Tecate shifts focus to Mexican-American heritage, leaving macho messaging in rearview

Dive Brief:

• Tecate introduced a new brand positioning and modernized visual identity as the beer marketer looks to grow cultural relevance with consumers, according to news shared with Marketing Dive. The changes impact the label’s entire U.S. portfolio, including its original offering, Tecate Light and newer products like Tecate Titanium and Tecate Michelada.
• A new campaign, “Mexico is in Us,” shifts the brewer’s focus to emphasize pride in its heritage and encourages bicultural Mexican-Americans to do the same and “live life on their own terms,” a release said. Tecate is investing in new sponsorships and retail promotions, with a focus on soccer and music, to spread its message.
• Created with agency Nómades, “Mexico is in Us” includes an extensive media play that commenced on Feb. 13 and will run for 32 weeks. It features TV, radio, digital and social media elements, with Spanish and English versions of several spots. Ads include the 30-second “Credentials” and “Emotional,” which were shot in both Los Angeles and Tecate’s namesake city near the border between the U.S. and Mexico and helmed by director Alfonso Gómez-Rejón.

Dive Insight:

Tecate is pivoting to a more purpose-led brand positioning at a time when many in the big beer space are looking to reinvent themselves and reignite growth.

The switch-up from the marketer owned by Heineken USA does a bit of double-duty: It spotlights the label’s Mexican-American heritage as issues like immigration continue to command the conversation and also breaks with the type of macho messaging — a staple of beer advertising — ​that Tecate has frequently leaned into. The goal, according to executives, is to court a more eclectic set of drinkers who are passionate about their culture.

“In the past, Tecate’s positioning has exclusively focused on masculinity,” Belen Pamukoff, Tecate’s brand director, said in a statement. “What we love about the new campaign is that it embodies a more modern and culturally relevant Mexican-American point of view. The ‘Mexico is in Us’ campaign showcases the evolution of the brand and is inclusive of everyone and anyone who embraces the best of what Mexico has to offer.”

Beer joins a number of male-oriented categories that are attempting to push past stereotypes that have previously defined their image, including those around masculinity. Brands like the direct-to-consumer apparel retailer Bonobos, which is owned by Walmart, and Procter & Gamble’s Gillette line of razors have in recent years introduced campaigns that seek to redefine what it means to be a man, recognizing a younger, more diverse and more progressive consumer base.

But beer brands, in particular, might feel greater pressure to broaden their appeal beyond the typical 18-to-34 male demographic amid the rise in popularity of wine and spirits and intrusion of newer alternatives like hard seltzer. Tecate competitors, such as AB InBev’s Bud Light, have jumped hard on the seltzer trend and put it at the center of their marketing, but Tecate appears to be looking to reinvigorate perceptions of its core beer portfolio rather than the makeup of its product set.

Stemming from that, “Mexico is in Us” extends beyond a change in messaging to include a considerable retooling of Tecate’s approach to sponsorships, with an eye toward soccer and music. The brand is dropping its sponsorships around boxing, a sport where it’s sunk millions of dollars in the U.S., along with a “Born Bold” campaign that’s run for five years, Ad Age reported.

In other ways, “Mexico is in Us” mirrors past Tecate efforts, especially in leveraging the brand’s Mexican-American roots as a means to spark discussion. In 2017, it ran a campaign humorously playing on the idea of President Donald Trump’s efforts to build a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. “The Wall” campaign, developed with Saatchi & Saatchi NY, showed groups of men from opposite sides of the border sharing a six pack at the dividing line.