Australia: SABMiller brings O&M back for Foster's brand

After buying out the country rights of Australian beer Foster's for $120 million, SABMiller India has brought back O&M (Ogilvy & Mather) for the creative duties, The Economic Times (India) Via Thomson Dialog News Edge reported on January 15.

The agency was involved with Foster's during its India foray in 1998. Foster's, which set up a brewery in Aurangabad, emerged as the first and probably the only international beer to make an impact in the domestic market, especially in Mumbai, till date.

O&M, which was involved in creating brand pull through a compelling Aussie connection, lost the account as Foster's struggled with its India strategy in the later years with an internal team put in charge of branding and advertising duties.

Now the agency is back in charge to bolster Foster's at a time when it will figure prominently in SABMiller's charge on the domestic mild beer market. "There is not going to be any drastic shift in positioning of Foster's.

The brand has been built over decades through a consistent and relevant message to beer drinkers around the globe and we see no reason to revisit that now," said Vinod Giri, director-marketing, SABMiller India.

17 January, 2007