Heineken, PepsiCo, Target, Rocket Mortgage… and other brands targeting the U.S. consumer right now. Check our prior Sales Leads columns.
Heineken Expects to Increase Marketing Expenditures
Heineken plans to increase its marketing spend to pre-pandemic levels of 11.7% of net revenue by 2023, CEO Dolf van den Brink said as the Amsterdam-based brewer released its half-year earnings. The marketing/ad spend was reported as 9.3% from January to June 2021, after registering 11.1% in 2020. Heineken’s net revenues during the half-year rose 14.1% to 9.97 billion euros ($11.9 billion), meaning that the marketing/sales spend based on 9.3% was about 927 million euros ($1.1 billion).
For the Americas region, which includes the U.S., net revenue for the half-year rose 25.7% and operating profit 85.7%, “mainly driven by Mexico and Brazil.” Heineken USA, though, “grew ahead of the market,” van den Brink said, “driven by Heineken and Dos Equis, which benefited from innovations like Dos Equis Ranch Water and Dos Equis Lime and Salt,” and the reopening of on-premises business, which he said had bounced back “to at or above 2019 levels in big parts of the U.S.”
Non-alcoholic volume more than doubled in the Americas, van den Brink said, led by Heineken 0.0, and complemented by such brand extensions as Desperados Virgin Mojito and Lagunitas Non-Alcohol IPA. Although Heineken’s been slower to enter the booming hard seltzer area, van den Brink mentioned positive introductions included not only Dos Equis Ranch Water, but also AriZona SunRise (in partnership with Hornell Brewing ).
PepsiCo divests Tropicana and Naked
PepsiCo is selling its juice brands in North America and Europe — including Tropicana and Naked — to private-equity firm PAI Partners for $3.3 billion in pre-tax proceeds. In the deal, PepsiCo will retain a 39% noncontrolling stake in the brands, as well as exclusive distribution rights for chilled direct store delivery to small format and foodservice channels. The juice brands delivered approximately $3 billion in net revenue last year, with operating profit margins below the company’s overall benchmark. PepsiCo plans to use the proceeds from the sale of these assets primarily to strengthen its balance sheet and investments in its business. The deal is expected to close in late 2021 or early 2022. This is the latest big divestment in the food business. Even prior to the pandemic, companies were concentrating on selling some of their slower growth brands so they could concentrate on building their core businesses.
Target
Canela.TV, one of the first AVOD streaming services for U.S. Hispanics, has partnered with Target to offer beloved family programming for free to Canela.TV viewers. As part of Target’s Back to School Campaign, Canela and Target will be hosting Nostalgic Movie Nights that will bring families together and create new traditions. Titles include Sony classics Annie, The Legend of Zorro and My Girl, as well as several classics from the Golden Age of cinema. Viewers will also have exclusive access to the wildly popular series “Ryan’s World”, dubbed in Spanish for the first time.In addition to the Nostalgic Family Movie Nights, the partnership with Target also marks Canela.TV’s debut as the streaming home for season 7 of the Spanish-language version of hit YouTube series “Ryan’s World”. At just 9 years old, Ryan is the top creator on YouTube, and receives over one billion views each month. Ryan has built a fanbase of kids around the world by focusing on what they love: toys, role-play and sketches, video game playthroughs, science experiments and more. All fifteen episodes of season 7 are now available on Canela.TV.Canela.TV is a streaming service that enriches the new generation of U.S. Latinos by providing free access to unique, culturally relevant content.
Rocket Mortgage
Quicken Loans has officially changed its name to Rocket Mortgage on July 31. The change is being made to align the overall “Rocket” brand, while also making it clear to homebuyers that technology, a core tenet of Rocket Companies, is injected throughout the entire home buying lifecycle – from home search to mortgage closing, according to a press release.The name change is significant for the company, but clients will not see any difference to the digital experience. Those who are in the mortgage process at the time of the change will not be affected. The only difference current clients will experience is documents, letters and other communications that previously were labeled “Quicken Loans” will instead come from “Rocket Mortgage.”QuickenLoans.com will remain operational after the legal name change. In its current state, it will direct clients to apply for a home loan with Rocket Mortgage. The site, one of the most visited in personal finance, will then transition to accomplish other important objectives for Rocket Companies.
At this exclusive virtual event on September 22, 2021 Brand Decision Makers and Marketing Service Suppliers will share and accelerate knowledge on key topics including multicultural marketing, e-commerce marketing and marketing technologies. To find out about virtual networking solutions at PortadaLive involving a myriad of brand decision makers, please contact Sales Coordinator Michelle Lopez at [email protected].
Foot Locker, Inc.
Foot Locker, Inc. , the New York-based specialty athletic retailer, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Eurostar, Inc. (“WSS”), a U.S.-based athletic footwear and apparel retailer, which primarily operates on the West Coast, for US$750 million. The transaction will be funded with the Company’s available cash.WSS is an athletic-inspired retailer focused on the large and rapidly growing Hispanic consumer demographic, operating a fleet of 93 off-mall stores in key markets across California, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. WSS’s community-driven business benefits from deep relationships with customers – with approximately 80% of its sales coming from customers who are members of its loyalty program. Through this transaction, Foot Locker will benefit from WSS’s differentiated market position and complementary customer base and real estate portfolio. WSS’s assortment of classic styles will further diversify Foot Locker’s product mix, enabling the Company to serve a broader range of consumer needs across price points. WSS generated approximately US$425 million in revenue in its fiscal year 2020 and a three-year revenue CAGR of approximately 15%. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Foot Locker’s earnings per share in fiscal year 2021.WSS will maintain its name, operating as a new banner in Foot Locker’s portfolio.The transaction is expected to close late in the third quarter of 2021, subject to the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
BurnAlong
BurnAlong, a leading online health and wellness platform, announced the inaugural launch of wellness classes taught in Spanish, welcoming new Spanish-speaking instructors, via the BurnAlong platform. This expansion of programming will extend holistic wellness classes to corporations and users globally and is part of BurnAlong’s commitment to make wellness more inclusive and accessible.Through expanding partnerships with Spanish-speaking instructors and established connections at local gyms, BurnAlong is able to connect Spanish speakers with holistic wellness programming. BurnAlong programming spans 49 categories, including cardio, yoga, barre, pilates, adaptive workouts for people with disabilities, cancer, Parkinson’s Disease, arthritis, sleep, kids, mindfulness, stress management, parenting, senior programming, Tai Chi, mental health, Fit Over 50, strength, running, nutrition, and more.This launch of programming addresses the felt need to provide wellness content in multiple languages so everyone can have access to resources that will meet them wherever they are in their wellness journeys. Today, 43 million Americans speak Spanish as their first-language with nearly 12 million bilingual Spanish speakers. Globally, there are an estimated 580 Million people who speak Spanish, totalling nearly 8 percent of the world’s population. However, access to wellness programming in Spanish can be a challenge or require a unique point-solution.Since BurnAlong was established in 2016, they have had a commitment to creating diverse, inclusive, and easily accessible wellness content. With more than 13,000 classes and 2,000 wellness instructors now on the platform, reaching more than 75 countries, the launch of Spanish content reflects the long-standing commitment to providing well-being offerings that are relatable, authentic, and allow communities to thrive together.
At this exclusive virtual event on September 22, 2021 Brand Decision Makers and Marketing Service Suppliers will share and accelerate knowledge on key topics including multicultural marketing, e-commerce marketing and marketing technologies. To find out about virtual networking solutions at PortadaLive involving a myriad of brand decision makers, please contact Sales Coordinator Michelle Lopez at [email protected].
Cuentas
Cuentas, a leading FinTech provider of mobile banking, digital wallet and payment solutions focused on Hispanic and Latino communities signed a Marketing and Promotion Agreement with Benelisha Group Inc., a financial service provider throughout the State of California.The 3 year Agreement will start with a ramp up period and goal of 15,000 new Cuentas General Purpose Reload (GPR) accounts after 1 year, with further extensions and Most Favored Nation (MFN) status up to 3 years if they reach 50,000 new accounts. The MFN terms will continue for perpetuity as long as Benelisha continues to add 50,000 new accounts each year going forward after the third year.’The Cuentas Mobile App and services that have been designed for the Latino communities, will allow Cuentas, together with Benelisha, to open California, the largest latino immigrant market in the US.’ said Arik Maimon, Cuentas Founder and Interim CEO. ‘This is a tremendous milestone achievement following our execution plan’, added Maimon.
