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June 28, 2006

CLEARLY CANADIAN MAPS OUT A COMEBACK

Hoping to rejuvenate its struggling brand, Clearly Canadian Beverage Corporation has several new initiatives in the works.

The Vancouver-based company recently announced a three-year partnership with NBA star Steve Nash, who will be an official spokesperson and a member of Clearly Canadian’s advisory board.

“Steve Nash has a reputation for superior results through hard work, dedication and perseverance,” Brent Lokash, president of Clearly Canadian, said in a release. “We are elated by this relationship and believe this gives us a tremendous boost in our stated mission, to once again become a pre-eminent name in the beverage industry.”

Nash said he has been very selective about the companies he has partnered with over the years. “The Clearly Canadian relationship is a natural fit for me. Not only are we both from British Columbia but it is a company with great products which I enjoyed while I was growing up in Canada. I was also drawn to Clearly Canadian because it is a company that understands its responsibility to give back to those less fortunate.”

Clearly Canadian announced this week it has partnered with Global Water–a non-profit organization in Oxnard, Calif. committed to establishing safe water supplies in developing nations–to build water systems in Central and South America.

Clearly Canadian was once a strong player in the sparkling flavoured water industry but, through the years, gradually lost market share to competitors such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. The company has ambitious plans to recover and took several steps this spring to help with the process.

It hired Leo Novosel, formerly with Snapple, as director of sales, and Sonia Manson, formerly with Weston Bakeries, as marketing manager. Clearly also repackaged and reformulated its drinks and hired The BrainStorm Group to launch a consumer awareness campaign in the U.S.

In addition, Clearly announced it is filming its attempts at revival. The company hired Nick Davis Productions of New York to produce a “non-fiction reality series following the incredibly engaging tale of Clearly Canadian as it moves toward its goal of regaining prominence in the alternative beverage industry.”

–Sarah Dobson