The company said the extra money would go on revamped sites for the two beer brands, as well as search marketing and exploration of internet kiosks as potential platforms for sales promotions and brand-building.
The spend makes up about 10 per cent of Coors' total 2005 marketing budget of 拢71m.
A key move is a revamp of the main Carling site (www.carling.com), which was soft-launched last month.
It has gained new football content to support the brand's sponsorship of various teams and the English League Cup. The new section will offer facts, figures and irreverent editorial, and allow fans to sign up for a weekly email.
Carling sponsors Celtic and Rangers in Scotland, the Welsh national football team and a number of English Premiership clubs, including Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Carling's live music brand, Carling Live, has been integrated with the main site. While the URL Carlinglive.com will still exist, navigation from the main web site will be easier and it will become a more distinct sub-section of carling.com.
Carling also plans to add 'lifestyle' content, initially about gadgets, in an effort to widen its appeal to its core audience of 18 to 24-year-old males.
Separately, Grolsch.co.uk will be updated in February to back an above-the-line campaign for the premium lager brand, which will once again star Ronald Top, the Dutch actor famous for his 'schtop schtop' catchphrase.
Coors is continuing trials of web-enabled kiosks, where it can send promotions to the mobile phones of passers-by.
See cover feature, p30.
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