英國Guinness品牌營銷分析dissertation

健力士是迪阿吉奧旗下的一個品牌，通過合并健力士和格瑞曼德，于1997年成立的一家英國公司。本調查評估了健力士銷售量下滑和健力士品牌未來背后潛在的假設。在考慮收益和其自動化生產后，其闡明迪阿吉奧應該繼續支持健力士品牌。此外，它為健力士確定了恰當的國際市場戰略以增加其全球銷售量、價值及利潤。按照已選的營銷策略、市場營銷組合的建議進行了討論。

 

引入

 

健力士是迪阿吉奧旗下的一個品牌，通過合并健力士和格瑞曼德，于1997年成立的一家英國公司。它是世界上最大的烈酒生產商，目前占據了30%的全球市場份額并擁有全球前20個烈酒品牌的9個，包括皇冠伏特加、布什米爾、愛爾蘭威士忌、尊尼獲加尊榮威士忌、百利酒等（年度報告，2010，p.19-35）。目前迪阿吉奧在約180個市場貿易，其雇傭的20,000多名員工遍布全世界(Diageo, 2010)。在啤酒市場里，迪阿吉奧只有一個主要品牌---健力士，而其正是全球領導品牌。

 

本報告旨在評估健力士銷售量下滑和健力士品牌未來背后的主要成因。此外它為健力士確定了恰當的國際市場戰略以增加其全球銷售量、價值及利潤。按照已選的營銷策略、市場營銷組合的建議進行了討論。

 

Guinness is a brand owned by Diageo, a UK based company formed in 1997 through the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan. This report evaluated the underlying assumptions behind the decrease in sales volume of Guinness and the future of Guinness brand. After consideration of revenue generation and PLC of Guinness, it states that Diageo should continue with the Guinness Brand. Further, it identified suitable international marketing strategies for Guinness in order to increase global sales volume, value and profits. In line with the chosen marketing strategies, recommendations for the marketing mix are discussed.

 

引入---INTRODUCTION

 

Guinness comes from a company name Diageo, a UK based company formed in 1997 through the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan. It is the world’s largest producers of spirits and it currently occupies around 30% of the global market share and owns nine of the worlds top 20 spirit brands including Smirnoff Vodka, Bushmills, Irish Whiskey, Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky, Baileys, etc (Annual report, 2010, p. 19-35). Diageo currently trades in approximately 180 markets in which they employ over 20,000 staffs around the world (Diageo, 2010). In the beer market, Diageo has only one major brand, which is Guinness and it is the worlds leading stout brand.

This report aims to evaluate the major causes behind the decrease in sales volume of Guinness and the future of Guinness brand. Further, it identifies suitable international marketing strategies for Guinness in order to increase global sales volume, value and profits. In line with the chosen marketing strategies, recommendations for the marketing mix will be discussed.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

健力士目前形勢---CURRENT STATUS OF GUINNESS BRAND

 

Product Life Cycle (PLC) can be used to analyze the current status of Guinness brand. This will demonstrate the course of Guinness sales and profits over its lifetime which involves five distinct stages; product development, introduction, growth, maturity and decline stage (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010, p. 296-303).

 

0

 

Product Development

 

Sales

 

Profits

 

Decline

 

Maturity

 

Growth

 

Introduction

 

Sales/Profit

 

GUINNESS

 

Time

 

Figure 3.1 Sales and Profits over the Guinness Product Life from Inception to Decline

 

Losses/ Investment

 

Figure 3.1 shows the PLC, the course that Guinness sales and profits take over its lifetime. It can be seen that Guinness is currently at maturity stage at which slowdown of sales occurs because the product has achieved acceptance by most potential buyers (Kotler et al., 1999, p. 626-633). At this stage profit level declines as a result of immense competition and decrease in sales growth. Further, it leads to decrease in profit levels because of increased marketing outlays to defend the product against competition (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010, p. 296-303). In general this stage last longer than any other stage and it poses strong challenges to marketing management of the Guinness product. As a result, Guinness product managers should not only defend their mature product but also they should consider modifying the market, product and marketing mix instead of discontinuing the product (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010, p. 296-303).

 

Furthermore, they should continue with Guinness products because it is the world’s leading stout brand and its one of the top revenue generators for Diageo. As per Diageo’s 2009 Annual Report, Guinness was amongst the top three brands, which contributed most to the net sales of the Company. This shows the extent to which the Company’s performance is relying on the fortunes of the Guinness brand. In addition, a prestige is added to the brand due to the 250 odd years of its existence and satisfying generations of customers during the due course. It should also be noted that a substantial downfall may have been experienced by Guinness as a result of the recent economic crisis which affected other major companies and brand as well.

 

However, in order to continue with Guinness products, Diageo should modify its market by trying to increase the consumption of the Guinness products through out the world. This can be achieved by attracting new customers such as the younger generation and by targeting new market segments. In addition, Diageo should modify the product by changing the characteristics of Guinness such as improving the quality further, innovating new styles and packaging to attract the younger generation in order to increase the rate of consumption. Further, Diageo should modify the marketing mix to improve sales by changing one or more elements of the marketing mix (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010, p. 296-303).#p#分頁標題#e#

 

國際市場戰略---INTERNATIONAL MARKETING STRATEGY

 

Diageo should utilize marketing strategies with the aim of creating customer value and achieving profitable customer relationships in order to continue with the Guinness brand (Kotler and Keller, 2006, P.686). With ever changing tastes and preferences of consumers, Diageo should divide their total market in order to choose the best segments and design strategies to serve the chosen market profitably (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010, p. 73). This process involves market segmentation, targeting and positioning, which are analyzed below.

 

4.1. Segmentation

 

Segmentation involves dividing the total market into identifiable subgroups with similar characteristics and then devoting Diageo’s resources to satisfy the needs of these subgroups (Hiam, 2009, p. 30). Currently, Guinness is using psychographic segmentation where they target their customers based on values, opinions, lifestyle and personal characteristics. However, in this competitive market, Diageo should try to diversify by means of demographic segmentation in which Guinness products can be segmented based on age, education and occupation. This can be achieved by appealing to the younger generation especially university students (with consideration to local regulations on alcohol consumption) and targeting the 25-35 age group. This will in turn increase the market share of Guinness through out the world.

 

4.2. Targeting

 

Targeting involves making a decision about which market segments Diageo should decide to prioritize for its sales and marketing efforts (Proctor, 2005, p. 399). Guinness should continue to target with its psychographic segmentation with the help of differentiation by giving more value to their loyal customers, which is mainly contributed by the older generation. Further, it could use customized targeting to attract young generations by producing an innovative beer (Guinness Energy) combined with energizing ingredients to address the growing demand for energy drinks among youth. Diageo must use competitive differentiation strategies in order to draw customers towards Guinness rather than to its competitors.

 

4.3. Positioning

 

Positioning relates to how Guinness products are perceived by its consumers. Guinness products have always been perceived with its prestigious brand image. As a result, customers are willing to pay a premium price for the quality and consistent taste of Guinness products. Diageo should retain their high quality when introducing new products as well. Further, offering high quality products at their current price range will help to increase profits as well as keep customers satisfied with the quality and value. Guinness should consider the trends and traditions within different cultures and societies when positioning in those societies; for example by associating with environmentally friendly, aphrodisiacs, etc. Overall, Diageo should position the Guinness brand differently to suit different markets while maintaining their overall global brand image (Bradley, 2005, p.154).#p#分頁標題#e#

 

營銷組合---MARKETING MIX

 

Marketing mix demonstrates the variables that Diageo must work with in determining strategies to influence the demand for Guinness products. These variables are discussed below with an international perspective.

 

5.1. Product

 

These are the goods and services offered by Diageo to its target market (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010, p. 76). As mentioned above, Diageo should introduce an innovative beer (Guinness Energy) combined with energizing ingredients to address the growing demand for energy drinks among youth, which can bring an entirely new segment to market its products to. Further, they should introduce a limited edition range of stouts, under the name, the Guinness Original Series, to target the older generation on a yearly basis throughout the world.

 

5.2. Price

 

This is the amount of money Guinness customers must pay to consume its products (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010, p. 76). Diageo should remain with the premium pricing strategy for their high quality Guinness products. Furthermore, they should communicate with their loyal customers to justify the higher prices owing to their active involvement in corporate social responsibility (responsible drinking campaign) and the consistent quality of products. When introducing new innovative products such as Guinness Energy and the Guinness Original Series, they should use market skimming strategy which involves setting a high initial price for new products in order to generate maximum revenue from the market before substitute products appear (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010, p. 336).

 

5.3. Place

 

This includes all the activities carried out by Diageo to make Guinness products available to their target market (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010, p. 76). Their main distribution strategy of sales from bars and restaurants should be continued. Additionally, they should evaluate and increase the number of outlets and locations where Guinness products can be purchased depending on customer segments, which will improve accessibility. Furthermore, Diageo should use indirect distribution methods such as supermarkets and convenience stores to sell the new Guinness products. Guinness Storehouses (the home of Guinness) should be open in major markets such as Australia, Africa and North America. The same concept used by Guinness in Dublin can be recreated in the said markets, which will enable its loyal customers to trace the story of an icon from its beginnings until the present day. In addition, customers can be given the opportunity to experience the production process (brewing, tasting, etc) in order to bring them closer to Guinness products. Furthermore, facilities can be arranged for the visitors to view the entire award winning Guinness advertisements. This can in turn make Guinness Storehouses in the said markets a massive tourist attraction.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

5.4. Promotion

 

These are the activities conducted by Diageo to communicate the merits of the Guinness products in order to persuade their customers to buy it (Kotler and Armstrong, 2010, p. 76). Diageo should continue with their current promotional strategies such as memorable TV advertisements, public relations, sponsoring and sales promotion to promote Guinness products worldwide by localizing their promotional activities depending on the culture of the respective target market. However, they should differentiate their promotional strategies from that of its competitors. Engaging in various social network sites such as twitter and facebook should enhance Internet resources targeting customers throughout the world. These should be used to promote the new products and generate awareness of the products. Further, public relations activities should be increased with more involvement in community activities (Global responsible drinking campaign) in order to create goodwill and a positive public perception. In terms of sponsorship, Diageo should expand their rugby sponsoring to various other countries such as Australia where they could sponsor the Australian Rugby Union or League and various other major rugby tournaments held throughout the world. In addition to this, Diageo can sponsor an event to be held in a unique location every year to mark the anniversary of Guinness. In addition to the above, Diageo should increase promotion of Guinness merchandising which can indirectly increase the consumption of Guinness products.