1. Executive Summary
Recently, the Hong Kong’s population is characterized by a large and growing segment of young and affluent consumers as they have plenty of disposable income to spend on alcohol beverages. With the widespread westernized drinking habits by the young and affluent Hong Kong population, the demand for beer is expected to rise steadily. Furthermore, the established social scene in Hong Kong is characterized by restaurants, pubs, night clubs and other social gathering venues, which constitutes an ideal starting point for the international brands looking to enter a new market. Thus, the Hong Kong beer market is extremely competitive.
However, the female beer drinker market is currently being ignored by the brewing industry. Female alcohol consumption worldwide is on the rise, due to a variety of social and economic factors that have liberated women and allowed them to consume alcohol as they choose. As evidenced by the Industry Reports 2011 released by Euromonitor International, there has been a trend shift towards the consumption of beer and away from spirits.
Reasons for female alcohol consumption vary. On the whole, the increase in female alcohol consumption across the developed world indicates a trend towards greater female liberation and freedom due to women having their own economic means. Today’s women have an increasingly large place in the professional world, and, as their place in the professional word rises, so do their financial means. Women have more money at their disposal than ever before, and they choose to spend this money in a diverse and startling number of ways. They shop for clothes, they buy cars, and they enjoy the occasional night out in the company of good friends. During the course of this night out, they often choose to consume alcohol. Where, in the past, this would have been viewed as a sign of social deviance, today it is accepted and normal.
An under-utilized factor in this trend, however, is the trend in female alcohol consumption. Most women tend away from drinking beer, as it enjoys an association in popular culture with the male psyche and persona. While social pressure on female alcohol consumption has lightened up, social pressure on female beer drinkers is as strong as ever, and they are often viewed in a negative light.
In the past, however, marketing has been extremely effective in changing the target market segment of a given brand of alcoholic beverage. Light beer, for example, was once viewed as the exclusive domain of women and those who are concerned with their figure, and was shunned by the heavy beer-consuming community. After billions of dollars was spent on advertising, however, light beer experienced a dramatic rise in popularity, and now accounts for a full 50% of the market share of beers as a whole. This demonstrates an important example in how marketing can have an effect on consumer trends, particularly with respect to gender and beer consumption.
This presents somewhat of a problem to the Bacardi brand. First, Bacardi is primarily a distributor of spirits, and not currently positioned in the market to take advantage of this growing trend. Second, no action is currently being taken to energize the growing female market segment with respect to the consumption of beer. Women report a variety of reasons for dissatisfaction with existing beer brands, which tend to focus on a poor evaluation of taste and other brand factors.
However, Bacardi does enjoy a variety of competitive advantages over other firms, particularly in the Hong Kong area. Bacardi is targeted towards the luxury consumers, who are between the ages of 20 – 35, and are gainfully employed. It is the largest distributor of rum in the world, and the second largest distributor of spirits. This ensures that the brand already has high recognition, and its status as a premium and super-premium brand makes it an ideal choice to capture the growing market of female beer drinkers and gain an entirely new generation of customers.
The current research paper proposes to evaluate Bacardi Limited’s market context, identifying its target market in order to understand what they would desire from a new beer brand. An important discussion should also be about determining the company’s competitor. Here, the discussion will briefly follow Bacardi Limited’s competitors on spirit market and will move into a more elaborated analysis of its competitors on the beer market. The purpose of this analysis should be to identify the competitive advantages that the company has over its competitors, or the ones that it could develop, based on a clear understanding of the competitors’ business strategies and marketing plans.
In order to capture this market segment, Bacardi will release a new brand of beer through its Asia Pacific Limited arm. This brand will be called “Animee”, and will focus exclusively on female consumers. In order to capture this market, it will have a low carbon content, low alcohol content, low calorie content, and bright colors, both in substance and packaging. Flavor will be a strong emphasis in marketing campaigns, and three flavors will be introduced initially: clear-filtered (malt), crisp rose, and zest lemon (molsoncoors.com). By emphasizing flavor, Bacardi will grab the attention of the overwhelming number of women who are unenthusiastic about consuming beer due to reports that its malt flavor is too dull to consume every day.
In order to break into the market, the Animee brand will enjoy a variety of promotional techniques. First, free test samples will be distributed in Hong Kong, with an emphasis on female consumers who report dissatisfaction with taste. Second, brand introduction will focus on areas with a large population of female beer drinkers, such as university campuses. Third, promotional strategies such as street fairs and road shows will enhance consumer awareness of the product and continue to emphasize improved taste. Promotional strategies will segment the market, target appropriate firms as marketing channels, and position the brand in a unique segment of the market. Finally, an advertising message will be created and distributed through both print and electronic channels across Hong Kong.
With the implementation of these strategies, Bacardi Limited will enjoy a variety of positive outcomes. Profits will rise, inventory turn-over rates will soar, and business relationship with competitor firms will be improved. Bacardi Limited stands only to gain through the introduction of such an exciting, new and vibrant product for its line of beers.
Perhaps the most critical factor to recognize in the development of this new product line is that, in effect, alcoholic beverages market themselves. Once a key portion of the market has been seized, it becomes very difficult to shake a company’s hold on the consumer. Unlike, for example, mike, which is consumed in the privacy of the home and generally not discussed in a social setting, alcohol is almost exclusively consumed among others and frequently discussed in terms of its relative strengths and merits. In going out on the town to the bars, drinkers develop a preference for what they like to consume, and tend to stick to a relatively small selection of brands to which they are loyal. They always see what their friends are consuming, and their drinks will often be a subject of conversation throughout the night. If, then, Bacardi Limited can take decisive steps now to establish itself as the beer of choice of women inside Hong Kong and across the world, it will be rewarded for years to come in continuing word of mouth advertising and a market share that sustains itself through a positive feedback loop. As more women drink Animee, more women will drink Animee, influenced by their peers’ decisions.
2. Introduction
Drinking is a complex topic throughout the world, because when consumed in excess it causes dependence, which leads to may unpleasant secondary effects. We shall not, however, concern ourselves with the issues that stem from Bacchanalian excess. Rather, the primary focus of this investigative report will be the market for beer among women in Hong Kong. We believe that the Bacardi-Martini Asia Pacific Limited Corporation stands to gain immensely through the introduction of a new product line, which we have named Animee. We shall investigate some key trends in market, consider the relative strengths and weaknesses of the Bacardi-Martini Asia Pacific Limited Corporation, and analyze current factors keeping women away from consuming beer.
Having identified these key factors, we will consider how to best take advantage of the company’s strength, negate it weaknesses, and overcome the current resistance to beer consumption among women. With this resistance in mind, the development of the Animee brand will follow a very specific path that is intended to directly address complaints reported among women about the consumption of beer. We will then outline a specific and action-oriented brand design for Animee, render a set of marketing and advertising recommendations, and close the paper with a prediction of outcomes for Bacardi-Martini Asia Pacific Limited if it completes our recommendations in full.
3. Literature Review
3.1
What qualities do women who consume beer in Hong Kong look for in a new brand of beer?
Based on the gathered information as a result of the undertaken research on this topic, it appears that beer consumption is a complex social, economic and geopolitical that has as many contributing factors as there are beer brands on the market today – that is to say, quite a few. We shall not, however, be dissuaded from our search for answers on the basis of this finding. To the contrary, we shall redouble our efforts in the search for “what makes women’s beer, women’s beer.” Often, it is seen as desirable for a beer not to be associated with women. Light beer, for example, underwent a dramatic shift after the 1990s in America, when it became increasingly marketed to men. Before, it had been seen as a women’s drink, and light beer consumption was largely restricted to women and men who were trying to watch their caloric intake. It was. “Dr. Vino,” of drvino.com, explains a “niche” product that did not appeal to the section of beer drinkers who simply did not care about calorie consumption (“How and why did light beer come to be the choice of NFL viewers?” 2012). Due to a stunning one and one fifth of a billion dollar outlay on the part of Bud Light for advertising cash, however, this changed dramatically, and now a full one half of all beers sold in the United States of America are light. Clearly, marketing has a serious influence on the demographic that consumes its product. Just as poor marketing can cause a shift away from a product and towards a superior substitute, so, can high-quality and high-spending marketing push individuals towards the consumption of a product that, according to social norms, they generally would have little interest in. Such is the case of beer and the women’s market, as marketing initiates gradually enact a complex change in the social structures that surround the production, purchases, distribution and consumption of beer.
Beer has became more than a drink, but the expression of independence, of freedom, of consuming it for pleasure and selecting it out of various many other types of drinks available. With the increasing financial power that women are gaining at a global level, their independence also develops, as well as their life rhythm. As such, the beer market, which was traditionally dedicated to men, is experiencing the emerging of a new and significant beer consumer: the women.
However, beer drinking should be considered from another perspective also, not solely as the expression of financial stability and independence or the beverage consumed when going out, at a binge drinking. Beer is also known for its health properties. Drinking beer is associated with various benefits, such as reducing the cardiovascular risks, or resolving issues relating to difficulties in going or staying asleep for the duration of the night, by lowering the accumulated stress levels of the individuals who engage in the consumption of an alcoholic beverage before going to sleep. People who consume beer, on the whole, and only those who choose to consume it in moderation, tend to have healthy cholesterol levels (“The Health Benefits of Drinking Beer” 2012). Due to the rising obesity epidemic, any part of an individual’s daily life that can be modified in a simple, unimposing way to help keep cholesterol levels low is a significant source of aid to the public health community, and should not be taken lightly. In addition to its beneficial effects on cholesterol, beer has a variety of other beneficial health effects that are often “glossed over” by the anti-beer lobby. Beer can help build strong bones, due to its high calcium content. It is also a source of a variety of healthy vitamins and minerals. Beer contains what is known as a “B complex” of vitamins. That is to say, it contains a number of different vitamins of the type “B,” which includes vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 (ibid). B12 is a particularly important vitamin to receive supplementation, as it is often neglected by the standard diet of industrialized nations. A deficiency of vitamin B12 can cause a variety of negative health effects. Specifically, B12 vitamin deficiency can cause a feeling of weakness, weight loss, stomach problems, easy bruising, and can eventually lead to nerve damage. If never damage occurs, it begins to manifest itself in terms of experiencing a difficult time in attempting to walk without assistance, changes in mood including the possibility of the development of depression. Mostly shockingly, B12 vitamin deficiency can cause severe memory loss if left untreated, eventually progressing into dementia (“Vitamin B12 Deficiency”). In effect, then, contrary to popular belief, drinking beer can actually help prevent the development of serious memory problems over time. In and of itself, beer does not cause the individuals who consume it to gain weight. Qualifying this statement, however, is the fact that many of the activities associated with beer drinking do cause weight gain – including consumption of unhealthy foods and other high-fat products – so there are some reasons for those who are more health conscious avoid the product (“Health Benefits of Drinking Beer”). Emerging health benefits, then, are one reason that beer consumption among women is rising on a global scale. As mentioned, however, there are some limitations to the health benefits of beer consumption. Beer consumption only has health benefits when engaged in moderation. Once taken to excess, the benefits quickly cease and become replaced by serious negatives (ibid).
3.2
Why do women today choose to drink?
We would like, then to address the core question that sits beneath the marketing efforts of Bacardi in their new line of beer, before we continue any further analysis of what those marketing efforts are. In simple terms, we seek to discover, why do women today choose to drink?
Drinking is not a vicious thing, something to be ashamed of, when doing it with moderation and conscience. In fact, drinking indicates a social status, is a signature, a lifestyle. People drink after work, in weekends, when going out, or in the comfort of their houses. They are teenagers, adults, older people who consume alcohol (although the alcohol companies advertise against the consumption of alcohol for people under the age of 18). They are men and they are women. Each have their reasons, each have developed their own needs of consuming alcohol.
Because of their emerging role in society as self – providers, women have changed their social behavior, which also determined the familial shift from the traditional women to the independent one. Women no longer wait for men to bring home the income, but they provide it for themselves. Once with the financial stability that they acquired, they also developed different needs.
Like this, they develop the need to shop for different things other than detergent other products for home, which associate them with housewives. They are shopping for outlets, for shoes, for tickets to theater, cinema, concerts, they are even shopping for houses, in their own. Likewise, they are shopping for drinks also. Although in some regions of the world, women who buy drinks for their own consumption are still perceived with negative connotations. In some less developed nations, a stigma still remains against females who purchase alcohol for their own consumption, rather than for the consumption of others using the alcohol that was purchased – those who approach the liquor store in the mindset of a consumer rather than a hostess. In more developed, enlightened countries, the simultaneous occurrence of the female gender and alcohol consumption is not a source of guilt, shame, or any other negative emotion. Rather, it is a simply a reality – a fact of life in the modern world – as the society has progressed to the point where it can come to appreciate the fact that women today tend to act in different ways than they have in years gone by, and that sometimes these new ways will be mutually exclusive with the old ways. In the developed nations and the intellectually advanced portions of the world, this incompatibility is no more of an issue than the incompatibility of the Bible and evolution. Hard science and rationality has won out as economic prosperity spreads through the world, and the trend has no signs of stopping. As far as the eye can see, we are tending towards greater enlightenment, worldwide.
Women drink because they want to. Women drink to enjoy themselves. Women drink to reward themselves. After a hard week of work, with long meetings and complex activities, they need to take a break and loose the stress accumulated over the week. What better way to do this, other than to go out with friends for a drink? Society has no better, legal, socially sanctioned means to relieve anxiety and stress after a long day of work and the progressively more intrusive needs of the economic realities of life than the consumption of alcohol. Alcohol consumption represents a veritable oasis in the desert of the harsh realities – a temporary, fleeting, and delightful escape from the taxing demands that participation in the modern world puts upon all of its members.
In the company of other ladies, alcohol consumers or not, women who drink alcohol feel powerful and comfortable with themselves. They complete one another and they are not ashamed of drinking and partying on their own, on the contrary, they are proud to do this, because this is an expression of their independence. No longer do women need the seal of approval of a male to sanction their activities. Today, alcohol consumption among a group of women is a sanction in-and-of itself. Women are no longer fettered by the need for a male sanction on their activities. They are free to consume alcohol when, where, and how they choose. This paradigm shift represents a dramatic change over the past century that shows no signs of stopping. As women become more free in the social, political and economic spheres of life, so then they become more free on the personal level in terms of their consumption of alcohol in groups, with or without makes present.
Women can drink at social events of any kind. Women can choose to drink at family gatherings and other similar events. Women can drink in the privacy of their own home, whether to compliment a delicious meal, unwind from a long day, or alongside an interesting movie or television shoe. In effect, women can drink whenever and wherever they want. As always, however, in the complex issue of alcohol consumption, which at times can border on excess and become a serious detriment to health, wealth and livelihood, there are some general trends among more moderate women alcohol consumers that show a more restrictive aspect to alcohol consumption. However, for the moderate women alcohol consumers, the need to drink is associated with an event (Wu 2010). Generally, women do not opt to consume alcohol “just because” the way men and other, more heavily drinkers sometimes do. This is not to say they are unable to, rather, they choose not to, rather, they choose not to, on the whole, in order to assure their continued well being.
In addition, due to its role as a social lubricant and in the context of its power in sparkling conversation, alcohol consumption has been demonstrated to have some healing properties on an emotional level (ibid). Where, perhaps, social class and economic status are the great dividers of the modern world, alcohol, when consumed moderately, can bring people of diverse types, ways and means together in productive conversation in the way that no other substance or setting truly can.
In summary, the reasons that women choose to consume alcohol for a variety of reasons. First, there are clear health benefits to consuming beer in moderation that prompt many female, individuals to indulge in the occasional brewed beverage. Second, the consumption of alcohol and beer in particular, is a sign of social liberation – an act of rebellion against the antiquated standards and morals of the past. Female alcohol consumption can occur at any place, in a group of any size, and for any reasons, although healthy female drinkers generally tend towards event-driven drinking in groups. Third, alcohol fills an important social need of women who are under high levels of stress due to professional commitments in their capacity as an employee. Finally, alcohol consumption among women has been shown to have some beneficial effect on a therapeutic level. Due to its ability to prompt deep, meaningful conversation, alcohol consumption can help have a healing effect on estranged individuals can help women of differing opinions to resolve their problems and continue on in productive lives together, unburdened of their issues.
4. Methodology
Having addressed the causes, frequency, and prospective benefits of beer consumption among women drinkers, it is necessary, then, to discover how exactly these assets and liabilities are in play among the beer consumption patterns of female beer drinkers in Hong Kong. In order to make thorough, meaningful and precise recommendations as to the proper targeting, positioning, and development of a new beer brand targeted towards female beer drinkers, it is necessary to understand what, exactly, the market for female beer drink is. In order to understand the competitive advantages of Bacardi in the market, it is necessary to understand what exactly Bacardi’s market is – as opposed to the primary market of some of some of its main competitors.
It is important to create a desirable image for women as beer drinkers. Women have always played their part in advertisements for alcoholic beverages. However, targeting the market has not been seen too often. Trends in alcohol advertising will be examined and scrutinized.
In this spirit, we have sought to concisely, accurately and analytically come to a thorough comprehension of what the Bacardi market is. After a discussion of Bacardi’s unique position in the market, we shall examine the position of some of its competitors. Following this analysis, we shall recommend the most effective course of action to position a new product in this extremely competitive market, and describe some key features and actions that such a brand will possess and undertake in order to ensure its continuing advantage over all competitors on an ongoing basis.
5. Results
5.1 Bacardi’s Market and Competitors
Bacardi Limited is known far and wide for its spirit drinks, the business evolved into a brand that is known and appreciated throughout the world. It is the largest privately and family-controlled spirits production country anywhere in the world. Throughout its history, it has made a number of acquisitions in the world of distilleries in order to diversify its holdings. (bacardilimited.com)
Bacardi is a company with tradition on the spirit’s market; its products tend to find themselves of the most use in the creation of mixed drinks, that is to say, for creating popular cocktails. Its extensive use in the creation of cocktails separates the Bacardi brand from other distilleries on the market, and can be included in their competitive advantages against other alcohol brands on a global scale.
Through its mix of products, Bacardi challenged its targeted market. As traditionally alcohol products are dedicated to and marketed towards male consumers, Bacardi Limited is on the cutting edge of the evolving consumer market in understanding that women are growing to hold a progressively larger share of sales. As such, the company has launched products targeted especially towards to women, such as Bacardi Breezer Light. The key demographic this product is women between the ages of 25 – 29. In creating this campaign, Bacardi recognized that women of this age are still in their youth, looking to have fun, and generally consume alcohol responsibly and moderately. As more distinguished consumers, they are sensitive to taste, flavors, colors, aspect, composition of all products that they consume, hence, Bacardi’s product had to answer these aspects. As such, it replaced the sugar with substitutes, in order to reduce the calories, while the color and flavor remained similar to the original Bacardi Breezer (bacardilimited.com). This sophisticated move in product development predates the introduction of the new “Animee” beer line. It should be used as a precedent in the development of all new alcohol products aimed towards women as it demonstrated some valuable aspects of the female alcohol consumer market as it exists in the world today.
In relation to this aspect, it must be stressed here that Bacardi Limited is no stranger to trying new markets. This strategy should be carefully analyzed in order to understand the strong attributes of the previous marketing and sales campaigns, and to propose solutions for improvements where possible, which to be implemented in the marketing campaign planned for Animee. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it – in this aspect, we must take a lesson from the past in order to inform ourselves as how to best recapture a market segment which we have had success in bringing over to our brand through product development in the past.
Bacardi must identify its target market through past studies. The target market segments of Bacardi are men and women, in good financial standing and gainfully employed between the ages of 20 to 35, who love fun, freedom, and the relaxing properties of alcohol when it is consumed. Besides, Bacardi’s products must also design for the people who simply want to relax, again, by having a refined drink, regardless of their socio-economic status, their job, or their place in the world. Therefore, Bacardi turns away no customer unsatisfied.
The target groups are directly connected with the quality of the products. As such, since Bacardi is oriented towards super-premium and premium markets, with a moderate orientation towards medium markets, the company’s customers are situated in the equivalent category of income. Bacardi must position itself in the market as a sophisticated drink for sophisticated drinkers.
However, it is evident that there is an upward trend in the consumption of beer taking in Hong Kong, as can be seen in the Industry Reports 2011 released by Euromonitor International above. Sensing the growing potential of this market, the Bacardi brand has restructured itself in order to better take advantage of this burgeoning business opportunity. For this reason, the newest arm of the brand, Bacardi Limited, is oriented to new markets. Specifically, Bacardi-Limited seeks to corner the beer market among its target consumers (bacardilimited.com).
Currently, the major beer brands in Hong Kong, foreign brands mostly produced in China, include Heineken, San Miguel, Blue Girl, Carlsberg, Budweiser, Blue Ribbon, Lowenbrau, and Tsingtao.
Bacardi’s products address the super-premium, premium and medium markets. In the spirits sector in Hong Kong, it owns 17% of the market share, while Hennessy Louis Vuitton has 32% of the market and Pemod Ricard Groupe has 27% of the market. It still places in a top five position, and it appears that the company is in little danger of losing its competitive advantage any time soon. This makes Bacardi the ideal brand to introduce a new, potentially risky brand like a female beer drinker line. By making optimal use of its already huge lead over the competition in established an entirely new market segment, Bacardi has the best-positioned company on the market today to enter into such an exciting development.
Overall, the company is one of the world’s largest alcohol companies, owning a market share of 10%, and being situated after Diageo, which is the largest premium drinking company in the world, with a total market share of 28% (Wood 2010), as the second largest alcoholic beverage company, again, Bacardi uniquely position to leverage its advantage over the competition and capture the female beer drinking market as it is still in its inception. The only rational move for Bacardi at this point in time is to take firm and decision action in order to take advantage of state of the market today and establish a firm foothold moving forward to ensure future prosperity.
Unfortunately, Bacardi does not sell its products in a vacuum. There are a number of other brands which produce spirits on the market, which Bacardi must compete with, either directly or indirectly. Research has shown that the company’s main competitors are Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Pemod Ricard Groupe on the wine market (Euromonitor 2011).
Apart from these main competitors, there is one other worth mentioning. Beam, Inc. represents one major competitor of Bacardi, and is situated on the premium market as well. Its mix of products includes tequila, rum, bourbon whiskey, ready to drink cocktails. Its products represent popular brands all over the world, like Teacher’s Scotch, Courvoisier Cognac, Sauza Tequila etc. The company distributes its products through direct sales to its distributors and although the company is located in the United States of America. However, despite its status as an American company, Beam, Inc. is an international distributor, as around 50% of its sales come outside the United States (beamglobal.com). Beam, Inc., then is a competitor in the Hong Kong market.
5.2 Key Factors in Female-Targeted Beer Brands
i. Carbonation Level
Some male-targeted beers have a high carbon content. The carbon content of a beverage is the amount of carbon dioxide gas that has been dissolved inside of it – essentially, it is a measure of how “bubbly” a beverage is. Beverages with a high carbon content tend to have after-effects from consumption that include bloating and gas, after-effects which are generally viewed as undesirable by female beer consumers. This a deviation from the male beer market, where high-carbon content beers can be seen as desirable due to a greater case of consumption, stemming from a quality of “smoothness” that high levels of carbonation cause that on a subjective level.
ii.
Alcohol Content
Alcohol content is a divisive issue among beer drinkers. Heavier drinkers tend to prefer beers with a higher alcohol content, as they feel that they are getting a better bargain for their expenditure in terms of inebriation-vs-beers-purchased. Among more moderate drinkers, however, a beer with lower alcohol content tends to be preferred. This allows moderate drinkers to enjoy the taste of a number of rounds of drinks over the course of a night without becoming excessively drunk.
iii.
Color
Scientific evidence suggests that women, on the whole, are more sensitive to color than men are (“Do you see what I see?” 2011). Therefore, beers targeted to women should have a more varied color palette than beers targeted towards the usual male demographic. It is hypothesized that color is a driving factor in the popularity of wines and champagnes in the traditionally-sanctioned female consumption of these kinds of alcohol. Color is an oft-overlooked factor in beer production that should be faced with greater emphasis in the future markets.
iv. Flavors
The typical palette of a beer drinker is rather restrictive. Focusing almost exclusively on dark, malt notes in the overall flavor, the potential contribution of fruit and other spices in the total flavor of a beer have largely been ignored by traditional beer producing methods. In order to attract a greater market, an emphasis on varied flavor should be renewed and new additives, including the light notes generally found in natural fruit flavors and herbal spices, should have a prime position.
v.
Calorie Content
As stated during the introduction, the historical female drink of choice has been the light beer. High calorie content in drinks tends to cause weight gain as no new measures are taken to help keep the weight gain off. If more calories are consumed than burned on a given day, weight gain will inevitably result (“What is a calorie surplus?”). Beer makers, therefore, should be cognizant of the calorie content of their beverage and seek to tailor it as efficiently as possible towards their market.
6. Conclusions – Recommendations for the “Animee” Brand
Having analyzed the market shares of Bacardi as compared to its consumption and identified some key variables in the design of a beer than can make it more or less attractive to a given market segment, it is possible, then, to design a complete brand on the basis of these findings.
6.1 Properties of the female beer drinkers’ beer
On the basis of the five qualities outlined above, it is possible to complete a design of a beer intended predominately for female consumption.
First, the Animee beer brand must have a low carbon content. This will have the effect of reducing bloating and unwanted gastric disturbance among the target demographic.
Second, alcohol content should be low. Alcohol content among so-called “standard” beers tends to run around 4% - 5%, and light beers tend to run around 2.5% - 4%. In this regard, a women’s beer should have approximately 3% alcohol by volume. This ensures that the customer does not feel slighted due to a low alcohol content, but does not get excessively inebriated. As alcohol is high in calories, a reduced alcohol content has the additional wanted effect of lowering calorie content, as shall be addressed later.
Third, light and eye-catching colors should be used in the beverage itself whenever possible. At the very least, a golden-brown color should be attained. In cases of flavored beer and specialized brands where coloration of the liquid is to be expected, colors like mauve, red, pink and rose should be emphasized, stressing a connection between women’s beer and a more commonly-consumed sparkling wine.
Fourth, special flavor lines shall be introduced as time goes on. While it is important to establish a standard, malt-flavor brand, fruits and spices should be used to vary the taste and attract customers why do not usually consume beer. Beers with a hint of lemon are currently on the market and should be explored by the Animee brand. Additional flavors like blueberry, orange, or lime can also be taken into account as the brand grows in popularity and increased diversification is made possible without causing customer confusion over the immense number of options. Three flavors shall be marketed at the outset: clear-filtered (malt), crisp rose and zest lemon (molsoncoors.com).
Fifth, and perhaps most importantly, calorie content should be kept as low as possible without severely impacting the overall flavor of the drink to a significant degree. No matter how enticing a brand may be made through marketing and promotional devices, female beer drinkers simply will not buy the product if it is viewed as causing excessive weight gain. If the calorie content of the drink cannot be kept below competing light beers, existing female beer drinkers will have little incentive to defect from their current brand, and a large segment of the market will be lost.
6.2 Marketing and Promotional Techniques designed to ensure the success of the Animee brand in Hong Kong
Having crafting the ideal female beer, it is then possible to design a proper marketing strategy to make sure that such a finely crafted product reaches a level of public awareness high enough that its beneficial qualities will be made evident to the end consumer. Four strategies have been identified:
1. Free beer samples will be distributed to residents of Hong Kong, with preferences displayed towards households with a higher concentration of female members than average. Additionally, these samples will be targeted towards consumers who report high levels of dissatisfaction with existing beer brands, specifically consumers who express a desire for a new flavor not currently represented in the market. The purpose of this strategy is to make the population of Hong Kong aware that a new, fresh and vibrant brand has entered the beer market, and help them to become aware that a new beer that may cater directly to their previously-unsatisfied taste is available.
2. The introduction of the brand will focus to the greatest extent possible, on areas already identified with large populations of female beer consumers. This will allow the brand to take advantage of a market segment which is already familiar to a degree with the product, and the resistance of non-beer drinking women can then be overcome through word of mouth advertising from this initial segment. This will help improve sales as a high consuming portion of the market will now have direct access to the product. Targeted areas will include town centers, tourist attraction cites and areas with a large student population. As the Animee brand is feminine, by choosing area with high levels of female consumers, this strategy will directly attend to one of the brand aims.
3. The company will engage in promotional strategies for the brand. For example, Bacardi-Martini Asia Pacific Limited, the primary seller in the Hong Kong market, will carry out roads shows and other open-air venues for the promotional of the brand. Space at street fairs will be capitalized upon and used to the fullest extent possible. Three sub-strategies have been identified as key in brand promotion:
(a) Segmentation. The market must be divided into key segments on order to most effectively cater to varying portions of the beer drinking market. Here, the primary segment is obviously, female beer drinkers. This segment can be further and more usefully sub-divided into two further segments which require separate and specialized marketing techniques: current female beer drinkers and potential female beer drinkers. Marketing towards the former will focus on the benefits of Animee with respect to existing, male-dominated brands; marketing towards the latter will take place with an emphasis on the potential benefits of beer consumption of those who are unaware of its qualities.
(b) Targeting. Having identified the key segments of the market. Bacardi will identify which firms on the market have the greatest access to these segments. Certain television shows, for example, may be identified as popular among women who drink beer, and targeted advertisement can then take place during the running time of these shows in order to capitalize upon the opportunity.
(c) Positioning. Having identified the key market segments and the firms with the greatest access to those segments, it is necessary to develop a coherent advertising message in order to most effectively capture consumer interest. Flashy, appealing advertising will be developed. Using focus groups, a brand will be cultivated with the greatest possible attraction to the target market segments. Being targeted to women, it can be hypothesized that the most effective branding techniques will include bright, colorful text, neat, symmetrical lettering, and a concise organized packaging. Corporate identity should also be taken into account, and if deemed necessary, a strategy donation to a charity of interest to the target market segment – for example, a statement that X percentage of profits will be dedicated to a research group with a focus on breast cancer – can be made in order to ensure a benevolent image of the parent corporation to the consumer.
4. And most crucially, an advertising message must be developed. Having positioned itself as the women’s beer brand, Bacardi-Martini Asia Pacific Limited will design a marketing plan that is most attractive to the target market segment. The purpose of this marketing plan will be to inform the consumer of Animee’s existence, to persuade the consumer of Animee’s superiority, and to remind the consumer of Animee’s enviable qualities on a continuing basis. Marketing will proceed through both printed and electronic channels of communication. Special emphasis will be placed upon those which have been deemed most accessible by Hong Kong’s population, including television, newspaper, magazines, e-mail, flyers and social media.
5. Road shows and participation in events will be a great way to launch the brand and increase its exposure to the public. It gives the female consumer a chance to sample new beers in a fun environment. Also, by increasing its exposure in such these shows, it presents itself directly to its target audience and increases its image as a “happening” beer. The image of the brand will be focused on and techniques in attracting women beer drinkers will be used. Popular and special venues will be chosen and the right partnerships with sponsors will be made. It is important to team up with other brands that will help the image of the beverage.
7.3
Channel / Distribution Strategies
The most critical and most difficult intermediary to identify will be bars with high levels of female customers. For this purpose, a survey will be distributed to all bars owners in Hong Kong which asks the volume of customers they serve on a monthly basis, and asks for an estimate of the male : female ratio for these customers. Bars with a male : female ratio greater than 1 : 2 or an absolute female population per month greater than 1,000 unique customers, will be identified as “key businesses”. In early marketing steps, these steps will receive promotional materials like bottle openers associated with the Animee brand, cigarette lighters, matchbooks, posters and coupons. Later on in the marketing process, free samples will be distributed at these locations and Animee-themed events will be held at the expenses of Bacardi-Martini in order to increase brand awareness.
Most simply, television and radio stations with a high ratio of female : male viewers and listeners will be identified, using the same 1 : 2 cutoff. Marketing activities will be directed towards these stations, with expenses outlay weighted according to female : male ratio.
All liquor and grocery stores in affluent areas will be approached and asked to carry the Animee brand. Since identification of gender ratios in these situations is difficult, a focus will instead be put on the socioeconomic status of the majority of customers, with emphasis on the super-premium and premium markets targeted by Bacardi-Martini worldwide.
7.4
Marketing Plan
A simple timeline follows here, predicting a Q1 – Q4 2014 release for Bacardi Animee in Hong Kong:
i. Q1 – 2014
(a) TV / Radio campaigns begins
(b) Billboards set out to increase public awareness
(c) Social media marketing begins
ii. Q2 – 2014
(a) Print / Electronic media advertisement success assessed via promotional surveys distributed. Free samples will be distributed to survey takers, further increasing brand awareness.
(b) If brand recognition is greater than a given threshold (for example, 10% of a random sample group, adjusted for self-selection bias), then full promotional work will begin.
(c) If threshold is not met Q2, then Q1 activities will be repeated with greater volume for Q3.
iii. Q3 – 2014
(a) Once the critical mass of brand awareness listed above has been reached, then promotional activities will begin.
(b) Free samples will be distributed at bars with high populations of females (defined as male : female ratio > 1 : 2).
(c) A “party-bus” distributing free Animee samples will tour Hong Kong, with emphasis n locations with high undergraduate populations.
(d) An identifiable mascot will be paired with the Animee brand that will follow the tour bus to increase brand recognition.
iv. Q4 – 2014
(a) Assuming success of previous 3 quarters of marketing, a partnership with Sakura (Japan Tobacco Brand) will be created and a Animee brand novelty line of cigarettes will be released.
(b) These cigarettes will be mild, light and imparted with a strawberry flavor to remind consumers of the light, mild and fruity taste of Animee.
(c) The brand will continue for 2 years and then cease, cementing the location of Animee in the consumers mind for decades to come.
6. Reflective Report
After the implementation of the framework outlined in this report, the Bacardi-Martini Asia Pacific Limited Corporation will enjoy a variety of positive outcomes. These outcomes will include:
i. Increased profit. As a luxury brand and as a brand targeted towards a minority segment of the market, Animee can be priced above market average. Studies have shown that most females report dissatisfaction with the flavor of beer, preventing them from consuming it on a regular basis. By making use of fruit flavorings, this hurdle will be overcome, and an entirely now portion of the market will be energized to consume Bacardi-Martini products on a continuing basis.
ii. Increased inventory turn-over. Since every consumer targeted by the Animee brand is entirely new to the market, Bacardi-Martini will enjoy a demand for their product which is higher than ever measured before. Through this project, Bacardi will create an entirely new class of consumers in the market, who will eventually tend to drift towards their product lines once brand loyalty has been established firmly enough to ensure continued productivity in future quarters.
iii. Improved competitor relationships. Bacardi-Martini’s relationship with the Molsen Coors brand will be improved. Bacardi-Martini will enjoy a competitive advantage over all of the other firms in the region, as they have energized a new segment of the market. This will give them enhanced leeway in bargaining with competitor firms for regional contracts and agreements in the future.
As a result of these marketing activities, therefore, an absolute increase in sales in the range of 10% - 20% is predicted. This assumes a minimal capture of the massive female market. Total volume sold should rise approximately 15% - 20%, as existing Bacardi-Martini consumers will be curious about the new brand. Marketing expenses are expected to run approximately $1,000,000 USD per quarter, with selling expenses costing a further $200,000 USD. The marketing costs include all marketing channels that have been identified, as well as a number of manufacturing for the product.
7. References / Appendices
1. Bacardi Limited official website, n.d. Bacardi Limited. Available from http://www.bacardilimited.com/our-heritage/the-early-years#today_tomorrow.
2. Molson Coors official website, n.d. Moslon Coors. Available from http://www.molsoncoors.com/en/Index.aspx.
3. Beam Inc. official website, n.d. Beam Inc. Available from http://www.beamglobal.com/.
4. Do you see what I see?, 8 August 2011. Available from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14421303.
5. How and why did light beer come to be the choice of NFL viewers? Available from http://www.drivino.com/2012/01/20/nfl-lite-beer-football/.
6. Lester, B, Peters, K, Szalay, T & Tanable, N, n.d., Bacardi and Cuban rum. Available from http://www.mcafee.cc/Classes/BEM106/Papers/2009/Bacardi.pdf.
7. The health benefits of drinking beer, illustrated. Available from http://www.thedailymeal.com/health-benefits-drinking-beer-illustrated.
8. Vitamin B12 Deficiency, n.d. Available from http://www.webmd.com/diet/vitamin-b12-deficiency-symptoms-causes.
9. What is a calorie surplus?, n.d. Available from http://straighthealth.com/pages/qna/calorie-surplus.html.
10. Wu, T, 2010, Guys see girls who drink beer as “sexy. Confident, independent, fun”. Available from http://www.lemondrop.com/2010/01/11/guys-dont-like-girls-who-drink-girly-drinks/.
11. Euromonitor International. (2011). “High Strength Mixes – Hong Kong”. Industry Reports.
