Clear message
Jealous
The management team members of Massimo von Wunster sit fraternally
next to each other. In front of them they each have a notebook that they
use to display electronic statistics to back up their statements. Marketing
and Sales Director Riccardo Giuliani and Marketing Director Marco Alberizzi
give a clear message: the unity between the commercial and marketing
sides of the business is genuine and strong. It is one of the main reasons
for the success of Heineken Italia.
The brand portfolio of Heineken Italia is impressive. You can easily fill a
kitchen table with a display of the forty plus brands. Nonetheless Riccardo
and Marco focus the conversation on only five brands: Heineken, Birra
Moretti, Dreher, Ichnusa and Budweiser. "Those five key brands represent
96% of the EBIT share (Earnings Before Interest and Tax) and that
percentage is still growing," explains Marco Alberizzi.
With such profit strength, it is not surprising that 92% of the total
marketing budget is allocated to these five brands. At this moment a new
strategy for the other brands is being developed and Riccardo Giuliani
expects that some brands will be pulled off the market. This already
happened in the last year, especially in the savings segment. Although the
segment is growing due to the unfavourable economic situation, for
Heineken Italia the poor financial results of the economy-priced brands is
reason enough to reduce the number of brands. "In recent years we lost
400,000 hectolitres of volume because we had already stopped the
production of several cheaper brands. Okay, we lost volume, but we are
more profitable. At the same time the market share of our key brands rose
from 25% to 29% between 1998 and 2003," says Giuliani.
One of these five key brands comes from the island of Sardinia. Why put a
regional brand on your shortlist of most important brands? "In Italy per
capita consumption is only 29 litres. On Sardinia it is 70 litres! Our market
share on the island is 80% and with Ichnusa we have a 40% share.
Awareness of the brand on Sardinia is close to one hundred percent.
Ichnusa is part of their heritage and identity. With such a strong market
position and high profitability Ichnusa is definitely a key brand for us,"
Alberizzi explains proudly.
Working with brands like Heineken, Birra Moretti, Dreher, Ichnusa and
Budweiser would make any marketeer and sales rep jealous. They are
brands that count in Italy. Heineken has a tremendously strong position
amongst young adults. Alberizzi shows the findings of a research study into
brand awareness. For the 18-34 age group Heineken is the absolute
number one beer in terms of brand awareness in Italy. Looking at the total
beer market, Birra Moretti is perceived as number one. "We are not market
leader in volume, but we have managed to build good equity for our
brands." says Alberizzi.
The success of Birra Moretti is impressive. In ten years time its volume
grew from one to two million hectolitres, not only thanks to the fact that
Moretti is seen as a genuine Italian beer, but also because Heineken Italia
has been very consistent in using that Italian heritage. The Birra Moretti
label depicts a man with an impressive moustache. By constantly using that
