Ferg Devins, Molson Coors Canada

Sponsor Molson Coors (don’t miss out on their beer tasting event this Saturday!) has been one of Canada’s more aggressive brands when it comes to using social media to reach out to consumers. Ferg Devins (@MolsonFerg on Twitter), Chief Public Affairs Officer, talked to PodCamp about the brewer’s recipe for social media authenticity.

Why did Molson decide sponsor PodCamp?

Sponsoring PodCamp Montreal was an easy decision for us. It’s a social occasion based around community and dialogue and… what is more social than beer? PodCamp is also an opportunity for the Molson folks to get involved in the local social media community and to learn.

Like how to lead conversations without coming across like self-serving corporate party crashers?

Exactly.

On Twitter, Douglas Chow (@MolsonDouglas) is our contact for Quebec beer drinkers. The authenticity in his social media presence is based on the fact that he never forgets that people in the Twitter Universe are humans and not only target markets. We’re careful not to just message. In fact, we say, “spin is sin.” All comments are welcome and we’re respectful of different perspectives.

In a couple of situations where people have made a negative comment about Molson on social media platforms, I’ve personally intervened and said, hey, sorry you don’t like our brand, but we have a broad portfolio of products. I would say 90% of the time, that conversation turns positive. Yes, people are taking a shot, but when we actually engage—and not just, “This is Molson and this is our message,” but rather “hey, it’s Ferg”—we talk through what this person’s concern is. That one-to-one is very powerful with social media, because it can become one-to-many.

How do you think social media will continue to change the way you do marketing and communications?

What we’ve done is we’ve brought the communications team, along with our marketing crew, and created a social media influence team inside Molson. We’re also members of the Social Media Business Council of North America, and that’s a good place to learn about what’s happening in terms of trends and new innovations. Given where we’ve come since we launched our first community blog in 2008, I can’t even imagine where we’re going to be in just the next few years! But conversations are happening, and for Molson, we want to be at the heart of those exchanges.