McDowell's Vintage Classic Premium Whisky Marketing Strategy Analysis & Solution

Marketing & Sales Case Study Analysis and Solution

At Fern Fort University, we use Harvard Business Review (HBR) marketing principles and framework to analyze McDowell's Vintage Classic Premium Whisky case study. McDowell's Vintage Classic Premium Whisky is a Harvard Business Review case study written by David A. Soberman, Ganesh Iyerfor the students of Sales & Marketing. The case study also include other relevant topics and learning material on –

Strategic Marketing Analysis of McDowell's Vintage Classic Premium Whisky case study written by David A. Soberman, Ganesh Iyer will comprise following sections –

  • McDowell's Vintage Classic Premium Whisky Case Description
  • Marketing Definition
  • Market Potential Analysis of McDowell's Vintage Classic Premium Whisky
  • Market Share Potential Analysis
  • Segmentation and Segment Attractiveness Analysis
  • Competition and Competitiveness Analysis of McDowell's Vintage Classic Premium Whisky
  • Customer Value Analysis of McDowell's Vintage Classic Premium Whisky case study

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McDowell's Vintage Classic Premium Whisky Marketing Case Description

Sales & Marketing Case Study | Authors :: David A. Soberman, Ganesh Iyer

The case focuses on the launch of McDowell's Vintage Premium Indian Whisky in the mid-1980's (the dates used in the case are later and exchange rates and prices have been adjusted accordingly. The essence of the marketing challenge faced by the marketing manager is unaffected by the later dates). McDowell must deal with a common dilemma faced by domestic firms in developing economies where growth frequently produces a greater concentration of wealth at the upper end of the market. Frequently domestic products in developing nations are perceived to be of poor quality and do not have the cachet of well-known international trademarks. As a result, the growing affluence of the middle class in these nations can lead to increasing consumption of high price, high margin imports while domestic products are restricted to the low price/high volume business where it is difficult to be profitable. To address this problem, McDowell has developed a product that compares favourably in taste tests with imported products however; it does carry the baggage of being a domestic brand. The case considers the problem of the marketing manager for McDowell's Vintage PIW who must choose a positioning and marketing strategy for his product. An important decision is whether the new product should be positioned as an acceptable alternative to imported scotch or whether it should be positioned as the best tasting domestic product. A further problem for the manager is to choose an appropriate marketing strategy for the product given the size of the country and the difficulty of reaching the target market. The timing of the case is 6 months before the scheduled launch for the product. The manager needs to finalize the positioning for the new product. In addition, the manager is considering several alternative strategies for the product that involve difficult decisions in terms of distribution, promotion and packaging.

Marketing Definition

According to American Marketing Association – Marketing is a set of activities that a firm undertakes for creating, communicating, delivering, & exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

Kotler explains - Marketing is a process by which organizations can create value for its potential and current customers and build strong customer relationships in order to capture value in return.

Market Potential Analysis of McDowell's Vintage Classic Premium Whisky

Market potential analysis comprises evaluating the overall market size of the related product that the firm is planning to launch. This will involve defining – Why the target market segment needs the product and how it will provide a solution to full its consumers’ needs. Market potential of McDowell's Vintage Classic Premium Whisky products various on factors such as –

  • Maturity of the market. In mature markets the profitability is often stable but the market potential is less as most of the players have already taken market share based on the segment they are serving. New players have to go for market share strategies in marketing.
  • Technological competence of the existing players and culture of innovation and development in the industry.
  • Untapped market sizes and barriers to both enter the market and serving the customers. Often companies can easily see the unfulfilled needs in the markets but they are difficult to serve as there are costly barriers.
  • Define the core need that your product is serving and list out all the direct and indirect competitors in the market place. This will help not only in positioning of the product but also in defining or creating a segment better.
  • Uncovering the current and untapped market sizes and barriers to serving the larger market. Analyze the areas that you need to sort out while launching the products to wider market and what are the challenges the firm will face in market place.
  • Estimate the current stage in product life cycle and its implications for marketing decisions for the product.

Market Share Potential Analysis

  • Understanding the buyer behavior model for McDowell's Vintage Classic Premium Whiskyindustry.
  • Identifying the market share drivers relevant to McDowell's Vintage Classic Premium Whisky market.
  • Segment Attractiveness Analysis – Our analysis will work out which are the most attractive segments and which are the one the firm should go ahead and target. We point out in great detail which segments will be most lucrative for the company to enter.
  • Understanding the different needs and relative value of your offering by segment.
  • Developing segment priorities and positioning the product based on the product need fit developed by the firm.

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Competition & Competitive Position Analysis

  • Uncovering customer-based competitive positions for key rivals and firm’s offering. This will not only help in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors but also help in defining and positioning of the product.
  • Developing a positioning and launching strategy. It will require not only distribution channel analysis but also promotion mix for the product.
  • Strategic Marketing Planning — the process of developing and maintaining a strategic fit between the organization’s objectives and capabilities and the ever evolving marketing opportunities for its products.

McDowell's Vintage Classic Premium Whisky - Customer Value Analysis

Capturing customer value is essential to marketing efforts as it results in higher return in the form of both current & future sales, greater market share, and higher profits. By creating superior customer value, the organization can create highly satisfied customers who stay loyal and buy more. This, in turn, means greater long-run returns for the firm.

  • The crucial role of customer perceived value in acquiring and retaining profitable customers. Product differentiation is often based on building on a value niche that a firm believes that is very important to the customer. This niche contributes to perceived value. If the perceived value is high then customer stay loyal to the product if not then she can switch to the competitor’s product.
  • Graphically displaying value differences for deeper understanding and better internal communication. This helps is building a narrative that a customer can identify with. The better the insight more are the chances of connecting with the potential customers.
  • Identifying and selecting actionable value creation options. This can help in increasing the customer lifetime value. Customer lifetime value is the value of the entire stream of purchases that the customer would make over a lifetime of patronage.

NOTE: Every marketing case study solution varies based on the details and data provided in the case. We write unique marketing strategy case solution for each HBR case study with no plagiarism. The specific case dictate the exact format for the case study analysis.


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