Profiles in Diversity Journal would like to focus on the managers who have successfully

leveraged the diversity of their teams in order to best achieve their business goals and
objectives. These managers are often the “back-bone” of an organization: they have skills
and experience that can’t be easily replaced, and they often have the most knowledge
about how things work and how the work gets done in the most efficient
manner. Read how they are

Leveraging
Diversity
Driving Sales Through Diversity

by Steve Medina

Brand Manager
MillerCoors, U.S. Hispanic Sales

To be successful in business, companies not only and Compartiendo Mesa. In

need to provide quality service to their customer base, but
ultimately they need to truly connect with their customers.
MillerCoors is focused on building a workforce and supplier
base that represents the diverse ethnic and gender groups that
consume our products. Additionally, we are committed to
connecting with our consumer, not only through marketing
initiatives, but through community investments as well.
For example, one of our largest distributor partners,
Manhattan Beer Distributors (MBD), has embedded diversity
into its business, and has realized substantial sales growth as a
result. Faced with the crowded marketplace of New York, MBD
needed a strategy to build strong brand equity among beer-
drinking consumers faced with countless choices. To increase
market share among Latino consumers, we, along with the
MBD team, developed strong relationships with Hispanic
retailers by listening to their needs and developing point-of-sale
marketing and promotional materials that resonated with key
Latino beer drinkers. Additionally, some MBD leaders made
the extra effort to connect with retailers by being bilingual, even
if Spanish was not their first language. This showed tremendous
effort on behalf of the team.
Additionally, MBD has partnered locally with us on two
programs to build brand loyalty—the Puerto Rican Day Parade
2006, Coors Light became the
official national sponsor of the
Puerto Rican Day Parade, which
is attended by millions each year,
and viewed on television by nearly 12 million in the U.S. and
Puerto Rico. As part of the sponsorship, Coors Light invests
$75,000 in scholarships to students through certified affiliates
of the parade.
Also, in conjunction with MBD, we developed the
community-focused food drive, Compartiendo Mesa.
Together, we worked with local non-profits to assemble
and distribute food baskets during the holiday season. In 2009,
we distributed more than 450 baskets to families in need.
Ultimately, MBD realized substantial growth as a result of
diversifying its workforce to not only reflect the market, but to
also understand the marketplace. Key outcomes garnered from
a diverse workforce are better business decisions and increased
innovation. To date, 51% of Manhattan’s combined work-
force is Latino, and it has experienced double-digit Coors
Light growth in marketplace sales every year since 2003.
As a result, Coors Light is now the best-selling beer in
New York City, and has higher share among Latinos in
New York than the general market. PDJ

Prof iles in Div er s it y Jou r na l M aY / J u n e 2 0 1 0 21