Paper Topic- First Thoughts

For this blog, I will begin to discuss my first thoughts on our current report paper. I will be finding something interesting to me, and connecting it to class concepts. As a marketing major, I have always thought about the industries I may end up in. Sifting through all of the different types of marketing, I have always been drawn to marketing alcohol. As such, I am thinking about writing about the relationship between customer insights and the alcoholic beverage industry. I guess they do always say write about what you know… (Mom, if you are reading this I’m only kidding!)

  

This topic will have a range of things I can talk about. I think it will benefit me if I narrow the topic a little. Initially, I am thinking of narrowing down to the beer market. Within this I will be able to talk about trends in consumer choice, target market, recent innovations in marketing, different segments within the market, differentiation techniques, and many more. I am interested also in talking about the ethics of the marketing tactics. By design, this industry walks a fine line between promoting their product and promoting over-consumption. There is also a lot to explore with buying patterns. I would love to look at the usual times of purchase, the things that usually accompany a beer purchase, and the amount usually bought. It will be interesting to explore the consumption patterns and buying habits in relation to age, and type of beer. For example, as people age they are more likely to spend more to get quality beer, and they probably buy in much smaller quantity. I think that the marketing of beer can have a lot of relations to customer insights. I would like to look at how they currently assess the effectiveness of their marketing, and make suggestions of how to further incorporate techniques we have learned beyond market research.

Aside from these ideas, I do have a lot of questions that have bubbled up:

·      What are the current legal limitations of marketing beer?

·      Are there any observational techniques for assessing the effectiveness of the marketing?

·      How is the overall market segmented?

·      How do the beer companies work with the indirect channels (such as supermarkets and convenience stores) to carry through the entire experience?

·      How do they establish brand loyalty when consumers seem to change with age?

I think this topic is most interesting to me because marketing alcohol is unlike any other product. With beer especially, there is very little differentiation. In fact, many people cannot tell the difference in blind taste tests. As such, the marketing is completely based on that special sauce of consumer experience. Marketing beer must be very interesting because you are trying to establish an experience that consumers will be drawn to. It is also a very interesting market to interact with. With a market of mostly young males, you can definitely tell their primary interests just by watching the ads. I have always thought that I could enjoy working in the alcoholic beverage industry as a marketer, and this topic will certainly give me the opportunity to explore that interest further. Aside from that, I think it will just be a fun topic to look further into.   

Like I said, I think this can have many connections to customer insights. For example, last January I had the great pleasure of watching the super bowl at a frat house. Let me tell you, as a marketing major, it was a truly inspirational experience. I felt that I got an amazing insight into the reactions to advertising through watching a large group of men react to the super bowl ads. If observational techniques like this are not already used, I would definitely recommend it highly. Especially during the beer ads, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the reactions, and trying to understand insights through the grunts. I think that the marketing of beer, since it is a product that has little differentiation, requires deep insights into the customer’s mind.

The first current topic that reached out at me as I was writing this entry was the controversial marketing tactic where Bud Light used college colors on their cans to boost sales. This touches on many different things, including the ethics behind marketing beer. I am interested to learn more about what insights led them to this unique tactic. I think that this marketing action is very insightful of the target market, and their uses of the product. When are college students buying beer… chances are game day is a safe answer. If they can build that positive connection, then the use of Bud Light could extend beyond games.

Article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125081310939148053.html