Molson recently agreed to a "three-way relationship" with the NHL and A-B's Labatt brandGETTY IMAGES
A-B InBev returned to NHL All-Star Weekend's roster of "chief sponsors" for the first time since '11, a move that "involves a rare truce in the domestic beer wars," according to Simon Houpt of the GLOBE & MAIL. Molson "agreed to let the league see other brewers" when it recently agreed to a "three-way relationship" with the NHL and A-B InBev brand Labatt. This comes after Molson in the winter of '11 "stole the exclusive rights out from under Labatt," which had held them since '02. Exclusivity "used to be the coin of the realm." But with the "premium prices demanded by leagues prompting sticker shock, marketers are realizing there are other ways to build bonds with their consumers." The Canadian beer industry is in a "long-term slump that seems unlikely to turn around, as consumers migrate to other beverages," with domestic beer sales having fallen roughly 14% over the last four years. Brewers in the country are now "re-evaluating the big-ticket contracts that sports leagues have been demanding," and the leagues "may have helped to kill the golden goose by allowing their individual teams to also sell off their intellectual property" (GLOBE & MAIL, 1/24).
