You are on page 1of 2

Miller Brewing Miller High Life Takes Back the High Life

Miller Brewing Miller High Life, a major American Brewing company sought a
way to brand Miller High Life as an unpretentious beer at a great value. In 2006, High
Life sales depreciated by 3%. For years, High Life has been thought of as the
"champagne of beers" in the brewing industry. However, as trends shifted from fullcalorie mainstream brew, High Life needed to change their image to attract an audience
that could relate to a life of common sense. Extensive primary research conducted by the
High Life PR team showed that Miller High Life needed to jump on the "anti-trading-up"
movement. By coordinating informal focus groups and conducting pre and postcampaign research, the High Life team was able to develop a PR campaign to get people
talking about the High Life and ultimately drive sales.
To address this situation, Miller High Life developed a PR program called Take
Back the High Life which utilized the brand's television spots to introduce the public to
Middlebrooks - An average High Life delivery man with common sense.
Among the outcome objectives of the Take Back the High Life Campaign were:
1) To increase the awareness of the idea that Miller High Life is no longer the
"champagne of beer" and is now a beer made for an unpretentious person of common
sense, 2) to develop a public relations program that will generate extensive media
coverage and raise sales in at least ten key markets, 3) to build on the "anti-trading-up"
movement that allows people to not feel inferior under the more privileged and wealthy
market.
Among the output objectives of the campaign were: 1) make consumer focused
activities at bars such as "High Life Common Sense Quizzes", autograph sessions,

celebrity bar tending, and photo ops, 2) strengthen the relationship distributors have in
the campaign while Middlebrooks personally meets with real delivery teams to ride with
them along their route, 3) Generate 3 news stories that are focused on High Life and
show that the brand is unpretentious and people with common sense can relate to it.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign, the Miller High Life team gathered
post-campaign analysis by collecting data from bars. Prior to setting up the output
objectives, the team analyzed the purchase activity of Miller High Life in bars. Bar
activity involving Miller High Life increased in all 12 target markets and thus resulted in
High Life Sale increases ranging from 35 to 150 percent. The High Life team also
evaluated the success of the campaign by examining the increase of sales. In 2007, they
achieved a 2.5% sale increase when compared to 2006. The team also noted a very hefty
sales increase in key markets such as Chicago, Detroit, and Dallas. Each had an increase
of 5.4%, 4.7% and 3.2% respectively.
One proposed alternative evaluation method would be to collect primary
quantitative research by conducting a survey set up in a structured way that will reveal
information from males ages 25-35 regarding their tendency to purchase and/or drink
Miller High Life. This survey would be given out to males when they purchase Miller
High Life at retail stores. The survey must be conducted pre and post-campaign in order
for the team to track, analyze and interpret the questionnaires.

You might also like