PRODUCT AND BRAND MANAGEMENT

Honda Today | SPArtans

Group No 4: Fahim Bin Basheer (1501078), Kham Aim Chakhap (1501018), Rubal
Bagde (1501097),
Sushant Anand (1501110)
Mountain Man, famous for its one and one beer, Mountain Man Lager has been
experiencing declining sales for the first time in company history. MM Lager has
set a reputation of being a quality beer and is positioned for blue-collar, middleto-lower income men over age 45. It held top position among lagers in West
Virginia for over 50 years and its brand equity cultivated a great deal of brand
loyalty. But with decreasing sales and the hopes of attracting younger drinkers to
the brand, the company is looking to launch Mountain Man Light, which is a
lighter formulation of MM Lager. The problem is to make sure that sales of the
original brand is not affected and the brand image does not get diluted because
of this new addition.
Analysis
From the findings we see that MM Lager has a perception of being strong and a
working mans beer which is largely consumed by the swing and baby
boomer generation. Also, traditional branding is not as effective as grassroots
marketing when it comes to building beer brand. And a small segment of
customers accounted for a large percentage of sales. Hence, these leads to
consequences that have both pros and cons on going ahead with the launch.
Since light beer is growing at 4%, there is potential of gaining market share in
on-premise locations like bars and restaurants and especially if they capitalize on
the brand awareness the company already commands. Also, with the increase in
light beer drinkers, increased awareness and willingness to try especially among
women, there is high probability of the sales going up.
On the other hand, there is a risk of alienating the core consumer based by
launching another version which would erode and dilute the MM brand equity.
There is also a huge cannibalizing risk for the Lager with the increasing demand
for light beer. There is also the fact that to increase brand awareness to 60%
alone in the East Central region would cast the company $750,000 and 6
months. In addition to that there would be an additional $900,000 for SG&A
costs. Also, there will be lower profit margin and estimated profit generation
would be after two years.
Recommendations
Looking at both the pros and cons, we would go ahead with the launch. Doing so
would increase the product portfolio to two which would diversify risks from a
single revenue driver product which already has a very small customer segment
and is dwindling. Now with inclusion of on-premise locations as their market
share would increase as well. Hence, with the decreasing consumption of beer
and increasing health concerns, this move should be taken forward.
To avoid customer confusion and brand dilution, there should be targeted
marketing for both dark and light beer. Spray-and-pray marketing without
targeting different groups, which would cost the company $10 million-$20

PRODUCT AND BRAND MANAGEMENT

Honda Today | SPArtans

Group No 4: Fahim Bin Basheer (1501078), Kham Aim Chakhap (1501018), Rubal
Bagde (1501097),
Sushant Anand (1501110)
million, might only cause confusion. The target market for MM Light shoule be
women and overage millennials while MM Lager should go for the older working
class. The brand personality should be different for both and the brand name
should be leveraged but in a subtle way so that customers can differentiate both
easily. New target market should carry the new products while sale of Lager
continue in the same locations. Also, the MM Lager should carry a premium
image while MM Light should be more available and a mainstream product.