Executive Summary
Company Profile
Market Segmentation & Targeting
Situation and Company Analysis
Ethics and Social Responsibility
Marketing Information and Research
Customer Decision-Making Profile
Positioning and Differentiation
Branding
Marketing Mix (4Ps)
Product Strategy
Pricing Strategy
Place: Distribution Strategy
Promotion: Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy
Budget
Action Plan
Risk Factors
Attributions
Company Description
Miller Lite is a beer company whose sole product is a low-calorie, full-flavored beer. This marketing plan focuses on increasing brand visibility with millennials, and aligning with their values and needs. Miller Lite is sustainably produced, packaged, and distributed, and offers a great tasting, affordable, low-calorie beer option.
Target Segment
Drinkers age 21-29 who are generally health conscious, socially conscious, and environmentally conscious.
Competitive Advantage
The biggest competitive advantage Miller Lite has is being owned by MolsonCoors, which is an enormous international brand. This gives them an edge against most of their competition because they have access to MolsonCoors' distribution channels, marketing resources, and market research. In terms of the product itself, being such an old, well established company, they have branding that has embedded them in American culture.
Positioning Statement
To millennials, Miller Lite is the only light beer that delivers consistent, sustainable quality because they have used the same recipe since 1973, and use sustainable means of production and packaging.
Marketing Plan Objectives
The objectives of this marketing plan are to align with a new generation of drinkers and create a new generation of brand loyal consumers by reflecting their lifestyle and social and environmental ideals.
● Company Name: Molson Coors Beverage Company (Miller Lite)
● Industry: Beverage
● Headquarters (city, state, country): Chicago, Illinois, USA
● Year founded: 2005 (through merger of Molson (CA) and Coors (US))
● The number of employees: 17,700
● Annual revenue (estimated): $10.6 billion
● Major products and/or services: Miller Lite, Coors Light, Molson Canadian
● Target customers: Legal-age alcohol drinkers
● Distribution channel(s): Indirect distribution
● Key competitors: AB InBev (Anheuser Busch), Constellation Brands, Boston Beer Co.
● Link to website: Molson Coors Website (molsoncoors.com)
● Link to Yahoo! Finance information page (for public companies): Molson Coors Yahoo! Finance
● Miller Lite is a beer for legal-age drinkers who need a beer with maximum flavor, but with fewer calories than standard ales and lagers, and is available at an affordable price point.
● Miller Lite’s potential customers include any legal-age alcohol drinker who consider price and calorie content an important part of their beer-buying experience.
● Brand-loyal drinkers age 35-60, young drinkers age 21-35, sports fans, health-conscious drinkers
● The most important segments that Miller Lite serves are brand-loyal drinkers age 35-60 (beer drinkers that generally stick to one brand or product, are heavily swayed by brand image and price point), and health conscious drinkers (drinkers who are mostly influenced by the caloric content and quality of ingredients of a beer/alcoholic beverage).
● This marketing plan focuses on young, health-conscious drinkers. The growing popularity of hard seltzers has not only introduced heavy competition for light beer brands, but also has highlighted a new inclusion for this market segment: young, active, health-conscious drinkers. The old marketing efforts focused on the idea that low-calorie alcohol consumers were older and less active. This new surge of hard seltzer products has shown that young, active drinkers are looking for low-calorie options with high quality ingredients. Because hard seltzers carry a higher price point, light beer is a close second choice. With the correct marketing strategy, Miller Lite could regain its position as the top choice for health-conscious drinkers, given that younger drinkers heavily weigh price point into their purchasing decisions.
The biggest trend in the beer/alcoholic beverage industry right now is hard seltzers. They are a light, low calorie, full-flavored option that has appealed to young, health-conscious, female drinkers. Large beer companies have either bought new seltzer companies or have launched their own hard seltzer brands to compete. Even smaller, regional breweries have started producing lighter beers and hard seltzers. Although hard seltzer itself is strikingly similar to the surge of hard cider the industry saw 10 years ago before it fizzled out, it does highlight a trend that has become more of a benchmark: younger drinkers have become more health-conscious than in previous decades.
Miller Lite’s main competitors are Bud Light and Michelob Light. Bud Light’s key competitive advantage is that it’s trendy with younger drinkers. It has been able to keep its appearance fresh and secure sponsorships with music festivals, sporting events, and social events that are popular with young drinkers. Michelob Light is a beer that has a heavy influence with young, physically active drinkers. It has spent years marketing itself to runners, bikers, and hikers, and has all but cornered that part of the health-conscious market segment. Miller Lite has an advantage over Bud Light because not only does it have better brand loyalty among its drinkers, but it spans a much wider age range of health-conscious drinkers. It has an advantage over Michelob Light because Miller Lite has a much more attractive price point, which has proven to be an important factor, especially in the current economic climate. The market is large enough to support all 3 and then some, and appears to be growing as the craft beer crowd becomes more health-conscious and drifts farther from their expensive, calorie heavy IPA’s and stouts.
Currently there are no major political threats that the beverage industry faces other than the way alcohol is taxed, which varies from state to state and country to country. In fact, alcohol regulations have been relaxed during the pandemic, which has allowed easier access as well as higher demand.
Strengths
Weaknesses
● Miller Lite has a strong national and international brand presence.
● Marketing activities available: TV, podcast, radio advertisements, event sponsorships
● Miller Lite has a product that is both niche and widely popular. It’s one of the most popular beer brands in the country.
● Miller Lite is a low calorie, low cost, highly accessible beer
● The value to customers is a reputable, low-calorie beer with an attractive price point
● The organization needs to improve its relationship with young drinkers
● In-person events and on-site consumption have been disrupted by the pandemic
● Miller Lite has similar branding and products to Bud Light
Opportunities
Threats
● We could take advantage of direct-to-consumer alcohol allowances being made by the government in light of the pandemic
● The market for health-conscious drinkers has expanded with the introduction of hard seltzers. Miller Lite would benefit from introducing a seltzer or marketing its product to those drinkers specifically
● Collaborating with current distributors by utilizing their delivery infrastructure to deliver direct-to-consumer
● Market demand for low calorie alcohol is increasing due to a multitude of economic and societal changes. People are growing more health-conscious, more active as conservation takes a front seat and outdoor recreation becomes more popular, and the pandemic has impacted a large portion of the market’s financial decision making.
● Government regulations are being eased to allow the direct delivery of alcohol to consumers
● The global pandemiccollaborating with customers to build brand presence?
● Describe and analyze if market demand is increasing?
● Are there changes in the government regulations that will affect the company?
● Describe any emerging global issues that will affect the company?
● Sponsorship of virtual events is being utilized by competitors
● Our largest competitors have done much better staying relevant with younger drinkers the past 5-10 years
● The products are essentially the same, it’s the sponsorship opportunities Bud Light has created that has kept them more relevant with younger health-conscious drinkers
● Competitors will likely copy Miller Lite’s new strategies (direct to consumer distribution, etc)
● International competitors are able to produce beer faster because their countries have fewer social distancing restrictions as a result of their more efficient handling of the pandemic.
● It’s still viewed by many younger drinkers as the beer their dad drinks.
1) To become more culturally relevant with younger drinkers
2) To provide direct-to-consumer delivery for our drinkers
3) To remain a more affordable alternative to hard seltzers and other light beers
Our goal is to increase market share of 21-29 year old drinkers by 15% in the next 18 months.
Miller Lite currently only packages its product in recyclable containers and packaging, and has goals to reduce their total energy usage by 15% before 2025. They also contribute nearly $2 million annually to United Way, as well as other charitable foundations and organizations.
Recommendations
While their current status is pretty much status quo for large businesses, Miller Lite stands to gain more by giving more back. They have the opportunity to partner with social media influencers and celebrities and influencers with close ties to environmentalism, and donate money directly to environmental organizations. It would make them look much more environmentally conscious, which is a big box to check for millennial drinkers. Everyone is looking for a brand that touts its sustainability and commitment to minimizing their carbon footprint.
Young drinkers (age 21-29) are looking for a beer that reflects their lifestyle and attitude while remaining consistent in quality and social responsibility. How do we reach that market segment?
Miller Lite needs to do research on social patterns and trends for that age group including the most popular types of social events (concerts, music festivals, sporting events, movies, etc.), purchasing volume, and purchasing intention. They need to know where that market segment is in their lives financially, socially, and mentally.
Secondary data will be a large component of finding this information, but they can also use their social media as a tool. Just by watching that age group interact on social media, a lot of the information they need will present itself.
The primary decision makers in this target segment are young, generally health conscious, very aware of ethical brands and products, concerned with quality and price, and in tune with popular culture, sports, and music. They are young, and maintaining financial stability is important to them. They are looking for a product to deliver consistent quality at an affordable price that reflects their social stances and lifestyle.
● Social and Psychological Characteristics: sports enthusiasts; frequent socializers; aspirational athletes (they like the idea of being healthy but do not necessarily actively practice it); working class - not necessarily always blue collar
● Situational Characteristics: looking for sales, deals, offers for increased value; buy in larger quantities to make things cheaper per individual unit; regular drinkers - "weekly ritual," "after work," "game time" drinkers; highly brand loyal - look for brands that appear to represent their lifestyle (or the lifestyle they aspire to have)
● Personal and Demographic Characteristics: men and women (primarily men); legal drinking age; single, married, any family size; middle-class income levels ($40,000 - $90,000 yearly household income); socialites; sports enthusiasts
Marketing Strategy 1: Incentivizing vendors to run deals featuring Miller Lite. Encouraging grocery and liquor stores to run sales or combination deals using Miller Lite highlights the products affordability, which is a major factor for decision makers in the target market segment. In bars and restaurants, frequently running deals for pitchers of Miller Lite targets those same decision makers, and increases the perceived value of the product. Running deals for large quantities also hones in on the social aspect of the target segment. Typical customers are socialites, sports fans, and the like. Larger quantities serve them because they are most likely purchasing to share with friends and/or family. Grocery stores pairing food items like chips, hot dogs, or similar items encourages customers to purchase Miller Lite for their social event.
Marketing Strategy 2: Sponsoring sporting events and social events. Sponsoring a pre-game show, half-time show, or post-game show for a sports broadcast are a great way to increase brand credibility with the target segment. Consumers are typically sports enthusiasts and heavily social people. Putting Miller Lites name on anything that people are using to facilitate a social gathering makes Miller look like a "social brand." Someone who identifies as a social person will begin to identify with the brand, which increases brand loyalty.
The biggest competitive advantage Miller Lite has is being owned by MolsonCoors, which is an enormous international brand. This gives them an edge against most of their competition because they have access to MolsonCoors' distribution channels, marketing resources, and market research. In terms of the product itself, being such an old, well established company, they have branding that has embedded them in American culture. This provides them with instant brand recognition, as well as tremendous rapport with their key market segments, which cannot be said by competition like Michelob.
The niche market that I think Miller Lite should be trying to fill is that of the craft beer enthusiast. I know that seems a little counterintuitive, but i think of it almost like "winning them back" from craft beer. The positioning strategy I would use is pushing the superior quality of Miller Lite. Craft beer enthusiasts are looking for quality - and in their mind, the smaller the batch, the higher the quality. You see small breweries with beer that people all over the country covet because they only make 1,000 bottles of it each year, and people pay a premium for it because they know the quality is unmatched. The angle I would use to argue in favor of switching to a light beer from a huge company is this: they must be doing something right. People have drank Miller Lite for decades because of its quality. It wouldn't be a company for as long as it has been if it was not good. To draw craft beer fans to it, all you need to do is increase its cultural value, and push the quality of the product as the main selling point.
Positioning Statement
To millennials, Miller Lite is the only light beer that delivers consistent quality because they have used the same recipe since 1973.
I think Miller Lite could reposition their marketing tactics with the sponsoring of social events. With too big an emphasis on sporting events, they have painted themselves into a corner in terms of who they are appealing to. Not everyone in the target segment directly identifies with sports. Miller Lite could do a better job aligning themselves with the target segments social identity.
Miller Lite is the brand I’m trying to build. Right now, the perception of Miller Lite is that it’s a “dad beer” – that is to say, it’s the beer your dad drinks. It is cheap, it is light, it reminds you of watching a sport of some kind. That being said, people in the target segment (young drinkers age 21-29) don’t necessarily shy away from Miller Lite, it’s just not their first choice. It is consumed when drinking in excess or in celebration because of its price and availability.
Miller Lite delivers uncompromised quality, with a focus on innovation and a commitment to sustainability. I don’t think the brand promise needs to be changed. However, I think they need to do a better job of incorporating more of their brand promise into their marketing strategies.
To build a stronger identity that closely aligns with the target segment, Miller Lite needs to fully embody their brand promise. They can easily do so by sponsoring more environmental/conservation events, endorsing celebrities and public figures who are associated with environmentalism, and advertise the way they are going carbon neutral, all while maintaining the high quality of the product itself. This will reintroduce them to a new(ish) generation of drinkers as a socially and environmentally conscious brand that has been around forever because of its quality, but understands how to keep up with the times.
Miller Lite is a low calorie, full-flavored beer that has been around since 1973. It is essentially in a constant state of growth as it adapts to new target market segments as new generations come to legal drinking age. It consistently delivers a quality, award winning beer that caters to the needs of money-conscious and health-conscious alcohol drinkers.
Pricing for Miller Lite is dependent on the vendor, but it is consistently priced as one of the most affordable beer options in any establishment. The pricing model only needs to adjust to changes in the overall economy, as that is the factor that most effects its target market segments. The pricing is competitive, typically based on volume (i.e., the larger quantity you purchase, the less you pay per unit (can, bottle, pint, etc.)). It establishes the Miller Lite brand as an “every-man’s (or woman’s)” beer, and does not lean on the veil of exclusivity as a marketing ploy. There is no need to adjust the pricing model, as it serves every target market segment, and adjusting that model would disrupt the long-standing, brand-loyal consumers Miller Lite leans on.
Miller Lite is globally distributed to beverage distribution companies, who then distribute that to third party vendors. There is one novelty “retail” location in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the form of a brewery that offers tours, tastings, novelty gifts, and new test products to sample. Miller Lite is available everywhere from grocery stores to liquor stores to convenience stores, as well as restaurants, bars, and social events like sports games and concerts. The distribution strategy is the industry standard, and does not need any adjustments. Any adjustments to this strategy would put the company at risk of losing its core target market segments.
Approach
Use social media to identify and target subcultures and social trends that are popular among drinkers aged 21-29 with the intention of accurately reflecting their lifestyle. By sponsoring social events popular with that age group and influencers with close ties to environmentalism, Miller Lite can identify with that particular market segment, and make brand-loyal consumers out of them. This will highlight the product to that market segment, as it is already distributed and available in most, if not all, places they purchase alcohol.
Goal
· Drinkers aged 21-29 who are health-conscious, environmentally conscious, socially active, and part of the mid to lower middle-class economically.
· Increase brand-loyalty among that target segment, and create an environmentally and socially-conscious brand image by summer 2022.
· Call to action: Drink Miller Lite to help save the planet and your body.
Messages
· Primary message: Miller Lite is sustainably sourced, brewed, and packaged, offering a quality, low calorie, full flavored beer at an affordable price, making it easy for you to play a positive role in bettering the environment, as well as being kind to your body.
· Message Pillar: Miller Lite is sustainably produced
· Proof Point: All ingredients come from ethical American farms. All packaging is recyclable. All brewing facilities are carbon-neutral.
· Message Pillar: Miller Lite is a low calorie beer that does not compromise on quality.
· Proof Point: Miller Lite has won 4 gold medals for American-style Light Lager, and contains only 96 calories per 12 oz.
· Call to action: Make Miller Lite your go-to beer to play your part in bettering yourself and the world around you.
Promotional Mix and IMC Tools
Digital Marketing
· Endorse social media influencers and celebrities known for their environmentalism and healthy habits.
· Sponsor digital events associated with environmentalism and health.
Direct Marketing
· Sponsor social events, music festivals, concerts, and conventions associated with environmentalism.
Sales Alignment
This campaign builds relationships, presents solutions, closes the sale, and monitors/follows up. It builds relationships by sponsoring and endorsing appropriate events and influencers, absorbing the trust consumers have in those people/things. It presents solutions by being a sustainable brand that is low in calories, making it one of the best beer options if you want to drink but are trying to stay relatively healthy. It closes the sale by using competitive pricing, utilizing volume-based value. It monitors by remaining active (and interactive) on social media.
Measurement (KPIs - Key Performance Indicators)
● site unique visitors
○ Can track demographics based on IP and user data; will provide information about what demographic/market segment is actively seeking information about the company
● Impressions
○ Measures overall interest in the campaign message
● Engagement
○ From these engagements, we are able to see the real-time reactions to the campaign messaging, and use those to alter the approach.
● Awareness
○ Attendance at sponsored events and tags on social media could point to an increased level of product awareness
Item
Purpose
Cost Estimate
Sponsored Concert
Sponsor a concert that doubles as a fundraiser for an environmental charitable cause.
$1,000,000.00
Endorse 3 Influencers/Celebs
Build trust with market segments and align with their values
$1,000,000.00
Launch Social Media Ad Campaign
Pay meme makers and use paid SM ads to get message in front of intended audience
$250,000.00
Add additional rows as needed.
Estimated campaign impact: Estimated campaign impact: Increase in sales and brand-loyal consumers could translate into several million dollars in profit over the lifetime of the customers’ relationship with the brand.
Timing
Activity Type
Brief Description
Audience
Owner
3/1/2021
Launch SM campaign
Use meme makers and paid SM ads to get message in front of appropriate audience
Millennials
Matt Bellock
3/14/2021
Launch Celebrity/Influencer Endorsement Campaign
Align with target segments’ lifestyle, build trust
Millennials
Matt Bellock
4/1/2021
Announce Event Endorsement
Endorse an event that aligns with environmentalism; use celeb endorsements and SM to announce event
Millennials
Matt Bellock
7/3/2021
Execute Event
Sponsored event goes live, including digital events & recaps to capture audience who was unable to attend and make them feel part of the action
Millennials
Matt Bellock
7/5/2021
Recap event and begin same cycle again
Analyze results, reinforce message; continue same cycle to continue engaging target segment
Millennials
Matt Bellock
Risks here would include a negative perception; that is to say, if the message is perceived as at all ingenuine. The way around that is to realign with new/more influencers with greater credibility and involve them in the sponsored events to draw more interest.
Reminder to Student:
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Flinders Business School Marketing Plan Template. Authored by David Medlow-Smith. Located at: https://archive.org/details/FlindersBusinessSchoolMarketingPlan2. License: CC BY-SA.
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SWOT and Integrated Marketing Communications Templates. Authored by Melissa Barker. License: CC BY: Attribution.
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