SMW SIGNS UP SLEEMAN
By Adnews Staff
Guelph, Ont.-based Sleeman Brewery & Malting Co. Limited has handed its advertising account to SMW Advertising Ltd. of Toronto. The brewer selected SMW over five other unnamed short listed agencies. Sleeman newly appointed marketing director Dan Fox told Adnews this is the first time the company has had an agency of record. Until hiring SMW, Sleeman did much of its advertising in-house, with some individual contracts being given to outside agencies. Most recently Promanad Communications Inc. of Toronto had been handling Sleeman's creative, with the brewer doing the media buying in-house. Fox said SMW's first campaign for Sleeman will be launched this spring. Sleeman began brewing beer in 1834. A merger with Allied Strategies Inc. of British Columbia, in the summer of 1995, made Sleeman one of the largest craft brewers in North America. The company's brands include Sleeman Cream Ale, Silver Creek Lager, Original Dark and Original Light, are available in most Canadian markets except the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.