This case study analyzes Mountain Man Brewing Company and its plan to launch a new light beer brand called Mountain Man Light. Key details: - Mountain Man Brewing was founded in 1925 and produces Mountain Man Lager, which is the top-selling beer in West Virginia. - Light beer sales have been growing 4% annually, while traditional beer sales have declined by the same rate. - The company wants to launch Mountain Man Light to tap into the growing light beer market but faces competition from large brewers. - There are concerns that the new light brand could cannibalize sales of the core Mountain Man Lager brand. The case examines marketing strategies and risks of the brand extension plan.

1. CASE STUDY ANALYSIS ON
MOUNTAIN MAN BREWING
COMPANY :
BRINGING THE BRAND TO LIGHT
Made By :
Hemangini Chaudhary (MB008)
Khyati Patel (MB023)
Priyanka Prajapati (MB035)
Mubin Saiyed (MB040)

2.  Key Personalities
 Chris Prangel - MBA Graduate
 Oscar Prangel – Retired Owner and President of
MMBC
 Guntar Prangel – Founder of MMBC
 John Fader, VP Sales
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3. CASE FACTS
 Mountain Man Beer Company founded in 1925
by Guntar Prangel
 Chris Prangel , an MBA graduate wanted to
inherit his father`s business.
 Mountain Man brewed(prepared) one beer called
Mountain Man Lager
 Also known as West Virginia`s beer
 Chris wanted to launch Mountain Man Light
among the market.
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4. CONTINUED..
 For the past 6 years light beer sales in US had
been growing at a compound annual rate of 4%
 Also had decrease of traditional premium beer
sales with same percentage
 By 2005, Mountain Man generated revenue over
$50million and selling over 520,000barrels of
Mountain Man Lager.
 They are the top market position in West
Virginia among Lagers
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5. CONTINUED..
 Mountain Man lager was priced similarly to
premium domestic brands such as Miller &
Budweiser and below specialty brands such as
Sam Adams.
 Price $2.25 for a 12-ounce serving of draft beer
in bar
 $4.99 for a 6-pack in a local convenience store
 Unaided response rate of 67% from State`s adult
population 5

6. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS OF CUSTOMER
 The beer industry in US generates $ 75 Billion in annual
sales.
 Customers base their choice on taste, price, occasion,
perceived quality, brand image, tradition, local
and authenticity
 Eastern Central Region represents $13 billion in annual
sales out of $75billion.
 Mountain Man counts with 81% male drinkers, thus
neglects Female market segment
 Female market segment which represents 32% of the
TAM of domestic premium beer.
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7. CONTINUED
 Focus on a target market: blue-collar male workers.
 MML not taking consideration of other market segments
such as the white-collar class and other potential niches
 64% of Mountain Man drinkers are 45+ years old while
the TAM for that age category represents 49% of the
domestic premium beer market in the Eastern Central
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8. COMPETITION
 Competitors for Mountain Man are Anheuser
Bush, Miller brewing Co. and Adolf Coors
possessing 74% market share of the overall
brewing market.
 These three companies have 84% market share
in the light beer market.
 They rely heavily on broadcasting market as
well product diversification to create barriers of
entry for other brands.
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9. COLLABORATIONS
 Off-premise locations, such as liquor stores and super
markets, is Mountain Man main sales channel as it sells
70% of its production at these locations.
 The main reason for this result is that 60% of blue-collar
workers buy their beer through the off premise locations.
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10. SWOT ANALYSIS
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• Strength :
1. Market leader and well
established brand name.
2. Strong brand equity.
3. Promotion Strategy &
Customers.
4. Best range of Attributes.
• Weakness :
1. Improper utilization of funds
in advertising
2. Lack of financial resources to
compete in the light beer
advertising market.

11. CONTINUED..
 Opportunities :
1. Reach out to younger demographic
2. Increase lifetime customer value
 Threats:
1. Risk of canalization of core brand
2. Alienation of core customer through new brand
3. Dilutes Brand equity
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12. LEADING QUESTIONS
• How brand awareness campaign can be carried
out ?
• Is the promotion strategy for Mountain Man
Lager & Mountain Man Light the same ?
• Does the new brand affect the sales of existing
brand i.e Mountain Man Lager ?
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13. MAJOR ISSUES
 Pressure on regional breweries
 Mountain Man`s revenue declined in 2005 by 2%
 Challenging company`s ability to remain profitable
 Struggling to maintain steady share of its market
segment against large domestic brewers
 Impact of Mountain Man Light on sales of Mountain
Man Lager
 Financial projections showed regional revenue growth of
the light beer product @ 4% annually
 Mountain Man steadily growing its share of the regional
light beer market by a quarter of a percent each year off
of a 2006 base market share of 0.25% 13

14. SOLUTION ACCORDING TO OUR VIEW
 Launch Mountain Man Light via brand extension.
 Providing offer in prices for Mountain Man Light if
bought in high quantity
 Easy to convince retailers to stock & promote
 Permission marketing getting customer involved in the
brand and connecting other customers
 Advertise in spot radio, outdoor and social networks
 Need to capture on-premise locations like bar, pub which
are frequented by younger target market
 Multi-brand distribution system should be followed
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15. THANK YOU