Introduction-
Guinness is a world renowned brand now owned by Diageo which has been around since 1759. It is steeped in Irish history and is a distinctly Irish brand mostly recognised by its black colour, famous Brian Boru harp and Arthur Guinness signature which is on every bottle.
The Guinness brand has changed dramatically over the years from the old cartoon style illustrations of sea lions, strong men and Toucans , slogans such as “Guinness is good for you” and “my goodness my Guinness” to its multi-million euro award winning ad campaigns such as the “surfer” and more recent “paint the town black” Arthur’s day campaign.
The present health of Guinness is good even though alcohol sales have declined in recent years due to recession and less young people drinking “the black stuff“, Guinness has remained strong. 1 out of every 3 pints sold in Ireland is a Guinness and worldwide sales are up 4% from last year. Places such as Africa, Great Britain and north America keep sales of Guinness high with Nigeria now being the second biggest consumer in the world.
Sales peak on days such as St. Patrick’s day probably due to its heritage and strong sense of Irishness and Arthur’s day which has been a great success worldwide since it started in 2009 involving many well known musicians to play gigs on the day, which has given the brand a big boost and enabled Guinness to reach a younger audience.
The brand has tried to move away from the stereotype of old men drinking in a rural pub after a hard days work to a drink that can be consumed by anybody and anyone of all ages (over 18 of course) as their advertisements show people from all backgrounds , age and race from around the world enjoying Guinness.
Guinnesses competition would probably be the likes of stouts such as Murphy’s and Beamish both owned by Heineken, Murphy’s is brewed to be lighter and less bitter than its counter part, it does have success in its