Beer Marketing and Differentiation
Beer Marketing — Growing Beer Market Share
Introduction
(Read our very latest take on the beer market here, as well as a great article explaining the process for repositioning a beer brand to steal market share. The following article looks at beer marketing. And it will give you a quick view of how Stealing Share operates and finds solutions.
No rebranding project is complete without market research, and beer marketing often lacks that valuable research.
This is just a cursory analysis. But we suggest a brand position for beer brands to steal share based on our experience and expertise in branding beers. If your brand needs to steal share, feel free to contact us.
No branding project is complete without market research, and beer marketing lacks that valuable research.”
Beer Commercials
Beer marketing needs to be both different and better.
Remember all the beer ads from brands like COORS, Budweiser, Michelob, Miller, MGD, Corona, Beck’s, Heineken, Red Stripe, Bud Light, Sam Adams, Amstel Light, and Coors Light. (You can view many category commercials in our beer market study). In defining the brands, let’s briefly describe each brand’s personality, position, and promise.”
Beer marketing needs advertising to be successful in stealing market share. Your brand needs to be both different and better.”
Brand | Personality | Position | Promise |
Budweiser | Confident. Hip. | King of beers | “I get it.” |
Miller Lite | Hip. Youthful. | Beer for friends | It’s the experience. |
Coors Lite | Hip (a bit sophomoric) | Cold. From the Rockies. | Everyman Beer. |
MGD | Cool. Aloof. | Genuine | Seize the day. |
Miller High Life | Knowable | The High Life | Everything in perspective. |
Coors | Real | Legendary | Be an original. |
Michelob | Cool. Knowing. | Tastes Imported | Taste |
Possible Meanings
There are many possible positions in the beer marketing landscape. The goal is to find the one with the highest emotional intensity.
So, in positioning your brand, map out the possible meanings that beer brands can claim or do claim. (That assumes that the advertisers know what they are conveying, and THAT is a frightening assumption.)
Brand position meaning is opposite existing position. Additionally, both sides must be believable and essential.
So, define the possible positions according to REAL meaning to the customer.
For example, “Best” is not a brand position because no one would claim “worst.” Because of that, “Best” isn’t believable to the customer.
But someone may claim the “intimate” position because a competitor could claim “casual.” As a result, intimacy is believable because it’s positioned against another’s positioning. It presents a true choice. Below are some possible beer marketing positions.
Rules of Positioning
The following rules are helpful when selecting a beer marketing position to steal share in your market.
Thrust: The positioning must demonstrate an active competitive advantage. This advantage answers the question of “Why should I care” from the consumer’s perspective. Beer Marketing Strategy has rules.
Gravity: The positioning must have a powerful relevance to the target audience, and their interest and receptiveness must be peaked.
Definition: The positioning must be distinctive. It must set the brand apart from the competition.
Density: The positioning must be single-minded. It must have clarity and simplicity and illuminate the target’s primary precept.
Synthesis: The positioning must be fused with an emotional bond with the target audience. It must grab them in the gut.
Integrity: The positioning must be believable. If the message raises suspicion – even if it is true – barriers are raised.
Precision: The positioning must speak to the target best positioned to influence consumption or consume that product or service.
Convergence: The positioning must convey the same positioning message in all the ways in which the consumer has of touching the brand.
Momentum: The present positioning must build upon (but never mimic) the equity (if any) of past communications to leverage residual positioning equity.
Acceleration: The positioning must keep pace with the changing markets to evolve constantly, making itself increasingly effective daily.
Beer Marketing and the Current Market
This checks to see if there’s a position and opportunity to be grabbed. This is an important exercise in developing beer marketing messages.
To present yourself as a genuine choice, you must live where there is SPACE, away from the rest of the market.
Beer Marketing Summary
All the major domestic beers compete for the same audience with the same messaging. And the market skews towards masculine-bawdy.
So, where are the beer marketing differences? And how are they being delivered? Imports, the micro-brews (with some spillover into the specialty mass brews, Red Dog, Blue Moon, etc.) own quality, distinctive taste, and better beer.
So, claiming a position as the best-tasting beer violates rule 7 (integrity). It is not believable. As a result, most mature markets (beer marketing is mature) trade on personality and brand image, not product benefit, because everyone claims that benefit.
That’s why great taste is not a switching trigger in messaging. No one prefers a beer that they do not like.
Inside-out and Outside-in
The most critical point. Accurately find positions with the most meaning to customers and provide a market opportunity. Not a position that has the most meaning to you.
Think about beer marketing from an outside-in-prospect perspective (how the customer feels about the brand).
Behavior Modeling Analysis
The most potent beer marketing position is true and significant to the audience. So, think through the process (the qualities of the beer, both real and emotional).
Then, ask yourself the purpose of those processes by asking yourself what purpose they fulfill. Then, ask yourself what belief or precept (fundamental beliefs that drive behavior) makes customers need that purpose.
The ruling precepts are the critical precepts that drive this audience. So, brands that fit into the sophisticated/intimate/confident position appeal to this market.
And they will steal market share.
The Beer Marketing Prime Position
For example, X beer is authentic, great-tasting American beer for those who don’t need to follow the crowd. So, it is a confident beer for those who know exactly where we stand. Some things in the world require no explanations.
Good judgment is a great reward. And the beer is for those discriminating and smart enough to avoid trends and ads.