Lowe Lintas wins San Miguel

<p>SINGAPORE: Lowe Lintas & Partners has scooped the San Miguel </p><p>business of local distributor Pacific Beverages, which wants to enhance </p><p>the brand's position to capitalise on the growing taste for imported </p><p>beers. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Pacific Beverages had previously used creative work that had been </p><p>developed in the Philippines. But its marketing manager Mark Wilson said </p><p>the time had come to develop local creative because the brand was being </p><p>positioned differently in Singapore. "In its home market, San Miguel is </p><p>respected as the national brand and it has such a strong position that </p><p>it can be promoted in a low-key manner, whereas in Singapore it faces so </p><p>much heavy competition it needs to have an aggressive ad campaign." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Wilson isaid he was looking for a bold positioning in the premium </p><p>segment, but one that ensured the brand would also retain its mass </p><p>appeal. "We're promoting it as a premium product but have ensured the </p><p>pricing and distribution are such that it is available to anyone who </p><p>wants it." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Addison James, Lowe Lintas Singapore CEO, said: "It's a challenger brand </p><p>here in Singapore and taking on Tiger should be interesting." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Imported beers have experienced a steady increase in sales volume at the </p><p>expense of local beers. Last year, imported beer volume was up 5.2 per </p><p>cent, while local beers were down 8.5 per cent, according to the </p><p>Singapore department of statistics. San Miguel faces stiff competition </p><p>from the three established beer local and imported beer brands - Tiger, </p><p>Anchor and Carlsberg. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Demand for imported beers has grown partly because of the expatriate </p><p>population and growing demand from Singaporeans who had lived overseas, </p><p>said Wilson. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>