Why beer “has woken up” / De ce s-a “trezit” berea

Iulie 2015

Un demers de cercetare

Brand RO (Biz) data indicated years in a row that beer brand decreased progressively in relevance and preference

2014    2010     2011     2012     2013    

6  

9  

12  10  

23  

30  

39  

41  

43  48  

50   60  

64  

77  

80  

87  

93  

99  

100  

Top  50    

Top  100  

*  BrandRo,  Biz  &  Unlock,  2011-­‐2014,  N=1000  interviuri,  urban    

Current consumers are different from those before crisis. They act guided by a very different mind-set.

Joy

Freeze

Ë

X

Introspection Outrospection

SENSIBILITY SENSE

Open up

!T

EMPATHY

Authentic emotions Real stories

Positive thinking Tolerance No prejudice

Self development

Looking for:

We have been continuously challenged on the cause of this. Are there any reasons for such a decrease in brand preference in case of beer category?

•  Are  there  people  drinking  something  else?  They  do  not  like  beer  anymore?    

•  Is  there  something  missing  on  the  beer  market?  Did  the  beer  ‘waken  up’?  (“s-­‐a  trezit”)  

In  summer  2015  we  have  conducted  an  internal  diagnosVc  survey  (data  mining,  interviews  and  focus  group  discussions)  on  the  current  status  of  beer  category    to  see  what’s  the  mood  of  people  when  they  talk  about  it  

Main  conclusion:  people  did  not  give  up  on  beer,  beer  has  given  up  on  them.    Beer  brands  lack  authenVcity,  empathy  and  vibe  able  to  engage  current  consumers  in  a  way  that’s  relevant  to  them    

Do people still like beer?

Yes,  of  course    Beer  is  a  mass  alcoholic  product  that  people  enjoy  a  lot    In  the  present  it  lost  its  spark  and  effervescence,  therefore  people  migrated  towards  drinks  with  more  personality,  vibe  and  ritual  (shots,  strong  alcohol)  or  more  interesVng  beers  (arVsanal),  also  implying  personality  and  authenVcity      Mass  beer  brands  are  strongly  commodiVzed  and  falling  into  rouVne        

Is there something missing on the beer market?

YES.    

We  have  idenVfied  7  main  tensions:  

 

1.   Brand  de-­‐personaliza5on.  Beer  is  already  a  generic,  common  category.  It  is  all  about  fun,  friends,  jokes,  

stories,  nice  girls,  beaches,  laughs.  Brands  lack  the  courage  to  stand  out  and  say  what  is  making  them  

unique,  different  in  this  homogenous  mass.  They  all  fight  using  the  same  tools,  which  makes  them  fall  into  

clichés  

2.   Brands  lack  authen5c  emo5ons.  They  all  communicate  in  a  “poliVcal  correct  way”,  not  to  take  any  risks.  

Even  when  they  communicate  “the  beauty  of  imperfecVon”,  that  comes  perfectly  executed.  Current  

communicaVon  actually  freezes  the  authenVc  emoVons  by  means  of  well  structured,  lifeless  execuVons    

3.   All  communica5on  is  very  crowded,  full  of  useless  details,  saying  the  same  old  thing  over  again  –  beach,  

girls,  lots  of  people,  all  ecstaVc,  happy,  loud,  everybody  should  laugh  whether  there  is  a  good  joke  or  not.  

People  need  clear  cut,  short,  impachul  messages  about  the  brand,  away  from  useless  details    

4.   Brands  lack  con5nuity.  They  jump  from  an  idea  to  another.  They  lack  consistency  and  perseverance  in  

message    

Is there something missing on the beer market?

YES.    We  have  idenVfied  7  main  tensions:  

5.   Brands  lack  experience.  Although  people  learn  much  more  from  experiences  today,  they  lack  such  examples  from  beer  brands,  as  they  have  in  other  categories  (Dero,  Coca-­‐Cola,  Fanta).  Beer  brands  fail  on  effecVve  interacVon  with  consumers    

6.   Too  much  noise  emphasizes  the  lack  of  consistency,  there  were  people  that  said  that  they  would  appreciate  much  more  brands  that  do  not  say  anything  than  those  that  make  a  lot  of  noise  and  say  nothing    

7.   Lack  of  real  innova5on.  It  is  like  beers  know  they  should  innovate,  but  they  just  change  some  variables  within  the  same  territory  of  clichés  /  expected  innovaVons  and  then  make  a  big  fuss  about  it    

As a consequence, beer market is hugely under pressure given its inner blockage, not the threat from outside

As  long  as  beer  “has  woken  up”  (s-­‐a  trezit),  people  look  for  alternaVves    

International premium brands seem however to stay relevant for humans in general, by touching their hearts

Now you know

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