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Heineken
Experiential marketing
NOVEMBER 2005
positioned as a beer for people who have the sophistication to know and
want a high quality product for their personal enjoyment and for whom it's
only 'what's inside that counts'. The brand is primarily targeted at 23-35
year-old independent-minded urban residents who have an international
outlook on life." Kittinan Kunapermsiri, Marketing Manager for Tiger Beer in
Thailand, notes proudly that in only fourteen months since TAPB launched
the brand, Tiger Beer is already registering a 4% share of the standard
segment.
"Introducing a brand for the low tier, or economy segment, is currently
our biggest challenge," says Pongtanya. "The segment accounts for more
than 70% of the volume of the Thai beer market and any player who wants
to be a powerful force in the Thai beer market has to have a successful
brand in this segment.
"Our strategy is to exploit our expertise in brewing quality beer to help
us capture a part of the low tier market. We want to attract those people
who know what good beer tastes like, but are very price sensitive. Our
brand for this segment is called Cheers Beer, which we launched in
September this year, pricing it very close to its key competitors."
TAPB wasn't ready to take chances when it came time to finding the
right brew for this critical segment. Donald Otten, TAPB's Dutch
brewmaster, worked with brewers at Heineken in the Netherlands to
develop more than ten recipes that were extensively tested. "Over the
course of two years, we tested and interviewed more than 3,000 Thai beer
drinkers, finally settling on a brew that has 5.6% alcohol content and is very
smooth and easy to drink.
"Cheers Beer blends three premium quality hops from England and the
United States, for which Thai beer drinkers have shown a strong
preference," said Otten. "To ensure that the recipe remains true, samples
will regularly be sent to Europe for quality control."
"We're confident we have the right flavour," added Phromson
Ayanaputra, Marketing Manager for Cheers Beer. "Now we're working
towards awareness and distribution, and we're making good progress. Our
target outlets include 5,500 supermarkets and hypermarkets, around
260,000 'Mom Pop' stores, as well as 90,000 medium grade restaurants,
noodle shops and street vendors nationwide."
Even as Pongtanya celebrates the firm's success in its tenth anniversary
year, he reminds his 300 colleagues at TAPB that a brewery needs to
capture at least 15% of the total beer market to become a major player in
Thailand. "We aim to be there in three years, and Cheers Beer will
contribute significantly to that goal."
But there are some obstacles ahead.
The Thai government has recently imposed major restrictions on the
advertising and promotion of alcoholic beverages—restrictions that TAPB
leaders believe will become even greater over the next few years.
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