1. What has made the Mountain Man Brewing Company successful? What is distinctive about MMBC’s product, customers and brand equity?
Reasons why MMBC has been successful: * MMBC used their history and status as an independent family owned brewery to enhance the feeling of authenticity of their brand, which resonates with its core drinkers – blue collar, middle to low income men over the age of 45. * MMBC has very high brand awareness – in a recent study, MMBC Lager was rarted as the best known regional beer, unaided response rate of 67% from the state’s (WV) adult population * There is also a high perception of quality with MMBC Lager * MMBC has won multiple awards: * In 2005, won “Best Beer in West Virginia” for the 8th year in a row * In 2005, won “America’s Championship Lager” at the American Beer Championship
What is distinctive about MMBC’s: * Product * Smoothness and drinkability * Distinctive bitter flavor * Slight higher than average alcohol content * Bottle also enhance overall image of product * Original 1925 design with coal miners authenticity and history * Brown bottle accentuating the beer’s dark color taste, ‘strong’ * Customers * In stark contrast to other domestic beers, drinkers of Mountain Man Lager skews heavily towards male, 81% compared to 58% for domestic light beers and 68% for domestic premium beers * Drinkers of Mountain Man Lager also skew older, 64% over the age of 45 compared to 48% for domestic light beers and 49% for domestic premium beers * Mountain Man Lager drinkers are also on the lower income range compared to other domestic beers * This customer segment seems to be very brand loyal and influenced by their reference groups. In a recent focus group, a participant said: “My dad drank Mountain Man just like my granddad did. They both felt it was as good a beer as you