle.
That mindset shift has guided me throughout my career, and in 2025, I brought it to Molson Coors when I became VP of our talented Consumer Insights team.
So, how does that look daily? At its core, the Consumer Insights team empowers our colleagues across the business to make decisions based on what’s important to – and relevant for – consumers. It’s this consumer-centric approach that creates a competitive advantage for Molson Coors. So yes, it is interesting – but we’re really here to help the business win.
Setting the Foundation
Our Insights work is both proactive and opportunity-specific. Our work involves understanding macro-level trends that have a direct impact on how our consumers are thinking about beverages and what role beverages play in their lives. It also includes ongoing brand health research and testing new creative, TV ads, packaging and even new products before they hit the market.
But the commonality across everything we uncover is that it’s always rooted in helping our brands win.
Simply put, we need consumers more than they need us, and that means we need to understand them. We need to know why they’re choosing certain products, what occasions they’re enjoying most, and what affects their preferences – and then be that brand to which they ultimately turn. So, we spend a lot of time building a strong foundation of knowledge to serve as a springboard for action.
Be it in-depth conversations, surveys, panels, data analysis, and more, we’re leaving no stone unturned. We’re getting to know our current and potential consumers with deep understanding and empathy in order to give our brands a competitive edge in the marketplace through how they show up in marketing, on the shelf, and in people’s hands.
This is central to how we’re thinking about our business right now and as we look toward the future. To operate closer to the consumer, we need to know the consumer. And while we’re leading the charge, the amazing thing about Insights is that it’s everyone’s job. For our work to be effective, marketing teams lean in, sales teams lean in, and media teams lean in.
We set up the shots, our business partners convert them into points.
Acting on Insights
Insights spark many campaigns across our portfolio, and one of the most rewarding things for our team is when we see our work take shape out in the wild. These team wins have turned into plenty of company wins along the way.
Take, for instance, Coors Banquet’s latest iteration of its Start Your Legacy campaign. While it comes to life through the fantastic work of our marketing and media teams, the campaign evolution was born from a consumer insight.
Something unique about Coors Banquet is that it’s brewed with only Rocky Mountain water –it’s been brewed that way for over 150 years; we’ve earned that legacy. So when we ask drinkers to start their own legacy, we start by acknowledging ours. What we found through our work, however, is that those who drink Coors Banquet know how refreshing it tastes, but those who don’t are unaware that this differentiates the brand. That insight reinforced the need to highlight Rocky Mountain water and refreshing taste, which we’re rolling out across various touchpoints of the campaign. This kind of work is all about educating consumers on a unique attribute that they may not know about – and the hope is that it ultimately results in them choosing Coors Banquet more and more often.
Another recent example is with Miller Lite. Miller Lite’s new campaign "Legendary Moments Start with a Lite” was built around the insight that people are canceling plans more than ever – and you see that play out in the new commercials and how the brand is showing up to encourage fans to get back to moments of connection. As we look to champion not only our brands, but broader beer occasions, understanding what motivates people to connect with one another and what brands can do to support that helps position us to be a catalyst for consumers and puts our brands in a position to win in those moments.
We’re also on the front lines when it comes to our aspirations as a total beverage company. Our Insights work has made it clear that consumers want more choice – they want to be “part of the cheers” both with and without alcohol. That's helped to inform decisions like adding non-alc brands such as ZOA, Fever Tree, and Naked Life to our portfolio while also bringing NA options into our beloved beer brands, like Blue Moon NA and Peroni 0.0.
One thing is certain. Consumers and their preferences continue to evolve, so consumer insights are more important than ever. We need to know the consumer better than we ever have before, and engage with them as often as possible. Because when you combine strong insights with beautiful creative, strategic marketing and a strong sales force, that’s where we can win together.
At the end of the day, consumers have choices. With best-in-class insights and a passionate, talented team focused on pushing the business forward, we believe we’re building the right foundation for them to choose us more and more often.