CASE STUDY ANALYSIS

OFMountain Man Brewing Company :Bringing The Brand To Light

Key PersonalitiesChris Prangel - MBA Graduate Oscar Prangel – Retired Owner

and President of MMBCGuntar Prangel – Founder of

MMBC John Fader, VP Sales

Case FactsMountain Man Beer Company founded

in 1925 by Guntar PrangelChris Prangel , an MBA graduate

wanted to inherit his father`s business.

Mountain Man brewed one beer called Mountain Man Lager

Also known as West Virginia`s beerChris wanted to launch Mountain Man

Light among the youngsters

For the past 6 years beer sales in US had been growing at a compound annual rate of 4%

Also had decrease of traditional premium beer sales with same percentage

The reputation quality beer was well entrenched throughout the East Central region of United States

By 2005, Mountain Man generated revenue over $50million and selling over 520,000barrels² of Mountain Man Lager.

Held in top market position in West Virginia among Lagers

Price $2.25 for a 12-ounce serving of draft beer in bar

$4.99 for a 6-pack in a local convenience store

Unaided response rate of 67% from State`s adult population

In 2005, MML won “ Best Beer in West Virginia “ for its 8th year straight

Also won “ Best Beer in Indiana”Selected as “ America`s Championship

Lager “ at American Beer ChampionshipMM sold 70% of its beer for off – premise

consumption

SWOT AnalysisStrength :1. Market leader and well established brand

name2. Strong brand equity3. Best range of Attributes4. Promotion Strategy & Customers Weakness : 1. Improper utilization of funds in

advertising2. Lack of financial resources to compete in

the light beer advertising market

Opportunities :1. Reach out to younger demographic 2. Increase lifetime customer value Threats:1. Risk of canalization of core brand2. Alienation of core customer through

new brand3. Dilutes Brand equity

Leading QuestionsHow brand awareness campaign can be

carried out ?Is the promotion strategy for Mountain

Man Lager & Mountain Man Light the same ?

Whether the MMBC should launch the new brand in the market ?

What are methods adopted by MMBC to improve their sales in future ?

Does the new brand affect the sales of existing brand i.e Mountain Man Lager ?

Major Issues & AnalysisPressure on regional breweriesMountain Man`s revenue declined in

2005 by 2%Challenging company`s ability to

remain profitableStruggling to maintain steady share of

its market segment against large domestic brewers

Impact of Mountain Man Light on sales of Mountain Man Lager

Financial projections showed regional revenue growth of the light beer product @ 4% annually

Mountain Man steadily growing its share of the regional light beer market by a quarter of a percent each year off of a 2006 base market share of 0.25%

SolutionsLaunch Mountain Man Light via brand

extension.Launch new product using 4p`s of

marketing mix i.e Product, Price, Place Promotion.

Advertising the new beer brand through Online Media and Social Networking Sites

Providing offer in prices for Mountain Man Light if bought in high quantity

Easy to convince retailers to stock & promote

Labeling and packaging efficiency

Promotional material to cover all partner retailers

Permission marketing getting customer involved in the brand and connecting other customers

Advertise in spot radio, outdoor and social networks

Need to capture on-premise locations like bar, pub which are frequented by younger target market

Multi-brand distribution system should be followed

Situation Analysis of Customer :-

The beer industry in US generates $ 75 Billion in annual sales.

Customers base their choice on taste, price, occasion, perceived quality, brand image, tradition, local and authenticity

Eastern Central Region represents $13 billion in annual sales out of $75billion.

Mountain Man counts with 81% male drinkers, thus neglects Female market segment

Female market segment which represents 32% of the TAM of domestic premium beer.

Focus on a target market: blue-collar male workers. 

While their target customer brings them the focus and loyalty needed to build brand awareness and equity,

MML not taking consideration of other market segments such as the white-collar class and other potential niches

64% of Mountain Man drinkers are 45+ years old while the TAM for that age category represents 49% of the domestic premium beer market in the Eastern Central 

Competition :Competitors for Mountain Man are

Anheuser Bush, Miller brewing Co. and Adolf Coors possessing 74% market share of the overall brewing market.

These three companies have 84% market share in the light beer market.

They rely heavily on broadcasting market as well product diversification to create barriers of entry for other brands

Company :-Revenues of over $ 50 Million, MMBC Founded in 1925 by Guntar Prangel who

established itself as a premium domestic quality beer,

Known for its flavor and bitter taste. With time Mountain Man Lager became the beer

of pride in the Eastern Central region of the United States.

Oscar Pragnel retired president and owner and the business stayed focused on maintaining the quality and serving a specific market niche building brand equity among blue-collar, middle-income and below workers.

Collaborators Off-premise locations, such as

liquor stores and super markets, is Mountain Man main sales channel as it sells 70% of its production at these locations.

The main reason for this result is that 60% of blue-collar workers buy their beer through the off premise locations.

MARKETING MIX ANALYSISProduct:1. MMBC will stand out as compared to competitors in

the light beer market .2. Label should portray a fresh and young image since

the target segment is young adults. 3. Use of bold and vibrant colors to attract attention of

the customers4. The bottle should use a lighter shade such as light

green to differentiate from the dark brown bottles of Mountain Man lager.

5. The light green used also indicated a lower alcohol content of a new brand extension.

Promotion :1. Promotion Bar mats to be distributed to bars and ret

ail  outlets carrying light brew and Mountain Man lager.

Place :1. Product line extensions actually helped brewers

obtain greater shelf space for products and created greater product focus among distributors and retailers

2. There is a need to increase distribution among bars which is only 30% of current sales. Need to target locations that are frequent by the young adults.

Price:1. Observe competitors pricing strategy and carry

out market research to determine the optimal pricing.

2. It is important to price Mountain light brew not too low in order to break even quickly and not to price it too high for fear of low sales.

References :-http://www.scribd.com/doc/49132085/

Mountain-Man-Brewing-CompanyPrinciples of Marketing, 13 Edition, Philip

Kotler www.authorstream.comhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/49132085/

Mountain-Man-Brewing-Company

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