mountain man brewing company: bringing the brand to light

CASE STUDY FOR MOUNTAIN MAN BREWING COMPANY

WHY IS IT A SUCCESS?Family owned business.Targeted blue collared workers in the premium

segment over the age of 45.Sold at off premise locations.Followed grassroots marketing to create brand

awareness.Quality attributes of brand-authenticity, quality,

unique west Virginia toughness.Distinct bitter flavor of beer and greater alcohol

content.Effective bottling and packaging.

COMPETETORS

CHRIS WANTS TO LAUNCH MOUNTAIN MAN LIGHT BEER FOR THE YOUTH TO DRIVE UP REVENUES EITHOUT DAMAGING THE BRAND’S CORE EQUITY OF MOUNTAIN MAN LAGER.

LOOKING AT ALTERNATIVES

DON’T LAUNCH LIGHT BEER LAUNCH LIGHT BEER

UNDER BRAND NAME

LAUNCH LIGHT BEER UNDER NEW BRAND NAME

DON’T LAUNCH LIGHT BEER

LAUNCH LIGHT BEER UNDER BRAND NAME

LAUNCH LIGHT BEER UNDER NEW BRAND NAME

Assumption- 2% annual revenue loss till 2010.

Regional revenue growth of mountain man light 4% annually.

Mountain man shall steadily grow its share of regional beer market at rate of 0.25% of total regional market share annually.

Targeting new segment of customer will alienate the existing segment of blue collar workers.

Mountain man shall never achieve the same loyalty among the new younger customers.

The core brand equity shall get eroded.

Mountain man still stands and survives due to its great brand name.

A fatal decision might dilute tha brand name.

CONCLUSIONAlthough it is going to take the brand a decently long

time to breakeven and start making profit, this move is absolutely necessary as the sales of mountain beer lager is projected to constantly decline.

Also, looking at demographics, we can see that the future generations prefer light beer. Light beer is a growing market.

Thus, they should go with the idea of launching mountain man light beer under the same brand name.

Devise an effective marketing strategy using 4P mix to enhance brand imageand provide value o newer as well as core customers.

DISCLAIMER

CREATED BY PRANJALI DONGRE, VNIT NAGPUR, DURING A MARKETING INTERNSHIP BY PROF. SAMEER MATHUR, IIM LUCKNOW..