Marketing Guinness Essay Example

Heinlein acquired Beamers and Murphy's, there was an evident rise in the popularity of their stouts.

Guinness is the most popular stout globally and preferred by stout drinkers. However, compared to other beverages, there are around 20,000 different beer brands worldwide. In the region between Ireland and Britain alone, over 2,000 brands emerge daily. Guinness has effectively retained its customer base over time through clever marketing campaigns, sports and music events, as well as initiatives like Arthur Day and a diverse range of beers to attract non-Guinness drinkers. The marketers at Guinness must skillfully handle both internal and external environmental forces in order to establish and maintain successful relationships with customers and external partners. This requires considering the actors and forces in the micro-environment that directly impact the company's ability to cater to its customers.

The text discusses various components of the business environment, including the company, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, customer markets, competitors, and publics. The company itself is made up of internal groups such as top management, finance, research and development (R), purchasing, operations, and accounting.

Top management sets objectives, missions, strategies, and policies for the company. Guinness has a mission statement that emphasizes the beauty and wonder of their product. The company aims to connect with customers on a deeper level by providing them with innovative tools and entertainment. This mobile campaign aims to encourage fun and interaction both at the pub and beyond. Additionally, Guinness wants to promote its new product, Guinness Red, to traditional Guinness drinkers and the wider market.

Suppliers play a crucial role in the overall value delivery system of the company by providing the necessary resources for production. Guinness

places great importance on the unique taste and quality of its stout and requires a well-planned supply chain to meet these standards.

Marketing intermediaries use a "Just-in-time" system to assist in the distribution of the FMC (Fast-Moving Consumer) products. These intermediaries play a crucial role in promoting selling ad delivering tye compnay's products to end consumers.

Marketing intermediaries, such as resellers, play an important role by assisting companies in making sales. One significant reseller for Guinness in the USA is Empire Distributors Inc, which focuses primarily on diagnosed alcohol beverages. Cybercafe, a major market agency in Ireland, has also collaborated with Guinness on various projects. Their assistance includes promoting events or ad campaigns, as well as supporting Guinness in their efforts to promote rugby and the national rugby team for Urethra's day.

In the customer market, customers can be classified into five main types: consumer markets, business markets, reseller markets, government markets, and international markets. Businesses receive assistance from Guinness quality assurance teams in rebuilding trust with their customers. To uphold the renowned standards of Guinness, a quality assurance van visits each public establishment to assess the quality of their pint. Competitors play a crucial role in this process as the marketing concept stresses the importance of surpassing competitors in delivering value and satisfaction to customers.

Therefore, marketers need to go beyond merely accommodating customer wants or needs. Adagio assists Guinness by ensuring that Guinness and their other products achieve sustainable organic growth (which constituted 58% of total volume as of 30 June 2009). With their exceptional marketing team, Adagio leverages its capabilities to merge global possibilities with local understanding while remaining loyal to consumers through

trusted brand favorites and the introduction of new and enticing innovations.

They aim to enhance their operations to the utmost quality and persist in investing in the expertise required to become one of the leading and outstanding sellers of alcoholic beverages. The publics of an organization refer to any group that currently or potentially holds an interest in or influences the organization's ability to attain its goals. These groups comprise Financial, Media, Government, Citizen, Local, General, and Internal.

Guinness has always been recognized for its philanthropy, dating back to when Edward Cecil became the first Lord of Visage. Under his leadership, the Guinness and Visage Trusts were established to provide housing for the impoverished in Dublin and London. Additionally, he made donations to Trinity College Dublin and hospitals in Dublin. Arthur Guinness, his brother, also contributed by beautifying SST. Stephens Green and gifting it to the public. Today, Guinness continues its charitable efforts through the Arthur Guinness Fund, which supports young entrepreneurs who are making a positive impact and leading initiatives in Ireland.

This is an annual competition where the winner gets their plans developed by Guinness. The macro-environment consists of larger societal forces that impact the micro-environment, such as economic, political, technological, social, natural, and cultural forces. Guinness marketers stay updated on demographic changes such as shifts in age structure, population movements, and increased education levels.

The goal of the Guinness/Adagio strategy is to achieve sustainable and responsible growth in revenue, as well as improve margins, in order to consistently provide value for shareholders in the long term. This strategy leverages its extensive geographic presence, strong portfolio of beverage alcohol brands, and the expertise

of its employees. It is rooted in the Adagio model, which takes into account demographic factors. Furthermore, Ireland's economic environment has been negatively impacted by the recession, leading to a decrease in customer spending and a 10% decline in alcohol sales. The on-trade channel experienced an even larger decline of 14%.

Adagio experienced a 9% decline in volume and net sales. However, there has been an increase in on-trade sales for both beer and spirits. The "25th Celebration" campaign for Guinness, specifically the "Urethra's Day" event on September 24, resulted in notable enhancements to brand equity and market share in both on-trade and off-trade channels. In terms of technological advancements, Guinness continuously strives to perfect the pouring of their signature pint. They have encountered challenges with their canned version of the stout, as the head of the pint tends to dissipate faster compared to the pour obtained at a pub.

After years of development, Guinness is now introducing "Widgets," which are small circular balls containing nitrogen to enhance the head and pint of their stout. Additionally, students from Limerick University have found that microscopic plant fibers made of cellulose, like cotton, can also create froth in a stout. However, the political environment poses a threat as there may be a lifetime ban on alcoholic beverages, including Guinness, using their brand image to sponsor sporting events.

Since Guinness arrived in Nigeria, it has had a positive impact on employees and the local community. The company has built wells, generated employment opportunities, and earned numerous awards for being one of the top employers in Nigeria. Additionally, Guinness is famous for its iconic advertising campaigns and is widely

consumed in Ireland. However, a drawback for Guinness is that it cannot advertise during sporting events in Ireland, even though it is a major sponsor.

The Ireland national rugby team has a low market share in worldwide sales. However, its legacy and strong following, even in markets where it has limited presence, will aid in its expansion plans. Guinness is aiming to enter the Asian market more aggressively as "Snow Beer," an Asian beer, is currently the most consumed beer globally. Nigeria also demonstrates strong loyalty towards Guinness, with 40% of the beer consumed in the country.

However, what contributes to the fame of Guinness? Is it the tourists, marketers, history, or the Irish people themselves? I believe that all of these factors have shaped Guinness and its brands into what they are today. The first brand of Guinness was the renowned "Harp." When the harp was initially introduced in 1862, it caused some issues for the Guinness family. Two years later, the harp had to be modified because its straight edge was facing the right-hand side, which was the same direction as the official government symbol. As a result, Guinness now has the harp facing the opposite direction, with the straight edge on the left-hand side.

Guinness incorporated animal imagery into their marketing campaign, which has become increasingly popular. They partnered with a marketing firm called S. H. Benson and hired artist John Glory to design these beloved characters. Witnessing a Sea lion at the Beatrice Mills circus in London skillfully balancing a ball on its nose inspired John Glory to create Guinness posters featuring animals. This encounter sparked his imagination, making him

curious if this impressive feat could be recreated using a bottle of Guinness stout.

The Toucan, one of Guinness' most famous characters known for the slogan "Guinness is good for you," was created by Guinness. Although retired in 1982, merchandise featuring the toucan can still be purchased today. Guinness is well-known for its unconventional and fun advertisements. In 1997, they surprised the public by attempting to air a commercial targeting gay and lesbian drinkers titled "Men and Woman shouldn't live together" with the song "stand by your man," but it was never broadcasted.

In terms of pricing strategies, Guinness uses segmented pricing based on factors such as youth, gender, wealth, and lifestyle. They specifically target young males through ongoing marketing campaigns to position Guinness as a trendy and enjoyable beverage rather than something associated with older generations or fathers. Additionally, income segmentation plays a role in their pricing strategy as Guinness beers are priced higher due to production costs. However, they target customers who are willing to pay more for a premium taste.

On Urethra's Day celebrations, Guinness lowers their prices which results in consumers, including those who have never tried the beer before, acquiring a taste for the product. This ultimately leads to an increase in sales. Promotional pricing on Urethra's Day has proven to be successful on September 27th in various cities such as Dublin, Koala Lump, Lagos, New York, and Yaounde. Urethra's Day is Guinness' main event every year, created to celebrate over 250 years since Arthur Guinness signed in 1759. The famous call to Arthur at 5:59 is also commemorated during these celebrations, which spread across Ireland and include live music

acts in all 32 counties. The aim of Urethra's Day is to enjoy a nice Guinness in your local pub, where you might be joined by local people or even someone famous. No tickets are required - simply gather some friends and head to one of the 500 free Urethra's Day music events taking place in local pubs across all 32 counties.

Here is a reminder of the artists who performed at Ireland's 2012 "Arthur Day", including Example, Tine Attempt, Elli Colluding, Mike, Professor Green, Potboy Slim, Texas, and rising star Amy Macdonald. You can experience one of the 500 Urethra's Day music events happening in a local pub near you. To have a headline act at a pub, they have to submit their vote to Guinness. Voting was open from August 15th to September 16th. The lucky winners would only find out on Urethra's day itself which act would surprise them.

Tine Attempt, the artist who created Urethra's Day, expressed her excitement at being invited back to Ireland in 2012. She had previously performed at Urethra's Day in 2010 and was familiar with its magical atmosphere. She felt privileged to play a pub gig for a small but surprised audience, which would kickstart the global celebrations in Ireland on September 27th. Hurling, an ancient sport dating back to 1272 BC, became part of the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1884. Since then, it has grown into an integral part of Irish culture and is played across different levels including schools, age groups, clubs, and counties.

Guinness Ireland Group was the pioneer sponsor of the All Ireland Hurling Championship in 1995, a sponsorship that has gained

significant recognition in Ireland and is regarded as one of the leading sports sponsorships in the nation. In the United States, Adagio operates under a three-tier distribution system due to legal requirements. They take advantage of their strong market connections and benefit from local expertise. The three tiers include suppliers, distributors, and tillers. Adagio works closely with a network of distributors who cater to around 2,900 individuals.