Executive Summary
Labatt’s Blue needs a facelift to once again be on top in sales of the mainstream beer segment. Competitions among the brands of Budweiser and Coors Light has shown the weakness of the marketing of the company’s product. InBev thought that investing into a Horizontal Integration Strategy was going to help them capitalize among beer sales in Canada but instead have decided to focus on other brands rather than Labatt’s Blue. Since then the Labatt’s Blue has gone down in sales and is now looking for marketing strategies that will once again make them a leader in the mainstream beer segment. We recommend that Labatt’s Blue needs to target the new, younger generation of beer ...view middle of the document...
Week international market for its product- there is no advertisement or outsourcing for the product outside of Canada. The Company prefers to market Budweiser instead. International buyers are also looking to have premium beers compared to the mainstream beer segment.
Not marketed international by parent company- Company is more focused on Budweiser sales and is choosing to market Budweiser over Labatt.
Opportunities:
Specialty beer market – consumers are interested in the specialty market with lime, ice tea, and other flavored beers so invest into creating a product that would fit their taste buds.
Market to a younger generation- consumers of beer are different then they used to be so use the use of social media advertising to the company’s advantage. Labbat’s Blue should also advertise different events then the company used in the past because with a new target market you need to expand the ways you will reach the message of your product to the new consumers.
People have forgot the company’s history .Remind the younger generations of its history. Market the idea of Labbat’s Blue being Canada’s beer after so many years of the company leading the beer market.
Chance to Change up its marketing mix (Product, Price, place, promotion) as times change so are the way consumers view the products they purchase. Labatt Blue needs to invest in a team that can re-evaluate how the company can stand out from leading competitors.
Threats:
Wine drinkers- more people are switching to wine and spirits so the main concern is how can the company reach alcohol consumers to ensure that they are also purchasing beer.
Budget beer producers- so many budget beers on the market makes it hard to compete and as the generation of beer drinkers get younger the consumers are more concerned about how the quantity of beer they can purchase rather than the quality of the beer.
New generation unaware about brand ; since Labbatt has cut most of the marketing budget for its Blue beer. The new generation of consumers have no idea what the product stands for. When they go to a liquor store they are more likely to purchase a beer that they have heard of.
Alternatives:
Labatt must target a new younger market, in the eighteen to 30 year old range, because the people who use to drink Labatt’s are now drinking more wines and spirits. The company could also use a...