One of the most interesting marketing lessons from this is the fact that some of the new brands have come from the market leader. The lesson here is that the best defence strategy is the courage to attack yourself. File
One of the greatest motivations to innovate is military supremacy. Questions have been raised on whether the Sh12 billion spent on the Somalia war is worth the effort. The East African recently featured increased military spending by East African nations, especially Kenya and Uganda. Marketing warfare works the same as the military, indeed some classic military books are among recommended readings in modern business schools. Advertisers have a saying that half of the money spent on advertising is wasted, the dilemma is that you cannot tell which half.
For this reason, you advertise in good and bad times. Battle grounds are so important that warring parties name battles from where they were fought. In marketing warfare the terrain is important too, but battle location normally refers to the mind of the prospect — it is more of an intellectual battle. In beer wars I saw a billboard for a SABMiller brand which implied that the location can also be taken literally. The advert had the message that it was Miller time — from a certain street in New York to Electric Avenue in Westlands. Since so much alcohol is consumed along Electric Avenue, I was inclined to notice the advert. This is also a perfect example of “glocalisation”, where global marketing concepts are localised to suit local conditions and consumers. International brands will also leverage on their global capabilities, a case in point is Heineken which is being endorsed by David Craig starring in the new James Bond Movie Skyfall. Although the brand has partnered with the James Bond series for a long time, this is the first all-out endorsement by the lead actor. Another battle front in the beer wars is the green category where so many beers are fighting for consumers’ attention. Tusker malt, Tusker Lite, Castle Lite, Heinneken, Sierra, Summit Malt, and Windhoek are all green and most have been launched in the last one year.
Courage to attack One of the most interesting marketing lessons from this is the fact that some of the new brands have come from the market leader. The lesson here is that the best defence strategy is the courage to attack yourself. In marketing, failure to attack provides opportunities for an onslaught from new and existing competition. There is a cost of cannibalisation where your new product can eat into the market of your established brands, but then there is the cost of inaction where your established product loses market share to the competition. The other battle front in the beer wars has been in the sweet front; recently East Africa Breweries launched Snapp, an apple cider which targets divas and is likely to compete with Redds from SAB Miller. The battle front here would also be the women market. The drink is targeted at modern, classy, women who are looking for a feminine and sophisticated alcoholic beverage as indicated by East Africa Breweries Group Marketing Director Debra Mallowah at the launch. Keroche Breweries is likely to ointensify the turf war. Its Flagship brand Summit appears to compete directly with Tusker. At the end of the day, what is important is that each of the players has strengths and weaknesses. It ends up being like a tough chess match where the winner will be the player who is able to make up for their weaknesses.
