Darran Britton, marketing and strategy director at Carlsberg, confesses that he has been annoying his wife lately by spending far too much time on the internet.
Britton's website of choice is YouTube, where he has been assiduously monitoring the comments about Carlsberg's epic World Cup TV ad. So far the spot, which features a host of celebrities from the worlds of sport and entertainment against the aural backdrop of a rousing team talk, has been viewed more than 100,000 times, much to the 39-year-old marketer's delight.
England legends
Britton explains that during the time of the England football team's last appearance in a major tournament - the 2006 World Cup - web 2.0 was still in its infancy. Getting real-time feedback is both a novel and helpful experience as he and his team consider creating shorter versions of the ad.
Britton says the comments have been overwhelmingly complimentary, although he admits he is more prone to noticing the rarer negative ones. 'It's amazing how much it strikes through the heart and you think: "Oh, you shouldn't be saying that about my fantastic ad,"' he adds.
The execution, created by Saatchi & Saatchi, features former England defender Stuart Pearce, cricketer Sir Ian Botham and, a little incongruously, rock band Kasabian, as well as deceased football legends Sir Bobby Robson and Bobby Moore.
Britton was conscious that the images of Robson and Moore had to be handled sensitively and sought the permission of their families before using them. However, feedback from YouTube users indicates their inclusion 'struck the right chord'.
The ad has a more serious tone than previous efforts from Carlsberg, such as the popular 'Old Lions' ad. Britton says: 'We just felt that, as England hasn't been in a major tournament for four years, there would be a massive outpouring of emotion and pride and wanted to tune into that.'
However, there is also room for levity within the wider campaign; Britton points to the humour - both intentional and unintentional - to be found on a dedicated website on which members of the public are invited to post their own team talks.
Carlsberg has also used on-pack promotions to highlight its link to the England team. Phase one of this activity featured a group of England players, including the scandal-hit former team captain John Terry, while a second tranche uses different members of the squad, as well as England manager Fabio Capello. There were mischievous reports when the latter phase was launched in April that Terry had been 'dropped' from the packaging, prompting Carlsberg to issue a clarification.
Britton bats away suggestions that the England brand is in any way tarnished by the recent spate of high-profile controversies involving players. 'We sponsor the FA and the England team, not individuals,' he says. 'It's a very strong property and we have a genuine partnership with the FA.'
During the last World Cup, Carlsberg posted a 247% increase in sales in the on-trade and more than £70m of incremental lager sales in the take-home market. Britton says tracking shows that Carlsberg's long association with football - it has sponsored the England team for 14 years - makes the brand the preferred choice among consumers during tournament times.
Given the enduring nature of this relationship, it is perhaps not surprising that Britton is ready to criticise others for jumping on the World Cup bandwagon. 'There are so many brands doing stuff that have had no links to football,' he says. 'As a marketing industry we probably need to be careful. You've got to have some level of credibility when you are doing these things.'
In a separate move, this year Carlsberg made its first foray into the women's drinking market with the roll-out of Eve, a 100% fruit spritzer drink. Louise Redknapp has been signed up as a brand ambassador for the product, which will be backed by a £3m experiential campaign. The launch runs counter to wider moves within the brewing industry, with Carlsberg's rivals focused on encouraging more women to drink beer.
Britton expresses scepticism about this approach. 'We started from the point of saying: "What sort of products do females want to drink?", rather than necessarily trying to convince them to drink a product that we already have,' he says. Britton adds that Eve has performed better in market research than any other new product he has worked on. However, he also acknowledges there is a 'hell of a lot' of choice in the market, so getting consumers to try it will be vital.
The state of Carlsberg's UK business allows some room for manoeuvre. The Northern and Western Europe section in most brewers' financial reports usually highlights the UK as a problem area, but the Danish company is bucking the trend. Its quarter-one interim results point to a rise in overall market share in the region, 'with particularly strong improvement in the UK'.
An expanded portfolio is one of the key reasons for this performance; Carlsberg took control of the production, marketing, and distribution of Spanish lager San Miguel at the end of 2008 from Heineken UK. Then, at the end of last year, it scored a huge win by securing Wetherspoon listings for Carlsberg and Tuborg at the expense of Molson Coors brands. This had a knock-on effect across the on-trade and helped Carlsberg pick up additional distribution.
Britton's unflashy manner, combined with the fact that he has spent his whole career at Carlsberg, could give rise to an initial impression that he has scaled the company's ranks simply on the back of length of service. Yet, the levels of intellect and insight he reveals when discussing the challenges involved in marketing show that Britton's strategy brief and seat on the board, which he was handed last year, are both well-deserved.
He demonstrates the same kind of enthusiasm when speaking about overseeing the implementation of the company's three-year strategy as he does about marketing. 'I'm quite a general manger, not a classical marketer,' says Britton. 'I'm interested in all parts of the business, so in a board meeting I'll talk as much about logistics and production as much as I do about marketing.' He believes that, for marketers to get on, they need to have a 'passion for business as much as brands'.
The only question that Britton politely ducks is whether he would like to be Carlsberg's next chief executive, but his ambition to rise still further is palpable. The company has a history of appointing Danes to the top role, but in Britton it has very good reason to one day break with that tradition.
Inside work
1993-2004: Marketing graduate trainee rising through various roles,
Carlsberg
2004-06: Brand marketing director, Carlsberg
2006-09: Marketing director, Carlsberg
2009-present: Marketing and strategy director, Carlsberg
Outside work
Family: Married with three children
Favourite holiday: Ashes trip to Australia with friends 12 years ago
Favourite films: The Shawshank Redemption and Airplane!
And another thing: Britton supports Port Vale, but don't mention that
Robbie Williams is also a fan; he's well aware of this