Molson Scores a Goal With Meaningful International Women’s Day Campaign
This March, International Women’s Day campaigns started popping up on my social media feeds, TV, and billboards on my drive home like clockwork. During International Women’s Day, brands often attempt to support their female audience through communication efforts. Oftentimes, they walk the fine line between an empowering, inclusive message and one that appears performative in the eyes of the very public they are trying to target. This year one campaign caught my attention and the attention of millions of other women: Molson’s “See My Name” campaign.
Trading Names
Molson Coors, known as the official beer of hockey, is taking action against equity issues in women’s sports. The campaign aims to gain awareness for the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) and also change a design flaw in hockey jerseys. Typically, the last name of the hockey player is placed at the top of the jersey and any sponsorship branding is placed below. However, many women hockey players choose to keep their hair long, covering their name on the jersey. This led Molson to switch the placement of the last name and the branding and adopt the slogan for their campaign, “We covered our name so hers could be seen.”
Image sourced from Cision
Pre-Game Research
Molson did its audience analysis, and it did it well. The research found that women’s sports typically only gain about 15% of sports media coverage. This means that bringing attention to women athletes and their names is often an uphill battle. Additionally, men with shorter hair are the blueprint for jersey practicality, and women’s jerseys are simply replicated from that with no forethought to the matter. There are specific ways to help solve these issues while building relationships and increasing brand awareness that Molson utilized well. One way included focusing on the long-term goals of the campaign's message and tactics to keep both the issue and brand in the forefront of the audience’s mind. They also utilized the timing of the campaign, International Women’s Day, without taking away from or twisting the meaning of the day for their own gain.
UM Worldwide diversity, equity, and belonging program manager Kelli Perkins speaks openly about brands targeting the issues that women face. Perkins explains that by asking how they are able to show up for women within their own spaces, they can ensure that their strategies are creating the beneficial relationship that great PR strives to achieve, which is exactly what this campaign does. This campaign uses the perfect ingredients for great PR campaigns catering to women: assessing the true needs of the audience, discovering the finer details that make a big difference, and showing the audience that they matter more than the brand name.
A Breakaway Campaign
I discovered this campaign after my roommate, a GVSU hockey player, sent it to me on TikTok, with a comment that said “This is so cool. I wish our jerseys were like this.” While I thought the campaign was ingenious, I was interested from the get-go in the response received from this campaign.
The campaign gained a lot of attention on TikTok, with videos ranging from short explanations of the campaign to praising the campaign for its successful execution. The videos were viewed hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of times, and garnered only positive reactions shown in the vibrant comment sections. One user wrote, “I have seen this ad maybe 20 times, and I still get chills every time I look at it!” Another wrote, “I’ve never heard of Molson before this, but this is both good and good marketing. More brands should take notes.” Clearly, Molson struck a chord with women this International Women’s Day. As Molson expertly displayed, putting the athletes’ best interest before the brand can garner many positive outcomes and even elevate the brand. Hopefully, Molson’s campaign will inspire others to follow suit.
About Lauren
Lauren Brasher is currently a sophomore at Grand Valley State University studying Advertising and Public Relations, with a minor in Digital Studies and Writing. She currently serves on the PRSSA Outreach Committee and is enjoying her first semester at GrandPR as an Account Associate. In the future, Lauren hopes to get more involved with both organizations and keep learning about the world of PR!