Diageo North America plans to "take price" and is "counting on an uplift in spend" for advertising and promotions, said Larry Schwartz, Diageo US president during an investor conference today. This is according to a report from Dow Jones. He went on to say that "unprecedented spending will be happening in the quarter." Larry said they used promotions in the downturn to maintain market share in the US, believing it would be "intelligent to keep customers with our brands." Now they plan to raise prices in the first quarter of the fiscal year starting June 30, although the prices will not be uniform across brands or states.