Chicago – September 29, 2004 - Information Resources, Inc., the leading global provider of content, analytic services, and Business Performance Management Solutions (BPM) to the consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail, and adult beverage industries today announced that Pabst Brewing Co. has selected IRI and its InfoBeerUSA™ service as its new provider of syndicated marketplace business insights. Pabst is one of the nation’s largest beer companies with prominent national brands such as Pabst Blue Ribbon, Old Milwaukee, Schlitz, and Colt 45, and key regional brands including Old Style, Lone Star, and Rainier. It is working to increase its share of the domestic beer market and grow customer loyalty to its flagship brands.
Pabst previously sourced marketplace information from another provider, but selected IRI based on its expertise in U.S. and consumer trends in the adult beverage market. IRI is leading its own transformation to become a leading global provider of market insight and decision support for key vertical markets. Creating specialty industry practices such as the Beer, Wine, and Spirits group is part of that effort.
“We have aligned with IRI due to their extensive adult beverage experience and their ability to deliver high-quality, valuable marketplace insights,” commented Alan Willner, Vice President of Marketing for Pabst. “The IRI team possesses a wealth of unique relationships and influence with key industry stakeholders and we are pleased to have such a strong partner to help drive our business forward.”
Pabst is the latest in a series of new client wins for IRI’s Beer, Wine, and Spirits practice. The new relationship signals the industry’s continued adoption of IRI’s adult beverage expertise and the company’s ongoing business transformation focused on increasing the value and relevance of marketplace information.
Under the agreement, Pabst will use IRI’s census-based, retailer-defined InfoScan® retail measurement tracking service. The service enables deep analysis of regional and national malt beverage product sales in the grocery, drug, and liquor chain trade channels. Pabst will also leverage IRI’s InfoBeerUSA service for both syndicated and customized web-based reports. The reports are tailored specifically for tracking malt beverage product performance metrics at the market, chain and individual store levels, providing more granular visibility into key buying trends.
With this new relationship, Pabst will be positioned to:
- Grow its share of the adult beverage market through targeted, store-level promotions using IRI’s demographic and store data
- Secure coveted retail shelf space by creating highly-customized, retailer-specific programs using IRI’s market sales data across U.S. grocery, drug and liquor store channels
- Drive pricing promotions using IRI’s significantly enhanced Frequent Shopper Program (FSP) pricing information
- Improve new product development and introductions for both regional and national brands
“Pabst Brewing Company is routinely recognized for its winning attitude, innovative thinking and well-respected relationships within the supplier community and we are very excited to be working with them,” said Bump Williams, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Global Consulting, Beverage Alcohol Practice, IRI. “Their flagship brand, Pabst Blue Ribbon, continues to enjoy growth in a challenging segment. We believe IRI’s rich consumer and retailer insights combined with our strong expertise and experience can significantly contribute to future growth for their core brands, as well as new product innovations to come.”
About Pabst Brewing Co.
The Pabst Brewing Company is based in San Antonio, TX and has been in business since 1844. Pabst produces Pabst Blue Ribbon and other fine brands like Old Milwaukee, Lone Star, Colt 45, Old Style and Rainier among others. For more information, log on to: www.pabst.com.
About Information Resources, Inc.
Information Resources, Inc. is the leading global provider of market content, analytic services and Business Performance Management (BPM) solutions to the CPG, retail and healthcare industries. IRI's clients include the leading CPG, retail, and healthcare companies in the world. IRI's market content and analytic services provide these companies with market and consumer insights. IRI's BPM solutions uniquely combine its breakthrough enterprise analytics software, market content and analytic models to provide a total view of the market and to enable maximum business performance across marketing, sales and operations. IRI's solutions enable the consumer-driven real-time CPG and retail enterprise. More information is available at www.infores.com.