MN319 Digital Market Review on the Alcohol Sector (Beer and Cider)

MN319 E-Marketing

Market & Digital Review of the Alcohol Sector in Ireland

(Beer & Cider)

Group Members: Adam LeonOrla Finglas

Emma SlevinAdam Wheatley

Aisling McEvoy O’Connor

Introduction

We researched the alcohol market sector in Ireland, focusing on the following beer and cider companies.

•Heineken•Bulmer's Ireland•Guinness•Carlsberg•Budweiser

Market Background • The Irish alcohol industry is a multi-billion euro industry, in 2012

the market was worth €6.390 billion.

• The main alcohol producers in Ireland are Diageo, C&C Group, Heineken Ireland and Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard who produce various alcohol beverages such as Guinness, Budweiser, Carlsberg, Heineken and Bulmers Ireland.

• The on-license alcohol sector in Ireland continued to decline in 2012 with growth in off-licence sales. Alcohol brands must be more competitive due to increased supermarket alcohol brand sales.

• The market was also hit with an increase in the level of VAT from 21% to 23% in January 2012

• Early indicators for 2013 for bar sales from the Retail Sales Index are disappointing. In January 2013 bar sales volume dropped by 6.9 % compared to January 2012.

The 5 Brands Reviewed• Budweiser was established in 1876, by Anheuser-Busch in Saint Louis, Missouri,

and is part of the Diageo Group. It is America’s most popular beer along with international popularity.

• Bulmers Ireland was founded by William Magner in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary in the 1930’s and is now part of the C&C Group. It is the leading Cider brand in Ireland.

• Carlsberg was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1847 by J.C Jacobson, and is now part of the Diageo Group. It is a successful beer in the Irish market.

• Guinness was established in 1759 by Arthur Guinness, at St James’s Gate Brewery, Dublin, and is now part of the Diageo Group. Guinness has a strong Irish heritage and has become the highest selling beer in the Irish market.

• Heineken was established in 1873 by Gerard Adrian Heineken. The brand orginates in The Netherands, and is brewed in Co. Cork ,Ireland. It is a popular beer in Ireland.

Website Review • Each website has an “age gateway” for the purpose of confirming the

visitor is the legal drinking age. • All of the websites convey their brand’s distinctive colours making the

sites attractive. They all too have information about their products and the background of their brand.

• The Guinness, Heineken, Carlsberg and Bulmers Ireland websites are user friendly and easy to navigate through. However the Budweiser site is cluttered with many images and dark colouring, making viewing and navigating difficult.

• Guinness, Bulmers Ireland and Carlsberg links their website to their Facebook and Twitter pages. Heineken and Budweiser only link their Facebook page to their websites.

Social Media ReviewTwitter: Guinness Ireland has the highest number of followers on Twitter with Bulmers Ireland having the lowest. Budweiser started their page in January 2013 and have 13,758 followers, they have increased their followers by promoting their involvement in the Super Bowl and their competition to help name the baby Clydesdale. The best company for tweeting and interacting is Guinness Ireland with over 2,400 tweets.

Facebook: In terms of the number of fans, Heineken is the superior page, followed by Budweiser, then Carlsberg, Guinness and lastly, Bulmers Ireland. While Heineken has the greatest fan base and reach Budweiser is more engaging with their fan base with the highest PTAT rating.

YouTube: Heineken has the largest number of subscribed users, while Bulmers Ireland has the lowest. Carlsberg, Guinness, Heineken and Budweiser all have links to their other social media sites or their websites. Bulmers Ireland fails to link social media accounts to the channel.

Mobile Review • Bulmers Ireland, Budweiser and Heinekens’ mobile websites have the

same content as on a computer with a responsive design. Having a responsive design with a clear layout makes the sites easier to navigate through the mobile site.

• The Guinness mobile website has the same content as on a computer but does not have a responsive design and requires you to zoom in.

• The Carlsberg mobile website is different to that on a computer; the homepage directs you to either their Facebook page or YouTube page.

• Heineken, Carlsberg, Budweiser and Guinness all have links to their social media sites on their mobile site but Bulmers Ireland does not.

Mobile App Review• Bulmers Ireland’s App provides the user with event listings along with updates on

competitions once you’ve scanned a bottle of Bulmer's Original or Light.

• Carlsberg’s most popular App was for the Euro 2012, and allowed fans access to fixtures, highlights, news and interviews during this competition.

• Budweiser’s App enabled fans to contribute to the FA cup man of the match, and also displayed fixtures, results and starting times of these matches.

• Guinness’s App informed fans of the simple 6 steps to “make the perfect pint.”

• Heineken’s App which runs with UEFA Cup, allows interaction with others worldwide to anticipate the outcomes in matches such as goals, penalties and corners.

Facebook Boss Metrics Report

Top Facebook Posts Per Firm

Twitter Boss Metrics Report

Top Tweets Per Firm

Report Promotion

We promoted our report on various social media sites:

•Personal Blogs via Word Press•Twitter accounts•Facebook •YouTube •LinkedIn

Conclusion

• A strong online presence is important in today’s highly competitive markets, in particular social media.

• A strong digital media strategy increases brand awareness.• All 5 brands have a presence online with areas of strength and

weakness.• Overall Bulmers Ireland is the weakest across all online media

platforms.• Heineken have the strongest presence online, with the highest

number of fans across combined social media platforms.• Budweiser also has a strong presence as they have high levels of

engagement as per their number of fans. However presentation can let them down, e.g. their website is cluttered and not user friendly.

• Guinness appear to target the Irish market best, through sponsorship and promotion and they have the most Irish social media accounts.

YouTube Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcxHNXJKtBs