Kaliber Non Alcohol Beer - Essay Example

Kaliber Non-Alcoholic Beer Explore and analyze the problems inherent in the no alcohol/low alcohol market:. what social and cultural issues might effect this market and explain how Kaliber overcame these. The no alcohol/low alcohol market faces a number of cultural and social issues that appeared almost insurmountable when the idea of such a new market was first proposed. The basic cultural problem that the market faced was that the word "beer" is associated, and has been associated, almost indelibly with "alcohol" centuries. Along with the word beer come a series of associations linked to pubs, having a "good time", a lack of inhibitions, sexual possibilities and the whole social structure of the pub scene that has changed over history but has remained an essential alcohol-centered tradition (Guy, 2004). Traditions are notoriously difficult to break within an culture, especially those that are associated with good times, excitement and an escape from the more somber aspects of life. The market is also influence by the fact that a tee-totaler is often regarded with a mixture of suspicion and derision by the very customers that would need to buy NAB/LAB. A person who does not drink alcohol is seen as someone who will lessen the jovial spirit at any social gathering. A sober person among the drunk is somewhat out of place. The drinking people feel it and that person is often not welcome. Kaliber overcame this in a number of ways. First, it was produced by Guinness corporation, which is associated with one of the most famous beers in the world. Thus there was at least a chance this NAB would stand a chance of at least being considered. Second, the choice of a Billy Connolly as a spokesperson was an attempt to transform the idea that non-alcoholic drinks are "not fun" into the idea that one could indeed have a good time while drinking them. Connolly's public image was one of the drunken Scotsman, a near out-of-control comedian who lived a legendary wild life of debauchery. This was an attempt to overcome the most basic and overriding problem that Kaliber faced: that non-alcoholic drinks are somehow less macho and/or feminine than alcoholic drinks. A perhaps disarming, but in hindsight brilliant move was to have Connolly talk about the beer in a serious manner. His deadpan delivery of the advert was not expected, but in a sense placed the beer as a "straight man" to the funny man of alcoholic beer. By the straight man is just as much part of the entertainment within a comedy routine, and by association, a NAB such as Kaliber could be part of the overall, happy social experience of a pub. The idea was to suggest that alcohol is not the defining factor, but rather the sociability and conviviality of the drinking situation. The choice of Billy Connolly as a spokesman personified this idea. Why did Guinness and the agency then feel it was necessary to reposition the Kaliber brand The basic reason for the repositioning of Kaliber was that, while the market was growing and Kaliber had a 30% share of that market, but by 1989 the market had stagnated and it appeared that low alcohol beers would become dominant as the public perceived them as tasting better and also that they were easier to brew. The Kaliber brand needed to be repositioned because it was in danger of losing its leadership position, not because of any particular weaknesses within the product itself, but because of the changing fortunes of the NAB versus LAB dynamic in general. How successful was the campaign The campaign involved Connolly in sober tones stating that you could drink as much NAB as you liked, but that LAB could get you drunk, with all the bad possibilities thus appearing. The results were startling and overwhelming positive. Thus awareness of Kaliber as an alcohol-free brand rose from 40% to 70%, and preference for NAB in general over LAB in general grew from 39% to 52%. As the case study states, "between July 1989 and the end of 1990, Kaliber's share grew from 12% to 20%." Again, the campaign itself was effected by factors beyond the actual product, such as the willingness of consumers in bars and pubs to be seen with a soft drink. The "need" for a non-alcoholic beer that could enable the consumer to "sit in" was starting to diminish. So while the initial campaign was highly successful, the actual overall market was diminishing as the "taboo" associated with non-alcoholic drinking in pubs started to dissipate. Suggest an alternative integrated marketing communications campaign for the Kaliber brand, using a full range of integrated marketing communications tools, with a clear and rational explanation of the choices. Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) is a management concept that is designed to make all facets of marketing communication:- advertising, sales promotion, public relations and direct marketing - to work together as a unified force rather than as discrete entities. This type of approach may be especially useful with the promotion of NAB, with the complex social and cultural dynamics at work. One new approach would be to advertise Kaliber in a manner that alcoholic beverages have been and are promoted. Thus Kaliber could sponsor motor racing teams, other sports events and those types of activity that are perceived to be very "masculine" in nature. The majority of beer-drinkers are still men, and they do that drinking in the very public space of the pub (73% of beer is drunk in pubs) so the image of the drink is of vital importance (Allison, 2003). Such sponsorship of "masculine" activities should go along with the hiring and development of a new spokesperson who is closer in age to the generation of British people who are about to enter pubs for the first time. Billy Connolly will be 65 this year, so however charismatic he may appear to be, there is a definite age-gap between him and the younger market that Kaliber needs to appeal sustain future sales. For example, the hiring of a rap/hip-hop artist to extol the virtues of NAB should be undertaken. This could be combined with an overall campaign to suggest the health advantages of limiting alcoholic intake. This would be an aspect of the overall public relations part of the plan that would seek to make all non-alcoholic drinks acceptable to consumers. Once this occurred all NABs, including Kaliber, would naturally perform better due to the 'all ships rise with the tide' aspect of marketing that has been shown to be true on numerous occasions. Another tactic, although one with a little more risk involved, would be to introduce a "low-alcohol beer" version of Kaliber. This would provide a filling to the gap in beer products provided by Guinness: customers could not have a no-alcohol, low alcohol or fully alcoholic beer choice from the company. All three products could actually be marketed together, thus taking away the stigma associated with NABs and LABs because they will now just be seen as part of a whole range of products. Rather than an either/or approach to the alcohol versus non-alcohol dynamic, a continuum of both/and would be produced. The attempt to appeal to a younger audience should be combined with an aggressive Internet advertising campaign, with the targeted audiences that such an approach enables. Advertising on sites such as myspace would be relatively cheap compared to television, and would tap into a new segment of the market for whom television is no longer the main entertainment choice. The kind of clinical, technological type of entertainment and leisure offered by the Internet is a natural partner to a non-alcoholic or low alcohol beer. The drinking of such beer would be marketed as being part of the Twentieth-Century revolution in lifestyles, in contrast to the beery, smoking, unhealthy atmosphere of Twentieth-Century. Overall, the move away from a Billy Connolly centered advertising campaign to a more diverse, sophisticated kind of approach will enable Kaliber to draw a broader customer base that it will inevitably need in coming years. The use of technology, particularly through the Internet, enables a carefully targeted customer base to be contacted, and the Kaliber message can be tailored to each specific audience. Thus the MySpace advertisements will contrast to those on soccer websites. These in turn will be different from the type of promotion within the motor racing sponsorship. Overall, the development, problems and eventual survival of Kaliber beer non-alcoholic beer shows how a company can indeed take on a challenging product and succeed. However, It seems uncertain whether in the long run NABs and LABs will survive in the marketplace or whether they will be a passing success. The growing acceptability of non-alcoholic drinks in general may squeeze these products out of the market, especially while they simply do not compare in terms of taste and enjoyment to that of alcoholic beers. ___________________________________ Works Cited Allison, Rebecca. "Britain sinks in beer drinking league". The Guardian, March 17th, 2003. Guy, Sarah. Time Out Eating and Drinking in Great Britain and Ireland. Time Out, London: 2004. www.myspace.com Read More