February 14, 2007 - The Windward and Leeward Brewery Limited in St. Lucia  unveiled its newest campaign for its locally branded lager "The Piton Beer" under the slogan "Piton - Sa Nou Menm" ( Piton - Its Our Own).

In his statement at the launch Piton Beers Brand Manager Thomas Leonce says that;

"Piton Beer’s recent vintage ( 14 yrs. going on 15) has in no way impeded the brands rapid progress in cementing a place in the hearts and minds of St. Lucians, so much so that the brand now occupies pride of place as the market leader in the St. Lucia market.

We feel very happy to see how St. Lucians have embraced the brand, and it’s because the product quality has been maintained at a consistently high level over the years St. Lucians have embraced Piton Beer because the brand continues to provide immense support to many of the activities that St. Lucians enjoy or hold very close to their hearts. "

He also added that their target consumers wanted to see themselves, and their lifestyles reflected in any new campaign, and that they somehow managed to lose that aspect of it after the initial campaign, because of the export thrust which the brand had undertaken shortly after its introduction.

"We needed to refocus Piton Beer on the St. Lucia market and let the visitors come and enjoy it because of that very reason, because it was something that St. Lucians also enjoyed, and are proud of. So it is with PITON-SA NOU MENM, we have attempted to bring back the imagery that our target consumers will be very familiar with, essentially images of their very own lifestyles." said Leonce.

The campaign will start with 4 themes to be used in the print media, namely;

• The Street Barbecue Scene

• The Cricket Scene

• The River Lime Scene

• The Street Party Scene

During the process of developing this new campaign the company also developed an Anthem. This is a separate project which is really meant to exist apart from the current Piton Campaign. The Anthem attempts to capture within the space of 50 seconds  a combination of imagery, personalities, events and situations which make St. Lucian's unique and proud. It is suppose to take into account certain aspects of  St. Lucia's heritage that only St. Lucian's can really lay claim too – The superb intermixing of the Creole language and English which has crafted the St. Lucian and set them apart from the rest of their Caribbean neighbors and indeed the rest of the world.

THE HISTORY OF PITON BEER

Piton Beer – La Biere Sent Lisi (The Beer of St. Lucia) was officially launched in the St. Lucia market on October 7, 1992. The launch took place during a period when nationalistic feelings and pride in things St. Lucian were running at an all time high – Derek Walcott, a native St. Lucian had just been awarded the Nobel prize for Literature.

The launch of Piton Beer coincided with a period of heightened competitive activity in the local market, and initial sales off-take was very slow, but the situation quickly turned around with the launch of the new advertising campaign – La Biere Sent Lisi, Piton I Bon (The Beer of St. Lucia, Piton it’s good).

On the second of February 1993, just four (4) months after its introduction, Piton Beer won the silver medal in the Monde Selection International Beer Competition in Brussels, Belgium.  Sales of the local brew continued to accelerate rapidly in the local market, and the first forays were also made in the export markets. Piton Beer continued to stamp it’s authority as a quality brew locally, when in September of 1994 it climbed the rostrum once more, this time even higher by winning the gold medal at the Monde Selection,  in Paris France.

The local brew continued its outreach to the regional market during the period 1995-1996 by expanding its reach to the territories of Barbados, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, The British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and Dominica. There was no stopping the brand however, as in 1997 the Piton brand was extended to Piton Malta and Piton Shandy in three flavours (Lemon, Ginger & Sorrel).

The strength of the Piton brand kept growing by leaps and bounds regionally. In September of 1998, an agreement was signed with a Martinique brewery-Brasserie Lorraine to brew Piton Beer under licence for that French territory. Piton Beer has today carved out a big share of the St. Lucia market. The brand also occupies pride of place in the hearts and minds of St. Lucians.