Ursus has 15% higher promotion budget

Ursus Breweries, the domestic subsidiary of SABMiller, one of the world's biggest brewers, has a 15% higher promotion budget than last year. "Our strategy was devised on the long term, ahead of the crisis. We will not abandon this strategy and will not change it, and the main direction is still investment in our own brands," says Gabriela Cretu, trade marketing development manager of Ursus Breweries. Brewers are among the biggest investors in advertising domestically, with brewers' ad investments amounting to some 208.6m euros rate card last year, according to Alfacont monitoring company. Ursus in 2008 spent the most on promotion, around 70.4%m euros rate card for 32,000 spots, 23% more than in 2007. Still, in 2008, the biggest ad investors in the beer industry invested 8% less than in 2007, as result of the significant decline of promotion budgets because of the financial crisis. Ursus Breweries decided to promote, starting the beginning of this year, more than one brand, and has been carrying out advertising campaigns both for Timisoreana, a mainstream segment brand, as well as for Ursus, on the premium segment, Ciucas and Bere Azuga, on the low-price segment, since April.