Mountain Man Brewing Company Case Analysis First Draft

Contents

Contents        1

Executive Summary        1

Problem Statement        3

Recommendations        7

Rationale/Analysis/Justification/Arguments        7

Conclusion        21

Appendix        22

Executive Summary

(1-page)

Describe Goals, Impediments and Solutions.

If we use the Mountain Man brand with the Light product, this should be a recognizable product. You will have the same distributors, route drivers, come on the same delivery cycle, and 50% of the market is already drinking light beer so this is not a revolutionary product.

Keep in mind the difference between a brand and a descriptor. Lager and Light are descriptors. The brand is Mountain Man. Therefore, companies like Sam Adams can sell 40 different beers, or why Yoplait can sell 40 assorted flavors and 8 assorted styles from Original, to Whips, to Light and so on.

Light and fruit flavored beverages attract younger drinkers and women as noted by the multitude of fruit flavored vodkas! I am waiting for the day that special interest groups start targeting beverage companies for targeting young people and enticing them to drink alcohol especially now with "hard" root beer, "hard" orange, "hard" cherry and so on. Tobacco companies have long been in the cross hairs and beverage companies I predict will soon face the same criticism.

What goal should Mountain Man Brewing Company have?

Introduce a new light beer so the company will continue to experience a growth in sales, gain more customers and become more profitable.

What is Chris Prangl considering doing and what factors will he have to align to be successful?

High Brand awareness i.e. an unaided response rate of 67% from West Virginia population

People's optics of the brand being a local and authentic product

Legacy factor with generations of a population consuming the product, the brand had survived for more than 50 years

Strong customer base among the blue-collar working class  

Sense of distinct quality with respect to flavor and taste

Priced at par with the premium domestic brands, hence reasonable pricing is also a crucial factor

Firmly established brand for 8 decades which commands a large loyal customer base with a legacy factor

Attributes like distinctively bitter taste, slightly higher than average content of alcohol that were unique to the Mountain Man Lager brand.

Packaging of beer that was in line with the product positioning for the blue-collared working class (logo with the design of coal miners)

Sticking to the core product of Lager rather than swaying to new emerging markets, i.e. supporting core product competency

Known as the “West Virginia’s Beer,” with authenticity, quality and “toughness” as the core attributes which the target customer base could relate with

Judged “Best Beer in West Virginia” for the Eighth-year straight year, affirming customer faith with respect to product quality and brand name

Increasing product availability in off-premise location through an abled sales force team

MMBC success is based on several major factors such has brand recognition among their customers, their special family refined taste recipe for the core product of the company and its maintained quality throughout the several past years. These factors made MMBC as the best beer in the West Virginia.

Another uncontrollable circumstance which leads towards company’s cost of product increase is extra taxes and increase in the raw material price of the product. As company bears more cost which is unavoidable and enable the company to absorb it without pass it on their customers. So, buyers which have a capacity to buy more in fewer prices now has less power of buying the same product with the high price. Therefore, demand is restricted due to this issue which has the impact on the sales revenue of the MMBC overall. [pic 1]

What is a brand?

A type of product manufactured by a company under a name.

What is brand equity?

The commercial value that derives from consumer belief of the brand name of a product or service, rather than from the product or service itself.

How is brand equity created?

Consumers build Brands, not companies. Therefore, consumers build brand equity too.

Find your brand: Position your product or service as unique and reliable. Solve a problem for your customer. Be clear about your firm’s position in the marketplace. Train your employees to believe in your brand. Marketing your brand: Tell your story using emotion. Include all the aspects of your product’s story in your marketing efforts. Work on methods to make your product memorable. Measure how well your marketing efforts convert prospects into customers.

Strategic investments create brand equity in communication channels and market education and appreciates through economic growth in profit margins, market share, prestige value, and critical associations. Marketing activities such as advertising, PR, and promotion create it.

Problem Statement

(1-Page)

Describe the major problem(s) that you found in the case. Give the rationale for why you believe that these are the most important or significant problem(s). Do not assume that the statements made by the participants in the case are the true problems--they may not able to see the forest for the trees. Base your assessment on a thorough analysis of all the information in the case, including comments by the participants, charts, tables, and other information.

The fact the market is declining for sales of traditional lager beer is not an obstacle. An obstacle is something blocking you from reaching your goal with the same old plan as you had before. What is blocking you now is changing customer preferences, threats from product substitutes like wine, hard alcohol and the fact that 50% of the beer market is now buying light beer which means by Mountain Man not having a light beer they are only competing in half the market. It could get even smaller as you segment the beer market further. MM competes in the premium lager category and beers like Keystone, Natural Light, Busch Light, Old Milwaukee, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Milwaukee's Best compete in the economy segment of the beer market. Then we also have the craft beer market, and the import beer market so MM continues to box themselves into a smaller segment of the beer market.

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