Winning Through Diversity

While running on the treadmill at a hotel gym in Destin, Florida, early in 2000, Ervin Lee struck up a conversation with the guy jogging next to him. When Ervin mentioned that he worked for a major beverage company in the soft drink market, the jogger asked what he thought about Coors Light as a brand. “I gave him an honest and rather lengthy answer, including a few negative perceptions I’d picked up about the company as an African American,” said Ervin. The jogger smiled and listened, and the next time he saw Ervin at the gym, he introduced himself and handed him his business card. “I was so surprised to see he was a Vice President at Coors,” recalls Ervin. “I said I hoped my remarks hadn’t offended him.”

The jogger wasn’t offended and indeed began a year-long effort to recruit Ervin, finally bringing him on board in March of 2001. A month into his new job, Ervin had the opportunity to meet Bill Coors. “It was very clear that Bill’s main concern was producing a quality product, and he wanted as many diverse groups as possible to produce, sell and drink it. That was all I needed to know in order to put any negative, preconceived impressions to rest.”

Now Ervin wears two important hats at Coors, as Director of Corporate Relations and African American Marketing. He approaches his job with great enthusiasm, and is proud to say that his team’s efforts to penetrate African American markets is reaping rewards, with double-digit growth in some of their targeted markets. Ervin understands the importance of this targeted marketing: “When I joined the company, I had never tasted a Coors product – I was never really marketed to,” Ervin remembers, “and that was the case for most of my African American friends.”

On the Corporate Relations front, Ervin’s mission is to build the Coors image as a good corporate citizen, through meaningful community outreach and engagement. For example, his team works with historically Black colleges to grant scholarships, and awards them during halftime at the schools’ football games. “African Americans are 60% more likely to buy your product when they see you supporting their community,” explains Ervin.

Ervin notes that he looks to the Coors Winning Formula as a roadmap, in which a winning culture depends on diversity. He points out that Coors is the first company he’s worked for where everybody knows exactly what they have to do to win. He believes that all areas of the company must work together to achieve a level of diversity in the company that reflects our marketplace, including recruiting, sourcing, marketing, and community engagement. “All of these areas are really coming together at Coors,” he observes, “and we’re seeing these efforts pay off.”