Molson closes down UK marketing office

Molson Breweries of Canada has pulled out of the UK, handing res-ponsibility for sales and marketing for Molson Dry to Scottish Courage.

The company is closing its London office, resulting in five redundancies. The move is the latest in a worldwide restructure instigated at the Canadian headquarters last year.

Scottish Courage has been brewing Molson Dry under licence in the UK since 1991 and distributing it exclusively in the off trade. The arrangement will now be extended, and Molson UK’s sales and marketing director Paul Sanderson and marketing manager Huw Pennell will now both work for Scottish Courage.

Media buying for the 2m Molson account has been switched from John Ayling & Associates to The Media Centre, which handles Scottish Courage’s other brands.

Molson’s creative advertising will continue to be handled by Foote Cone & Belding, which developed the recent controversial poster campaign featuring an Eric Cantona lookalike launching a kung-fu attack on a soccer crowd.

Molson Ice, the other UK Molson brand, will continue to be distributed by independent company Freetraders.