Heineken Brand: A Case Study

This case was created in order to come to a decision on Chris Prangel’s dilemma involving the Mountain Man Brewing Company and its declining profit margins. Located in the Analysis section is the current situation of MMBC’s product and the different kind of consumers their brand serves. Along with the distinctions of their product and customers is a definition of what a brand is and how brand equity is created and impacted. The analysis was conducted by having a firm understanding of the case and Prangel’s current situation. This report recommends that Prangel should consider his financial and marketing situation of both choices before making his choice. Finally, it was decided that to make it in the tough industry, MMBC should take the harder and more rewarding path of risking creating a new lite version of their Mountain Man Lager.

Brand plays a key role in the beer-purchasing process, along with taste, price, special occasion,

Catherine, W., Tat Pui, L. and Henrik, U. (2011) The Roles of Branding for a Brand Entering

The strategy that Heineken uses is that of differentiation. This strategy gains market share and competitive advantage by distinguishing their products from their competitors through excellent design. A U.S. wholesaler recently asked a group of marketing students to identify a group of beer bottles that had been stripped of their labels. The stubby green Heineken bottle was the only one among the group that showed an instant recognition. This strategy also focuses on high awareness, easy accessibility, and new products. Heineken spent a lot of money on the launch of Premium Light; the first time that brewer had created an extension of its flagship

• Linda shared her experiences with brand identity at Pepperidge Farm. She explained she used a brand development model which included objective, insight, spark, results.

This report will consist of strategic management strategies and concepts used by Heineken in developing a successful global brand. It will include a complete analysis of the company and its vision mission and goals in which it is trying to achieve and the steps taken to achieve them. An analysis of the external environment will be conducted with the use of 2 models to observe the external threats and opportunities which Heineken is faced with and the strategic strategies which are used to overcome or take advantage of these situations. An internal analysis of their company resources, organisational structure and culture will also be assessed to determine their competitive advantage over competitors along with a

Anheuser-Busch Inc. is a dominating global leader in the beer industry, specifically in the United States. Its roots can be traced all the way back to 1852 from the Bavarian Brewery in St. Louis MO when Adolphus Busch traveled from Germany to join his father-in-law. In 1876 Budweiser was founded and rooted its brand in values, ethics, and quality. These core staples of the company evolved all the way to 1982 when Bud Light was introduced. Today Bud Light is the best selling beer in the U.S. and the #1 beer sold by volume in the world. Let’s take a look into the marketing mix that makes this product so successful.

1. Describe the main challenges faced by brand managers Marcilie Smith Boyle and Allison Warren. Of what relevant trends should they be aware?

A. Assess and fully critique the success of Canadian Club’s repositioning strategies used in the case. Use brand theories and concepts to evaluate the company’s branding strategies listed in the case.

I think what sets Budweiser apart from other beer brands is consistency like I stated up above. Anheuser-Busch has been in the beer industry a long time just like Coca-Cola. Budweiser is the “King of Beer” which is the slogan printed on all their bottles or cans. Another reason the Budweiser brand is different from other beer brands is because the amount of advertising Anheuser-Busch does. Budweiser is in every major sports arena that you can think of, they spend millions of dollars in advertising alone on Super Bowl Sunday. As a kid growing up the only beer I could ever remember the name of was Budweiser, which is the goal they are trying to achieve. Anheuser-Busch wants the average American to think of Budweiser when they go to buy a beer.

Branding is critical to a successful new product launch because brands better allow a customer to identify a firm and judge the product’s quality. Brands benefit the firm in that they secure competitive advantage, allow for a price premium over competitors and create strong brand loyalty (module 7A). All of these factors are critical to a product’s final identity and the connections that consumers will associate with it. Consumers also tend to associate an added benefit with successful brands. This is known as brand equity (module 7A). Svedka had established their brand identity early on. They wanted to be known as high quality vodka at a relatively inexpensive cost.

Red Bull is not differentiated by gender, race or income, but does position itself as young, sporty and dynamic. It is also perceived as the market leader. The brand is not associated with a type of distribution channel, but does insist on usage situations – anytime, anywhere, for any situation (see advertisement A in Appendix 1).

Branding is all about differentiation. Stephen King said; “A product is something made in a factory; a brand is something bought by a consumer. A product can be copied by a competitor; a brand is unique. A product can be quickly outdated; a brand is timeless.” This is the very root of why companies should brand their products. Brand equity is a massive asset to the company. It is relatively easy for a company to replicate another company’s physical assets as well as their logo and packaging etc. However it is the brand equity that cannot be replicated. This is where the competitive advantage stems from. A perfect example of this is Pepsi and coca Cola. In a blind taste test, the result indicated that the majority of Americans, in fact, favour Pepsi over Coca Cola. Coca Cola is the number 6 brand in the world and Pepsi doesn’t even reach the top 50. Coca Cola’s huge success is entirely to do with its effective branding which has lead to massive brand equity and it’s bottom line results speak for themselves.

3. Describe the brand personality of Red Bull. Why do you think the concept of brand personality is so important to Red Bull?

Belch and Belch (2001) stated that the ultimate goal of an organization is to create brand loyalty, which in return, ensures continued patronage. Pepsi Cola is one of the world’s most popular drinks holding about 29.3% of the entire fizzy drinks market (Esterel, 2011). Pepsi cola is a brand known for reinventing itself with its various logo changes. These rebranding campaigns have been strategically positioned to keep the Pepsi brand relevant within its target audience, the youth. Pepsi still desires to be perceived as trendy, and appealing to the younger generation. The rebranding campaigns are meant to appeal to the forth-coming generation and eventually create brand loyalty. Pepsi have adopted a brand campaign set to distinguish them from other brands. They present the brand as a contemporary product as opposed to a classic relic and thus they grab the attention of the youth. It is therefore very important to understand the loyalty consumers have towards a “brand” that has undergone several changes that include facelifts and general rebranding. It should however be noted that any one of these evolutionary trends will always have consequences. It would be interesting to unravel how much of a success Pepsi has achieved over the years especially with its most recent rebranding