Business Analysis of Mountain Man Brewing Company - Essay Example

?BUSINESS REPORT: MOUNTAIN MAN BREWING COMPANY of Contents Contents 2 Executive Summary 3 Market Report 4 The Business Case 4 Recommendations 6 Marketing and Positioning 9 Conclusion 10 References 11 Executive Summary Mountain Man Brewing Company is faced with challenges related to the marketing of its new Mountain Man Light brand without having a negative impact on the traditional Mountain Man Lager brand. The traditional beer registered a lot of success in the market due to the fact that the market considers it to be an authentic, high quality and tough brand. Nonetheless, its success in the market is demonstrating a decline since the introduction of the new product. As a result, Chris Prangel, the company’s new manager is faced with tough decisions which he has to make. This is because of the desire to convince his father, the company’s founder, and other executives that the new brand can achieve success in the market without negative market impacts on the traditional beer. It is in this regard that a marketing campaign with an integrated marketing approach is recommended in this paper as a way of aiding Prangel’s decision making. Market Report The market that is presented in this case is that of a beer company which is faced with a challenge and dilemma in marketing its new brand. This challenge results from the desire to promote the new brand without affecting the positive image of quality and authenticity which the traditional brand has received from its consumers in the market. This market report is presented in form of an analysis of the business case with an aim of coming up with the most appropriate recommendation for the company’s new manager for solving the challenges and dilemmas that the company is faced with. The Business Case The Business case that is presented within this report is that of Mountain Man Brewing Company which is experiencing challenges in the Virginia beer market. These challenges are related to the changes in the preferences of beer consumers. Moreover the sale of the company has declined. Chris Prangel, an MBA graduate is the manager of MMBC, which is a family business whose managerial role has been passed to him by his retired father. The response that Prangel wants to implement as a result of the decline in sales is the introduction of a new brand, the Mountain Man Light, which is targeted at the youth. Prangel’s decision seems to have yielded fruits because a 4% annual growth of the new brand was registered within the US. Nonetheless the performance of the traditional brands continues to decline. A focus group study on the company’s market by a regional advertising agency reveals that the preferences of various consumers in different age groups vary. The older generation preferred the traditional Mountain Man Lager while the younger generation desired the Mountain Man Light. Chris Prangel is in a marketing dilemma in deciding between the marketing of Mountain Man Light as oppose to the traditional Mountain Man Lager brand. Mountain Man Lager was very successful by 2005. This is demonstrated by the fact that the beer sold over 520, 000 barrels which earned the company more than $50 million. Moreover the brand had grown into the top of Virginia’s beer market. It is notable that in the beer business, the brand plays the major role in defining the decision of consumers for purchase and consumption of a specific brand. However , multiple other factors such as taste, quality, price, occasion, tradition, brand image and authenticity play major roles in the decisions of consumers. Authenticity of the Mountain Man Lager was the main approach that was used by the company in marketing its brand by the demonstration of its rich family history to the consumers. The success of the Mountain Man brand was specifically a success because of the target of the company on the blue collar consumers. This made the brand popular among working class men in Virginia. The fact that Mountain Man Lager was a high quality beer brand, the loyalty of the consumers was achieved by the company. Branding activities have been employed by Mountain Man Brewing Company with a view of building the brand equity. For example the company established a sales force to promote the brand but this force did not push the brand to the market sufficiently. The competition within the US beer market is another significant factor which defines the performance of the Mountain Man brand’s performance in the market. The competition emanated from major domestic producers, second tier domestic producers, import beer companies and the craft beer industry. Since the US is said to be the largest market in beer consumption, it is apparent that the company has a potential of rebuilding its performance and competitiveness in the market. The economic, social and legal forces in the US market also contribute in influential factors that affect the company’s performance. Nevertheless, the findings of Mountain Man Brewing Company’s 2005 market research are important considerations. These findings reflected that Mountain Man Lager was popular because of its quality, authenticity and unique toughness. Moreover traditional marketing was found not to be effective any more. Moreover, the research findings revealed that the large percentage of the brand’s sales emanated from a small percentage of blue collar consumers. Nonetheless the company faces challenges that would be solved through adherence to informed recommendations. Recommendations The top recommendation for helping Chris Prangel’s decision making is the presentation of the most effective, convincing and cost effective marketing strategy to his father as a way of introducing the new brand to the young market segment without affecting the credibility and authenticity of the traditional brand in the market. In this regard, Prangel must make the best decisions and managerial choice that will be approved as a way forward to the success of Mountain Man Light in the market and continued growth of Mountain Man Lager. In the light of this recommendation, it is therefore evident that Prangel must be able to assure his father and other executives within the company that it is through an effective and most appropriate marketing strategy that the success of Mountain Man Light would perform in the market. Prangel must base his decisions on the previous performance of both brands. For example he must be able to demonstrate that Mountain Man Light has received popularity among young consumers. Furthermore, Prangel’s decisions must be based on the fact that it is through a proper marketing approach that the new brand can gain more popularity within the new market segment. In addition, the strengths of the Mountain Man Lager in the market should be used to attract the interest of the new market segment in the brand. This will cause them to have a desire for the brand and motivate their decision to purchase and consume it. More importantly though is the fact that Prangel must base his argument on the market research findings on the performance of the company’s brands in the Virginia market. For example, Prangel must be able to demonstrate effectively that the younger blue collar consumers would be major consumers of the new brand as the new market segment. This is however to be achieved through effective marketing communication. It is therefore recommended for Prangel to hire marketing experts to design and present an effective marketing campaign for the Mountain Man Light brand. The marketing campaign should base the presentation of the new brand to the target market in the most effective approaches and the use of the appropriate media. Since marketing research shows that traditional marketing approaches are no longer effective, it is recommended that a marketing campaign of the new brand employs modern marketing strategies for success. Online marketing is recommended for Mountain Man Light. This recommendation is based on the fact that it is effective in marketing communication to young audience due to the popularity of electronic media among young people (Anderson, 2007, p. 22). For example, the communication of marketing images and messages to the young consumers can be achieved through the social media (Dalton, 2007, p. 2). This will cause the company to reach a large number of potential consumers at no cost. Moreover, online media will create a forum in which the consumers will be allowed to have an interactive communication with their consumers for possible improvements and hence higher performance. The presentation of Mountain Man Light in the marketing campaign must be aimed at ensuring that potential consumers are convinced that it is the most authentic and high quality brand. Consumers are said to be attracted to products which they consider to be authentic and of high quality. This is because all consumers desire to have value for their money in any product that they purchase (Clarke, 2008, p. 488). This recommendation is an effective approach among Prangel’s decisions which will help him to convince the other company executives that through a good marketing campaign approach Mountain Man Light would succeed without affecting the performance of Mountain Man Lager within the Virginia market. More importantly, an integrated marketing approach is recommended as the most viable marketing strategy for the company. The decisions of Prangel and his presentations to his father and the other executives of the company must be demonstrate the advantages of an integrated marketing communication within the marketing campaign of Mountain Man Light. It is argued that an integrated marketing strategy is effective when applied within a marketing campaign because it allows marketers to employ various approaches of marketing communication depending on the needs of the market (Pickering, 2006, p. 19). The recommended integration of marketing communication will employ online promotional strategies, advertising through posters, billboards and sales marketing approaches. The potential consumers within a market segment for the company’s brand are likely to be motivated by the various marketing or promotional approaches to desire the product, purchase it and consume it. This will enable the company to achieve success of its new brand in the market segment of young consumers. More importantly, it is important to note that the marketing communication of the company’s product must target institutions where young people converge. In addition, market places in urban centers should be used as hubs for the marketing campaigns. More importantly, the goals of the marketing campaign must be geared towards ensuring that potential consumers are convinced that the product will meet their desires and satisfy their needs. This will be achieved through effective design of the marketing communication images and messages. This will be aimed at presenting Mountain Man Light as the most authentic and high quality beer for its consumers within the young consumers segment. Marketing and Positioning The positioning of the Mountain Man Brewing Company in the market is affected by the economic and social aspects of the Virginia beer market. The company’s competitors and their market strategies comprise of the major economic and business determinants of the company’s success in the market. The application of proper marketing strategies such as integrated marketing campaigns and the use of technology to campaign the company’s new brand are other factors which affect the company’s positioning in the market. It is notable however that the positioning of the Mountain Man Lager in the market is declining in performance as compared to its previous performance in the beer market. Moreover the company’s Mountain Man Light brand is demonstrating a higher competitiveness in the market. Nonetheless, the new brand has not established itself within the market like the Mountain Man Lager. It is through effective marketing communication that the company would improve the position of both of its brand within its young and older consumer market segments. Conclusion In the light of the above analysis of the case study and the related discussions, it is conclusive that an effective marketing approach is the solution for promotion of the Mountain Man Brewing Company’s products within the Virginia beer market. A marketing campaign which integrates the various marketing communication approaches is recommended for the company. This is because of the fact that an integrated marketing campaign will allow the company to promote its new brand in the young consumer market segment without affecting the performance of the traditional brand in the older consumer market segment. This recommendation is presented with a view of aiding the decision making of the company’s new manager, Chris Prangel, through a convincing report for the planned marketing strategy and the eminent success of Mountain Man Lager. References Anderson, S. 2007, "Creating an effective marketing system", American Agent & Broker, vol. 79, no. 6, pp. 22-22,24. Clarke, I. 2008, "Effective E-mail Marketing: The Complete Guide to Creating Successful Campaigns", The Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 488-489. Dalton, P. 2007, "Inexpensive marketing ideas: Simple, memorable and cost-effective", ABA Bankers News, vol. 10, no. 19, pp. 1-2. Pickering, G. 2006, "Stick to the plan to ensure effective online marketing", B to B, vol. 91, no. 13, pp. 19-19. Read More