The match is on! (Coors enters Puerto Rican beer market) (Cover Story)

The match is on!

Coors jumps into the Puerto Rico beer market

V. Suarez & Co. Inc., backed by Coors Brewing Co., will be placing a $4 million bet on the new contender, Coors, to pin Puerto Rico title-holder Budweiser in one of the biggest marketing clashes among beer brands in a decade. The first round is expected to begin in June.

Schaefer, now in second place, and Medalla, in third, are also tumbling into the ring this summer to secure their present positions. As of December 1990, Budweiser, Medalla and Schaefer had 48.5%, 25.3% and 19.5% of the total local market respectively, which translated to 64.6 million gallons in fiscal 1990.

Another 4.2% was covered by Heineken, the leader by a very large margin in the European beer category. Michelob had 0.8% of the market, and India, 0.4%. The remaining 1.3% was shared by several other brands, among them Miller, Becks, Guinness, Tigre, and Pabst.

An advertising bonanza

The approaching beer war will boost an otherwise below-average year for many local advertising agencies, media, promotions and sports event organizers, with an overall estimate of $15 million to be invested by the major brands doing battle, according to industry sources. That amount does not include budgets assigned the brands that have a minor share of the local market, which are said to fluctuate from $200,000 up to slightly more than $500,000 each.

Advertising expenditures for beer so far this year increased by about 8% to 9% in measured media buys-- print and television. With Coors' debut in Puerto Rico, they are expected to shoot up even further.

However, in the beer industry, as has been the trend in other industries in recent years, most …