1. Mountain Man Brewing Co.
Marketing Case Study
Tess Allen
Isabela Schwartz
Morgan Zaccardo
2. Product
• Made from an old family brew recipe that fits in perfectly
with the ruggedness of the region.
• Made with rare types of hops and barley.
• Strong bitter flavor and high
alcohol content sets MMBC
lager apart from its competitors
& makes it unique.
3. Pricing
• Similar to domestic brands like Miller and
Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch).
• Median price range for domestic beer.
• Cheaper than most microbrews.
4. Place
• East Central
region of U.S.
• Made in West
Virginia.
• Sold in
Illinois,
Indiana,
Michigan,
Ohio, and
West Virginia.
5. Position
• Instead of making a variety of products, MMBC has
focused on perfecting one single beer.
• Aimed at the blue-collar working man.
• Inspired by the coal-mining economy of West Virginia.
• The company relies on its history and status as
independent, family-owned brewery.
• Align the beer with local authenticity.
6. Brand Reputation
• Great quality and strong brand equity.
• Top of the beer market for lagers in West Virginia for
50 years.
• Respected for its regionalism and traditionalism.
• Mountain Man Lager was rated as the best known
regional beer in a study.
• Market research showed that MMBC was as
recognizable a brand among working-class males in
the East Central region as Chevrolet and John Deere.
7. Brand Challenges
• MMBC is experiencing a significant drop in sales.
• Light beer industry is growing quickly at a
compound annual rate of 4% in the last six years
• Light beers accounted for 50.4% of all volume beer
sales in 2005.
8. The Light Beer Dilemma
Pro:
Would likely bring in a new market segment:
• Younger drinkers “First Time Drinker Demographic”
• Women
Con:
While young people tend to buy light beers, they tend to
purchase cheaper and more mainstream brands.
MMBC is trying to decide if light beer would be a lucrative
business venture.
9. SWOT Analysis
Strengths:
1.Expanding Customer Base
• Targeting “First Time Drinker
Demographic”(age 21-27) that spent
27% of the total beer consumption
in 2005 and is predicted to increase
to 4 million by 2010.
• Attracting more females to the
brad—they tend to prefer light beer.
2.Shows Diversity in Product Line
Weaknesses:
1.MMBC does not have the capital to fund a new
product launch
2.Investment could be extremely costly, risk and
potentially put MMBC into bankruptcy.
3.“First time drinker” demographic tends to:
• Prefer more mainstream domestic beers
• Has less brand loyalty
• Purchase the cheapest beer on the
shelf…which MMBC is not.
Threats:
1. Stiff competition in light beer market from major
domestic (i.e. Anheuser Busch)
and other second-tier domestic producers (i.e. PBR).
• Tend to be the cheapest on the shelf
Opportunities:
1. Potentially Enhancing Brand Awareness
2. By targeting more market segments, we
could product line
10. Marketing Decision
• Mountain Man Brewing Company should
not expand its product line to include
Mountain Man Light.
• The risks outweigh the benefits.
We propose that MMBC use its capital
to invest in improving its branding &
expanding its marketing campaign.
11. Alternative Decision
• Continue targeting 40+, blue-collar (middle class) men in the
region.
• This is where the majority of the company’s customer brand
loyalty and purchasing power is already generated.
• Add another target market segment:
• 25-40 year-old active upper-middle class men and women.
• Especially those who enjoy outdoor recreation (i.e. mountain
climbing, camping, etc.).
• Caters to this niche, concentrated segment by providing a
unique, full-bodied lager from a regional business while also
being relatively cheap…leaving more money to adventure!
• Goal: Gain more customer brand loyalty from these
segments.
12. Value Proposition
• Provide a beer that is not an average Bud Light.
• Instead: a unique, flavorful lager from a regional
business that can be purchased at a reasonable price.
• Differentiation:
• Competitive advantage in offering a cheaply priced beer
without sacrificing its robust, bitter taste.
• Appeal to customers who want more taste (not
watered down) for a cheaper price.
13. New Brand Positioning
We want our customers to feel connected to our
brand:
“Whether Mountain Man Brewing customers are
coming back from a long day at the coal-mining
factor or celebrating hiking the Appalachian Trail, at
the end of the day, they can reach for a Mountain
Man lager and know that they have put in the labor
and exertion to deserve a beer this good.”
14. Marketing Strategy
• Build increased brand awareness and equity:
• Update MMBC’s brand appearance.
• Increase brand’s social media presence.
• Create interactive promotional materials.
• Emphasize Mountain Man as the regional beer brand
of the East Central region.
15. Brand Personality
• Brand Personality: Valuable in
increasing brand engagement and
brand attachment.
• Rugged “Mountain Man” that the
target consumers can relate to.
• To be effective, Mountain Man needs
a well-defined brand personality with
a strong brand image and brand
voice.
• The consumer already connects with
the ruggedness of the company.
• Developing the brand character,
“Mountain Man,” will be a smooth and
easy transition for MMBC.
• With enough repetition, the value and
characteristics of the person will be
transferred to the brand.
16. Branding: Logo & Slogan
• Logo
• Symbolize the new “Mountain Man” character.
• Coal miner that consumer can easily recognize and
connect with the brand.
• Slogan
• Creating a slogan that matches the logo, character,
and brand.
• “Mountain Man—Reach Your Peak.”
17. Advertising & Marketing
• Traditional advertising has not been as effective
as grassroots marketing in building beer brand
awareness in the East Central region.
• MMBC should continue to rely on grassroots
marketing to spread its message rather than
spending money on ineffective traditional
advertising.
• Utilize new media marketing strategies to garner
increased brand awareness.
18. Social Media Tactics
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
• Keep followers updated on promotional events, brand
news, etc.
• Especially among their new, younger demographic.
• Social media allows MMB insight into the opinions and
thoughts of consumers.
• Immediately respond to customer issues.
• Give consumers incentives to buy their products, such
as virtual coupon codes.
19. Social Media Campaign
Example
• Surrounding the popular trend, “No
Shave November.”
• Directly connects with the brand
personality of the “Mountain Man” and
consumer demographic.
• Users post pictures of their beards
and their Mountain Man beer with the
hashtag #MMBCNoShaveNovember.
20. Local Tourism & Promotional
Material
• Interactive promotional materials:
• To increase brand awareness and consumer involvement.
• Koozies, coasters, flyers, etc.
• Local Tourism:
• Target audience younger beer drinkers
• “Anti-big-business” values.
• Show appreciation for Mountain Man’s position as an
independent brewery.
• Region, local identity local authenticity
• Branding the brewery as an attraction in West Virginia:
• Ex: Brewery tours
21. Measuring Marketing
Success
• How much social media presence the company has gained over the next
year.
• Measure how many:
• followers each of the company’s social media platforms has garnered.
• people have shared, posted, retweeted and/or used the brand hashtag.
• Will conduct virtual Twitter polls about consumer attitudes and buying behavior.
• Focus group testing to gage customer reaction:
• With loyal, blue-collar customer base who tends not to be as social
media/technology savvy.
• To quantify Mountain Man Brewing Company’s marketing progress:
• Determine the net marketing contribution (NMC),
• Marketing return on investment,
• Marketing return on sales.
• These help determine if marketing strategies and brand positioning have directly
profited the company as well as whether the marketing investment created
substantial marketing productivity.
22. In conclusion…
• If the innovative marketing strategies and
improvements of the brand are implemented
properly, we expect them to increase MMBC sales
and regain MMBC’s reputation as the leading beer
company in the region.
