Zingy Liquor Brand Looks to Design Schools for its Next Round of Marketing Magic

    Sourz Announces the Winners of its First-Ever Design School Challenge

    TORONTO, April 11 /CNW/ - Sourz, the zingy liquor brand known for its
playful personality and versatility, last night named the winners of its
first-ever Sourz Design School Challenge, an all-out creative ideas
competition that saw the brand partner with students in the fashion,
advertising and design programs at George Brown and Humber Colleges in
Toronto.
    Picked from a shortlist of eight finalist teams, the top three were
awarded with cash prizes at an awards ceremony held at the trendy Tryst
nightclub in Toronto, where participants in the competition converged after a
gruelling day of presentations to a judging panel comprised of media and
marketing executives from the brand's distributor, Maxxium Canada; its parent
company, Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc.; and its advertising agency,
Publicis Canada.
    In January 2008, legal drinking aged teams at each school were tasked to
create all-new brand platforms for Sourz that included everything from
point-of-sale and collateral materials to marketing strategies and ideas, as
well as new drink recipes and designs for branded bar-staff clothing. The
winning ideas will be brought to life with actual in-market executions
throughout 2008.
    "The Sourz Design School Challenge was a way for us to reach out to an
extremely creative group of people," says Franco Timpano, Brand Manager at
Maxxium Canada, which markets and distributes the liquor brand. "And they did
not disappoint. We were blown away by the sheer creativity and thoughtfulness
we saw in the final presentations."
    The First Place award went to Don Connell and Naeem Walji from Humber
College, who impressed the judges with their own-able brand concept, themed
"So Urz." The Second Place award went to Karina Kornacka, Paul De La Merced
and Neil Domingues and their concept, entitled "Pucker Up," while the Third
Place award went to the team of Joel Buckborough, Braden Laverty and Adam
Strickland for their "Sweet & Sour Come Together" concept. Kornacka, De La
Merced and Domingues also took home the Sourz People's Choice Award, after an
online poll of the public for their favourite.
    "We believe co-creativity with our consumers in the design and fashion
industry is strongly linked to our brand," says Dorene Wharton, Marketing
Director at Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc., which owns the Sourz brand. "We
are so impressed with the results that we want to roll this out nationally
next year."
    The winning promotional, marketing and design ideas will be incorporated
into the new Sourz brand platform, which will roll out over the course of 2008
and beyond.
    The zingy liquor brand is available in its popular Sourz Apple variety in
three Canadian markets: Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. In Alberta and
BC, Sourz Raspberry flavour is also available. The Canadian market will also
be the first in the world to have an all-new Sourz flavour, Berry Fusion,
later this year.

    About Maxxium Canada
    --------------------
    Maxxium Canada is the Canadian division of Maxxium Worldwide BV, a global
spirits and wine distribution group operating in over 35 countries and
covering more than 60 worldwide markets. Maxxium's portfolio includes some of
the most well-known premium brands: Canadian Club Whisky, Sauza Tequila,
ABSOLUT Vodka, Level Vodka, Rémy Martin Fine Champagne Cognac, Cointreau
liqueur, The Macallan and Highland Park Single Malt Scotch Whiskeys, Alberta
Premium Whisky, Bols Liqueurs, and various wines such as Clos du Bois, Cono
Sur and KWV. Maxxium's head office is in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. For more
information, visit www.maxxium.com.

    About Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc.
    --------------------------------------
    Inspiring conversations around the world, Beam Global Spirits & Wine,
Inc. is building brands people want to talk about. Consumers from all corners
of the globe call for our brands, including Jim Beam(R) Bourbon, Sauza(R)
Tequila, Canadian Club(R) Whisky, Courvoisier(R) Cognac, Maker's Mark(R)
Bourbon, Laphroaig(R) Scotch Whisky, Teacher's(R) Scotch Whisky, Knob Creek(R)
Bourbon and Starbucks(TM) Liquors. Beam Global Spirits & Wine is part of
Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE:FO), a leading consumer brands company with annual
sales exceeding $8 billion. For more information on Beam Global Spirits &
Wine, its brands, and its commitment to social responsibility, please visit
www.beamglobal.com.

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contact: Aimée Savard, LexPR Canada, [phone], ext. 3364, [phone]
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