Marketing Plan - Introduction of the new Guinness Black Lager on the French Market

Thèmes abordés

Guinness, Black Lager, Marketing Plan, Beer Market, Beer Environment, Beer Marketing, French Beer Market

Résumé du document

Our marketing plan examines the introduction of a new beer on the French market. Guinness has recently released a new product to appeal to a younger demographic than the usual Guinness customer. This new product called Guinness Black Lager is a beverage that is easier to drink than our original product, because of its lighter and smoother taste. The product has been launched in three different countries so far and we believe its introduction on the French market would create great opportunities for our company. Initially, we will focus on selling our product within supermarkets along with the original Guinness that is not currently well represented in the store aisles.

The alcoholic beverages market in France has been decreasing over the last 30 years, especially since the government has increased restrictions related to alcohol consumption for youth and in public places. Therefore, people tend to buy their alcohol in supermarkets rather than consuming it in public locations (pubs, bars, etc.). Moreover, the fall in French consumption has mainly affected the wine and spirits sector while the beer sector has remained steady over time. In fact, the special premium beer segment in which our lager will be positioned, has increased over the last couple of years in terms of volume and revenue in supermarkets within a difficult economical environment.

Within this segment, there are several competitors and the market is almost overcrowded already, however the Guinness brand is renowned in the world and in France as well. It is well known for being unique and the introduction of a new Guinness product will be associated with this unique feature. In addition, the new Guinness Black Lager has no competitors of its kind, therefore, it will be distinctive among other beer products. French males aged between 18 and 28 drink beer more compared to stronger alcohol or wine. They want something new, different, fresh and special and we believe this product will suit their expectations. We are targeting young male beer drinkers as they do not have enough money to spend like the older audience; our product is in the right category and will feature a pricing strategy similar to special premium beers.

The release of our product will be accompanied by important promotional campaigns to ensure the success and visibility of our new Black Lager. With the use of several communication channels (radio, newspaper, in-pub events, ads) we will announce the introduction of the new drink on the French market, and in the meantime, we will increase French awareness regarding the availability of Guinness products in the supermarkets. The product will be sourced just like our current Guinness product: from Ireland and our world famous brewery St James. Kronenbourg, which is highly knowledgeable of supermarket distribution methods, will be tasked with the distribution of our new product; this company already works with us for the original Guinness product. Considering all those aspects, we can expect good revenues with minimal investments because the product already exists, the risk is therefore limited in terms of costs with high potential for success.

Extraits

[...] Currently the original Guinness is targeting a male audience, appreciating tasty beer. It is more a beer for ‘purists' than an everyday sports head beer. Although it is currently designed to target a large audience as explained by Ralph Ardill director of marketing and strategic planning at Imagination Ltd., the edgy London design firm that helped us creating the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin: “Guinness as a brand is all about community. It's about bringing people together and sharing stories, and Guinness stout is a great social catalyst.” Currently Guinness is trying to expand its market share on mature market such as west European countries and North America. [...]

[...] This is also why these consumers rather buy alcohol in supermarkets than consume it directly in bars and nightclubs: it is simply cheaper. Unlike adults, young consumers are not very loyal to a specific brand of beverage. VII. Marketing Mix Product The Guinness Black Lager has been briefly introduced within a previous section of this marketing plan (See §II. Product Analysis on page 4). Its fabrication is quite different from the classic Guinness; we use a process of low fermentation to produce it. This process prevents the yeast from going to the surface as it does with the original Guinness. [...]

[...] An even though some of them like a refreshing one, they are usually appealed by clear and transparent beer. Our new lager is dark beer and in that way it is a limiting factor to our development Opportunities The target point of sales, i.e. the supermarkets and grocery stores is much more accessible as well as affordable for the special premium beer industry. Consumers in this industry's market are more likely to visit supermarkets, hypermarkets or local grocery stores up to twice more frequently than bars and pubs. [...]

[...] 2008), Guinness has renewed with the growth of its sales for the last two years. This comes from the opening of new direct distribution points (especially pubs and bars) and an increase in supermarkets sales in addition to new promotion events. Although the French beer market has decreased per 17% in volume in the last 20 years the sales of special premium and special beers have respectively increased by and over the last past year in supermarkets. And with our new lager we are directly in this active market. [...]

[...] By the introduction of the new Guinness Black Lager we are going to expand the brand visibility. Instead of having one product on a shelves we will have at least two. It will be easier to find a Guinness product consequently our first objective is to increase Guinness awareness in French supermarkets. Out of 100 persons, we want that 60 know that Guinness products are sold in supermarkets. Out of those 60 persons we want that 50% know that there is a new Guinness available. [...]