E-Marketing Plan for Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer

(3600 Words)

This e-marketing plan proposes to provide an outline of strategies of action in marketing Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer domestically and internationally by means of the Internet. In this paper, the objectives are formulated, the potential segments are presented as well as the target market and the benefits analysis, product positioning and assumptions are demonstrated. Moreover, the general courses of actions or activities are likewise presented.

1) Objectives

The primary objective of this proposal is to determine the various cyber avenues that will serve as primary and secondary e-marketing channels. To achieve this, the paper will seek to address the following specific objectives:

• To formulate target market profile for Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer and understand channel choice and alternatives
• To conduct a complete benefit analysis for the Chinese beers and Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer focusing on the demography of beer drinkers
• To formulate necessary activities toward strategic positioning and target the right market
• To distinguish the most feasible primary and secondary e-marketing channels for Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer
• To design a schedule for the projected time of completion toward the implementation of e-marketing of Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer
• To implement the project on the third quarter of 2008

2) Prospect Segments

The prospect segments of this paper will be the Central and Western dwellers for domestic. For international, the paper chooses English men and American male and female. But as a whole, the product will be electronically marketed to the greater population regardless of demography, race, income or wealth. To wit, beers have significant health benefits for all and so it must be promoted for the general public’s consumption, and in addition, the Internet reaches basically every corner of the globe.

1) Central and Western

Being one of the 18 districts of HKSAR, Central and Western had a population of 261, 884 in 2001 and it has the most educated district and second highest income. What is admirable about the place is that is its complementary position and the important landmarks that serve as the tourist destination. Hong Kong’s populace has an extremely dense urban core and the climate of Hong Kong is subtropical.

Nonetheless, that place contributes to larger shares of urban purchasing power. The main drawers of mass consumption are product functionalities and emotional affiliations brought by the rapidly rising middle class. Further, Hong Kongers treasure value as the focal point of their spending and consuming. The tendency for them is to know market prices then compare.

Aside from buying from stores and malls, they are tended to make their purchase online and from catalogs and they are very much particular with the price. Their purchases are always made from the distributors rather than the retailers. Their reason for this is that distributors offer a mush greater price.

2) England

As the largest and most populous constituent country of United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, England has 84% of the total population of UK, and the most ethnically-diverse with English language is the principal language. The demography of the populace is aging due to the declining rate of population under the age of 16 and rising for over 65. England’s culture is consists of the combination of old and new.

Studies showed that the current levels of cponsumption in the UK are unsustainable. Consumption is not just about shopping but likewise has social and environmental impacts. There are four factors that English consumption is built: how they run their homes, the food they eat, how they get around and how they travel on holidays.

The people are driven by rational and information-led campaigns which motivate their behaviors when it comes to sustainable consumption. An example of this is their peculiarity with labels.

3) USA

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic which is comprised of fifty states and a federal district. Situated in the western hemisphere, the seasons changes in four patterns. According to the US Census Bureau, US population reached 300, 000, 000 by 2006 with overall growth is 0.89% and the birth rate is 14.16 per 1, 000. English is the national language.

Consumer behaviors of Americans is very diverse due to the fact that their society conforms to the mixture of different ethnicities, race and classes. So, generalizing this segment would only be vague. As they move through life cycles, nonetheless consumers undergo predictable changes in values, lifestyles and consumption.

In addition, their social class reflects purchases that symbolize lifestyles and values and serve as predictors of resources owned. Generally, people purchase goods and services to help advance social standings and to demonstrate their affiliation to a certain social class (Mowen and Minor).

3) Target Market

Men are generally the beer drinkers but the populace of women who drinks beer is also growing. In addition, young adults, working or not, finds pleasures in drinking beers as well. The target market is focus on the young urban professionals for Central and Western residents. They will be the primary market segment. This would be in the 21-29 age bracket. The purpose for choosing this segment is their financial feasibility. Most of the individuals in this segment have their own money to spend. They are responsible enough to their actions and to stand before their decisions, meaning they are ready to face the consequences of drinking beer and getting drunk eventually.

The secondary market segment would be the English men and women aged 30-45. Typically, English are broad-minded so they would usually consider new products or services though not yet proven effective as long it has economic, social and environmental reasons. With this proviso, Guang Yu Lan distributors and retailers must be very particular with environmental and legal compliances. In addition, English are fond of using technology on a periodic basis. Cost-effectiveness is the main indicator of the purchasing decisions of Englishmen and women.

Supporting market segment focuses on Americans since competition is relatively high for this product in this region. The target shall belong to the bracket of 45 and above or the elderly, the retirees and the veterans. They are the ones who likely to stay at home and enjoy their pension. Such segment is very particular with sales statement and would not easily buy something in.

4) Benefits Analysis and Statement of Chosen Benefits

Most Chinese beers are in the pilsener style which is commonly known for its hop characteristic. What set Chinese beers to most Western beers especially Germany’s, is the way it was fermented and brewed. Currently, the Chinese brewers came up with varieties of brewering raw materials aside from malt and barley in order to dismiss the 2001 babbles that 95% of all Chinese beers are containing formaldehyde. As reported, the use of formaldehyde in beers purports prevention of sedimentation while in storage for both cans and bottles (Feng, 2005).

In general the Chinese beers have immense benefits to their economy. A report of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) states that the “Chinese beer consumption has doubled over the pass decade” (2007). In fact in 2006, Chinese firms had produced 35 million kiloliters, 14.7% increase from that of the previous year. China showed a double-digit growth in the same year surpassing US’s performance. The spread of the technology and the inflows of foreign currency through sub-contractions, acquisitions and other strategic alliances bring the possibility of a more stable economy and improved quality of life for the Chinese.

Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer, and all beers in general, is particular for providing health benefits especially for Chinese males because they often work for long hours and with intensive labors. According to Woods-Lavoie (2001), beers have antioxidants that fight harmful, free-radical compounds called metabolites and reduce the risks for eye ailments as proven by different studies. Further, beer contains vitamins and minerals such as vitamin b-6 and iron that reduce the risk for heart diseases and iron deficiencies.

For the primary market which is the young urban professional, the benefit of beer drinking is directly pointed on “anticipatory socialization process”. The experimental and moderate alcohol consumption centers on considering as such as a functional behavior in terms of acquiring the adult status. The cautions however and which is the beyond the control of manufacturers, retailers or distributors are the extent of consumption of how much and how often. Young people of today in addition have greater opportunities and obtain more disposable money than before. A survey conducted revealed that young [professionals] drink beer to be sociable, to celebrate and to feel relaxed.

For the secondary market which is the ‘midlifers’ and the supporting market that is the elederly, the benefits of beer drinking are immense. These are: cancer prevention due to Xanthohumol flavinoids compound as a preventive treatment against colon and prostate cancer; which is found only on hops, the main ingredient of beer; increase level of vitamin B6 that decreases levels of homocysteine which increase the chances of heart disease and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, known as the “good” cholesterol, which is a protective form of blood fat; reducing kidney stones and chromosomal damage from radiation exposure to beta-pseudouridine; memory booster and keeping awake due to reduction in neopterin production and degradation of trytophan. Additional to the older segment, drinking beer would likely to benefit them of relaxation and relief from stress.

5) Product Positioning

As Johnson and Scholes put it, strategic positions implicate the external environment, strategic capabilities and the corporate expectations (2002). Based on these three aspects, we are going to assess each market segment mentioned above. Chinese basically knows the benefits of drinking beer. Americans are accounted for 80% of beer consumption and the rest is for women. The former prefers domestic light beers and the women the variety of fruit-based beers. The alternative for both of them will be viable as, evidently, beer is consumed for relation and nutrition benefits to which the Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer has the advantage. Majority of the varieties of beer comes from English-speaking countries. Marketing Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer in this place will be more appreciated since the quality of Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer could pass international standards (Goldammer, n.d.).

6) Assumptions

Taking the considerations mentioned in 5, we can assume the favorable response of beer drinkers in six points: 1) beer is enormously enjoyed in and across all demographies; 2) there is a growing concern for healthily-brewed and low-alcohol contents of beers; 3) beers will serve as a form of relaxation rather than leisure and additional expense; 4) the volumetric importance will be visible due to increased promotion and advertisement via the Internet; 5) beer will make most of the retail industry due to increase consumption and 6) due to increase consumption, there would be a favorable competition between major beer providers such as convenience stores, liquor stores and the groceries.

Assumption for the beer young urban professionals segment:

• Due to the changing eating, socializing and drinking habit of the young urban professionals in Hong Kong in core urban areas most significantly, the beer sales will grew strong than ever. Since there an increased pressure to belong and fit in, young urban professionals would consider beer drinking as the main measure of effective socialization.
• The unfavorable indicators of these would be the consequences of beer drinking for them like violence, increase in crime rate, excuse for bad behaviors, unwanted pregnancies, suicide and looting. The moderate indicators would be the capability of the government to regulate and impose tax and necessary policies of beer consumption among the young. The favorable indicators would be the increased sale and cautious promotion and advertising which will be tended at protecting women and underaged.

Assumptions for the middle-aged segment:

• Since there are established policies for beer drinking in the place, the most favorable condition would be the control over consumption. And because spending power had increased in England, the Guang Yu Lan beer sales would be voluminous and that from 2.5 million liters from its introduction to 4 million liters for the subsequent years. The moderate condition would be the relative difficulty in entering the beer industry and thus maintaining profitability. Moreover, there would be the need to set-up a factory in the place as the unfavorable condition as it can be too costly. The high competition for the product is another unfavorable factor though on the lighter side it could be on the reverse.
• Marketing strategy will be focused on the main concerns of the consumers most importantly the environment. The main feature of promotion would be localization and culture-conscious while taking advantage of their fondness of drinking beer.

Assumption for the elderly market:

• The most promosing indicator of beer drinking for this segment centers on pleasure and health awareness. Taking advantage of this, the favorable condition would be the selling of the background of Guang Yu Lan beer aside from the benefits. They could be very particular with distribution channels since convenience would be what they are after for. The moderate favorable condition would be the decline in purchase for beers but nevertheless people within this bracket always frind value for their money, and this will be the counter attack of the product. The most unfavorable condition is the decline in alcohol consumption that may hinder the continuous growth in sales. So the sale for this market is inclined to be in relatively slow progression.

7. Define the Marketing Strategy by 4Ps

7.1 Prospectus profile

As mentioned beforehand, the paper will focus on the young urban professionals as the primary market. Beer has a broader appeal to this segment. Their purchasing capability will be also evident. Since they have the most active lifestyles, they have the ability and facilities to drive beer inventories in relatively high purchase frequencies.

7.2 Product/Service Definition

The Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer is brewed with rice as its primary raw material and has low alcohol content. The Saccharin concoction adds hops and is being fermented containing dioxidecarbon. Famous for its light color, bright transparency, fine and white and lasting foam, Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer has definite malt smell and hop’s flail, pure taste rich dioxidecarbon and crisp. The main product of Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer which is the Linkerman Beer has won several prizes for its quality. The Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer has gained the high quality products prizes in 1990 and is being named as the consumers’ favorite been in Jiangsu in 1993. it had been appraised by the Beer star of the China in 1994.

7.3 Price Strategy

Principally, the beer market in China is divided into three segments: premium, mainstream and budget-priced. Beers are priced according to their segments and hence quality. The premium segment consisted 5% of the total market while mainstream and budget-priced were accounted for the remaining 95%. The intensity of competition, in addition, may likewise determine the prices. The premium segment, which was sold in non-returnable and superior packages, will be priced two or three times more than the two segments. Since mainstream and budget-priced are sold in returnable bottles and crates, the price will be much lower. For example, the premium beer will be priced at 9RMB and the mainstream will be priced at 3RMB. The purpose of this pricing strategy is to ensure higher profitability and to compensate for higher capital and operating material costs and to minimise inventory levels and manage losses, respectively. The budget-priced could be priced at 2RMB to accommodate younger markets such as the young adults and young urban professionals (Major, 2000).

7.4 Distribution

The distribution strategy for Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer will be the integration of three primary actors – brewers and importers, wholesalers and retailers. The beer importers will enter markets segments identified through import companies. They will serve as the main wholesalers in the wholesalers in the local market to which the identified segment belong. These are the markets of Ireland, English and American nations as well as the Hong Kong SAR and Jiangsu. The wholesaler will serve as the middlemen. They are going to purchase beers from suppliers and importers and sell beers to retailers. Beer retailers will comprise of liquor store and authorised distributors, supermarkets, drug stores and retail chains (Goldammer, n.d.).

7.5 Promotion Strategy

1. Creative Platform

            The creative platform for this is vital on different promotional tactics. These are advertisements through television, radios, movies/theaters, magazines, newspapers and other printed materials and billboards. The highest priority though is placed on visual portals and the Internet. Examples of visual portals are train stations, walls on airports pathways, hotels, grocery stores, leisure parks and gym. The technical utilities are online collaborations and computer superstores.

1. Creative Strategy

            Creative strategies will focus on slogan and virtual channels to further promote, locally and internationally, advance and build the product.

1) Message Selection

The brand slogan will sell the benefits of low-alcoholic, rice-brewed beers. The rationale: “Everyone’s aware that when a person is drunk the tendency is to do the most stupid thing. But with Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer, it’s entirely different.” The slogan would be: 1) “Experience the difference. Have Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer.” Or, 2) “The foam that made China famous”. Either of the two, the message should present the competitive advantage of Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer which is the product’s attributes – quality taste and quality raw materials.

2) Media Channel(s) selection

The main channel that this paper proposes to use is the online collaborations. Online collaboration tools make use of extranets design to market the Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer. One example of online collaborations is Google ads. In addition, the Changzhou General Brewage factory, operators of Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer, could deign own website for the product that will consists of list of awards and the benefits that consumers will get. The secondary medium will be computer superstores like Amazon and eBay. Point of purchase displays and electronic demos will be also provided. The factory could design visual electronic portals and kiosks as well.

1. Select Mix of Promotion Elements

            Promotional elements for online collaboration are to further promote and to create awareness among the people especially those who are tech-savvy. The advertising objective is to create the competitive advantage of the product. The public relations elements are vital to acquire the nod of the media and to disseminate helpful informations through company backgrounders and press releases and, in a way, to have media support. The combination of the first three objectives directly correlates with sales and personal selling objectives which are to gain the trust of the consumers and to stabilise the financial performance of the product.

1. Implementation steps/stages and list of priority

1) Budget and Schedules

Activity	Month 1-2	Month 3-4	Month 5-6	Budget	Remarks
E-marketing Proposal					Completed
PESTEL and SWOT analysis				$50
Identification of Potential Response Rates				$50
Identification of Foreign  Distribution Channels				$100
Media Cooperation (Visual, Audio, Printed)				$2, 500
Acquisition of Legal Permits And Implementation				$, 2500
Internet Integration – setting-up of website – online collaboration – collaboration with computer superstores -setting-up of visual portals, electronic demos/advertisements, POP displays and cyber kiosk				$35, 000

 

2) Setting measuring success criteria

The measures of criteria for the four areas are determined below.

1. i) in terms of expected sales

The paper will make use of a financial equity scoreboard shown as Fig. 1. The criteria will be two-fold – asset and monetary. Under asset, the scoreboard will measure intangible, conditional and beneficial performance. The monetary aspect will center on stock price performance (optional); return on investment including costs of setting-up of website, online collaborations and convergence with computer superstores; return on sales and cash flow.

1. ii) criteria to control performance

The criteria to be included in measuring control performance will be shown in Fig. 2. It will demonstrate the brand strength indicators and how poor or well does the product, Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer, performs in the market.

iii) increase number of consumers

The document will also predetermine the use of a sales-based measurement in order to distinguish the increase in number of customers. As shown in Fig. 2, the schedule will include criteria of baseline sales, promotional sale and incremental sale via e-markets.

1. iv) entry to the targeted market

The paper will focus on the effectiveness of entry strategies both general and promotional. The general strategy is to be measure afterwards is on the efficiency of the factory to directly collaborate with foreign wholesalers, retailers and distributors and to internationally-acclaimed Internet providers. The promotional strategies in penetrating new markets will be center on the effectiveness of active promotional tactics specified in 7.5a.

 

Appendices

FIG. 1 FINANCIAL EQUITY SCOREBOARD

 

	From (date)	Estimate- Decision A	Estimate- Decision B	To (date)
ASSETS 1 Intangible 2 Conditional 3 Beneficial
MONETARY 1 Stock Price Performance 2 Return on Investment (ROI) 3 Return on Sales 4 Cash Flow (ROI)

 

FIG. 2 BRAND STRENGHT CHECKLIST

 

BRAND STRENGHT INDICATORS	YES/NO	REMARKS
Value-added Attributes – non-duplication – distribution – promotion – pricing – customer service – access
Brand Knowledge – levels of familiarity – image awareness – customer recalls
Brand Preference – individual motivation – ability to purchase – attitudes and behaviors toward consumption -levels of attachment

 

FIG. 3 SALES-BASED MEASURE

 

PURCHASE OCCASION	Baseline Sale	Promotional Sale	Incremental Sale via E-markets	Total No. of Sales
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
TOTAL

 

References

 

            Agence France-Presse (AFP) 2007, Chinese beer consumption doubles in decade, retrieved on 13 March 2008 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmafp/is_200708/ai_n19481576.

           

Feng, Z 2005, ‘No trouble brewing,’ beer industry insists, China Daily (Electronic Version), retrieved on 13 March 2008 from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-07/14/content_460109.htm.

 

Goldammer, T n.d. The Brewer’s Handbook: The Complete Book to Brewing Beer, US: Apex Publishers.

 

Guang Yu Lan Brand Beer, retrieved on 13 March 2008 from http://www.js.cei.gov.cn/JSfamous/0400023/eguanylc.htm.

 

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