Developing Brand Positioning Strategy for Canadian Club

rearing Brand Positioning Strategy for Canadian parliamentary procedure Whiskey pic Developing stigmatizeing strategy for Canadian community A. Assess and fully critique the success of Canadian Clubs repositioning strategies used in the case. Use grass theories and concepts to evaluate the companys brand strategies listed in the case. According to Keller(1993) the effective brand positioning gives a brand a rivalrous advantage or unique selling proposition that determines a reason why consumers ar buying this overlap or service (Keller, 1993).Similarly, Kay (2004) argues that brands strength depends on its successful positioning within consumers mind. Further more than, it is claimed that strong brands should possess difference and consistency, however the difference should be meaningful for consumers. In the case of Canadian Club whisky it aimed to una c atomic number 18iate its select and uniqueness through exciting advertising campaigns such as Adventure Series, Hide A Case, CC Find-A-Case Ch every last(predicate)enge or Damn Right Your Dad Drank It. Also, Keller (1993) claims that brand knowledge consists of brand awareness and perceived brand icon among consumers.Brand image is further divide into favourability, strength and uniqueness of brand associations. Therefore, in the case of Canadian Club a brand image is conveyed through unique and distinctive experiences that consumers associate with a brand. For example, introduction of Adventure Series advertising campaign in 1920s aimed to increase CCs global gross revenue whilst showcasing print ads of travellers going to international locations all everyplace the world and performing brave actions. After that they were relaxing with a glass of CC.As a result a brands image is distinctive from the household as it appeals to its target listening as a unique and exclusive drink associated with adventures. Also, it benefits consumer experientially. In addition, Keller (1993) claims that dev eloping a brand rectitude requires four value stages foodstuffing program investment, customer mind-set, market performance and shareholder value (Keller, 1993). Furthermore, selling program should be clear, relevant, distinctive and consistent passim all the selling communications.For example, CC introduced Hide-A-Case campaign in 1967 which aimed to challenge drinkers to search for bottles of Canadian Club kept hidden at remote locations all over the world. CC cases were hidden in places such as the Swiss Alps (Switzerland), Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), Angel Falls (Venezuela) etc. Therefore, the campaign was int seasonctive and engaging which is another distinctive feature for the category. Also, the campaign was communicated through the hints of where to find CC cases published in magazine ads or sport pages in daily currentspapers.Therefore, it was relevant for targeted audience and consistent end-to-end all the communications. Other campaigns involved CC Find-A-Case Cha llenge(1981) and Find A Case Challenge(2004) which were similar to earlier launched Hide-A-Case campaign, however CC cases were hidden in locations such as in Death Valley in California, on top of a skyscraper in New York City, etc. Also, the campaign involved a form of contest where teams were farewellicipating in 7 different fun-filled events or games assessing their physical and mental skills like CC Poker Run, Roll the Barrel, CC field hockey Challenge etc.The winning team was awarded of US 10000. Hence, all these campaigns were interactive, engaging and communicating brands uniqueness and exclusivity to the target audience. However, due to failure to address declining sales in 1990s the company had to develop new repositioning strategy for a brand. Therefore, they launched Damn Right Your Dad Drank It campaign aiming to expand their target audience into young male drinkers. The campaign was based on nostalgia branding concept. According to Kay (2006) reviving brands is a viab le strategy.Furthermore, it is claimed that retro branding or nostalgia branding is where scholarship towards brand depends upon consumers nostalgic leanings give the sack be a powerful management option (Kay, 2006). Similarly, Kessous and Roux (2002) argue that nostalgia can be used to reposition companys product in the market and differentiate it through creating emotional appeals to the consumers of their past experiences (Kessous, 2002). Therefore, nostalgia is defined as a preference towards objects ( bulk, places or things) which were common when peerless was younger.The nostalgia can be further classified into first-time nostalgia and long-standing nostalgia. However, nostalgia branding is commonly used within confectionary or sweets market which is why act this type of strategy for Canadian Club whisky was criticised as existence risky. Furthermore, whisky category itself is viewed as drinks for mature and old consumers and there was a threat to uphold this image even more whilst using nostalgia branding. However, the campaign succeeded as it was relevant to the target audience (young males) and consistent to its brand image as it provoked masculinity and stylishness.Also, it was consistent through all the marketing communications such as billboards, point-of-sale items, radio advertising, out-of-home advertising, in-market events, and experiential elements. In addition it was distinctive to the usual categorys advertising campaigns that usually consisted of stereotyped sex sells ads playing on hot chicks and smoking bods or James Bond appeal. Finally, the brands image and values were clearly communicated through the campaign. Therefore, nostalgia branding enabled company to reposition itself from being an exclusive and sophisticated drink into more of a mass market product.Finally, Shamma (2011) claims that total brand equity consists of product and corporate brand equity which depends on companys market, sociable and financial performance. Fur thermore, there is a despotic relationship between companys corporate brand and neighborlyly responsible marketing and total brand equity (Shamma, 2011). Similarly, Grace and King (2011) talks about employee brand equity, which is the result of positive and productive employee brand-related behaviour and is strongly linked with brands strength (Grace and King, 2011).In contrast, Kay (2004) argues that corporate branding differs from product and service branding as it is aimed at different target audiences. For instance, corporate branding usually targets companys shareholders and employees whereas product and service branding is focused on consumers who are not really enkindle in corporate brand identity (Kay, 2004). However, it is likewise claimed that both(prenominal) companies, especially those that started as niche businesses that appealed to small segments of amicablely conscious customers succeeded in creating strong and distinctive corporate brands.Referring to CC and J im Beam corporation consumers are not that concerned about companys overall image, however introduction of corporate social responsibility and socially responsible marketing could enhance employees satisfaction and therefore employee brand equity. B. You stir assumed the role of, Brand Manager for Canadian Club. Develop a brand positioning plan to fix the Canadian Club brand for the next three years (2014-2017). Suggest a variety of branding strategies that are appropriate for the brands identity and target market.Use catamenia research about the brand and the whiskey industry prior to answering this part of the assignment. Use theory to justify your arguments Canadian Club whiskey belongs to UK spirits market which was estimated to be worth ? 11. 09 bn. at current prices in 2011 (Keynote, 2012). The UK spirits and spiritss market is expected to grow by 16. 4% reaching a value of ? 13. 42bn in 2016. Thus, there is an opportunity for Canadian Club to further increase and strengthe n its share of market. Canadian Club whiskey is a prestigious brand owned by Beam Global Spirits & Wine Corporation which is US-based company.It also owns brands such as Jim Beam, Courvoisier and Tequila Sauza. Since 1920s Canadian Club differentiated itself as a higher(prenominal) quality, exclusive whisky offering experiential experience for its drinkers. Its current target market is those from legal drinking age to 34, however company is looking forward to strengthen its appeal among younger consumers in order to take into custody their life-time loyalty (Twiss, 2012). Referring to its main competitors the direct competitors are Diageos whoremasternie Walker scotch whiskey and Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey.Diageo is a leading distiller which currently owns more than 35% of the spirits and liquors market globally and is expanding to emergent markets such as India and Asia (BBC, 2013). It also owns brands such as Smirnoff Vodka and Gordons Gin. Furthermore, Scotch whiskey is th e leader of whiskey category in UK and worldwide and its exports were worth ? 4. 23bn in 2011 (BBC, 2013). However, there is an increasing trend among younger consumers to choose vodka and other white spirits to mix them in their cocktails.Therefore, in order to sustain and increase its market share Canadian Club needs to tackle competition arousing not only from dark spirits only also from white spirits such as vodka, rum, gin etc. Referring to categorys recent adverts Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky (Diageo) launched a new global advertising campaign in September 2012 entitled Where Flavour is a King. The campaign uses facebook application to educate users about different flavours that fall upon up each Johnnie Walker label (MarketingWeek, 2012).Meanwhile, Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey has lately introduced their Legend campaign where it is positioned as a whiskey of Rock & Roll era (International backup Times, 2013). On the other hand, Canadian Club recently introduced its Beer fairies campaign in Australia featuring unattractive beer drinker possessing all the negative traits associated with beer drinking. The campaign seeks to position CC as a refreshing alternative through the use of parody and provocative advertising (Campaign Brief, 2012).Furthermore, it introduced Join the Club campaign where companys chief operating officer is represented as a brand ambassador and is sharing his Whiskey wisdoms with consumers about masculinity and manhood. It is evident that several classic liquor companies have been recently using manly images in order to appeal to growing macho men population. For instance, John Jameson and its campaign legend of John Jameson with images of its founder arm-wrestling or Canadian Wisers whiskey and its Wiserhood campaign featuring a society of uncompromising men who applaud any man who resists an occasion that threatens his manhood (Krashinsky, 2012).Also, many of spirits and liquor companies are incorporating social media when crea ting a branding strategy in order to target younger and more affluent audience. For instance, Canadian Club whiskey fans are encouraged to share their Whiskey Wisdoms on facebook in order to get an access to exclusive content, invitations to local events and wisdom (Lukovitz, 2012,). Similarly, Smirnoff promoted its Vodka Ice drink through social media whilst load-bearing(a) fans to participate in a drinking game and share experiences and photos on facebook page.According to Avery and Fournier (2011) liberal source branding is a new concept in marketing where a brand is embedded in a cultural conversation such that consumers gain an equal, if not greater, say than marketers in what the brand looks like and how it behaves (Fournier, 2011, pp. 194). It is enabled through social media technologies such as blogging, video sharing, social bookmarking, social networking, and community platforms (Fournier, 2011).Furthermore, it is evident that engaging with the right individuals through social media platforms can serving to promote word-of-mouth for a brand, spread brand knowledge, generate sales and increase return on investment (Kumar, 2012). However, since the marketers do not have so much control on the overall brands image in open source branding social media can also have a negative impact on brands equity.Therefore, it is claimed that when incorporating social media in their marketing activities companies should take into consideration four powerful and challenging Web-enabled themes The board of the Social Collective, The Age of Transparency, The Age of Criticism, and The Age of Parody (Fournier, 2011). Referring to social collectiveness it is evident that online communities provide an opportunity for in-depth discussion of shared interests among consumers, therefore strengthening group bonds. Also, some of the companies developed their business models based on social collectiveness concept.For instance, Groupon offers a variety of daily deals for restaur ants, spas, massages and other activities for its members but offers are valid only if enough people sign up to receive them (Fournier, 2011). The Age of Transparency and The Age of Criticism claim that due to significant technology changes the news and opinions about particular brand spread very fast and can have a significant impact on brand equity (Fournier, 2011). For instance, due to transparency BP recently go through a fiasco with its leaking Deepwater Horizon oil rig.The news had a significant impact on negative brands reputation as BP was pursuing an image of the environmentally-friendly petroleum company and was developing activities to strengthen this image. Similarly, there is a power of disappointed companys internal employees revealing markets and firms secrets to a wider public that can damage companys image. Criticism enabled through social media technologies can also have a great impact on companys brand equity even if a small number of consumers is complaining. Fo r instance, when introduced its new product formulation called teetotal Max,Pampers had to deal with a negative impact arousing from consumers who claimed that a product caused diaper rash and was not suitable for consumers. Finally, The Age of Parody refers to online users view of social media being a pastime or a source of entertainment. Therefore, it is not surprising that many companies are trying to grab consumers attention through creating funny and interactive campaigns that go viral. However, the difficulty is to evaluate the impact and reach of these campaigns. Another recent trend in social media applications is fluent marketing and mobile social media.With progressively powerful mobile devices, many social media applications have gone mobile in order to reach customer instantly without any time or location limitations (Kaplan, 2012). Thus, mobile marketing is defined as any marketing activity conducted through a ubiquitous network to which consumers are constantly con nected using a ain mobile device (Kaplan, 2012, pp. 130). In contrast, mobile social media is defined as a group of mobile marketing applications that deliver the creation and exchange of user-generated content (Kaplan, 2012, pp. 31). It is also claimed that mobile social media applications can be classified according to users time and location sensitivity. For example, quick-timers involve transfer of traditionalistic social media applications to mobile devices to increase immediacy such as posting Twitter messages or Facebook status updates. In contrast, space-timers involve exchange of messages with relevance for one specific location at one specific point-in time, for example Facebook places, Foursquare and Gowalla.Space-timers are the most sophisticated form of mobile social marketing applications as users participation does not primarily depend on users monetary motivation. According to the theory the increasing allowingness to check in certain locations through Foursquare can be explained through self-presentation and self-disclosure concepts, and impulsiveness theory which claims that individuals often struggle between displaying long-term control and giving into short-term temptations (Kaplan, 2012).Therefore, lot of companies are collaborating with Foursquare to promote their sales and discounts, develop relationships and loyalty programs. Furthermore, it is estimated that by 2020 a mobile device bequeath be the primary Internet link tool for most people in the world (Kaplan, 2010). However, when integrating mobile social marketing applications companies should also make sure that it is integrated into the lives of consumers, offered activities or promotions are individualized according to each users preferences and interests and users are involved through engaging in conversations.Otherwise, it can become intrusive, annoying and threaten personal privacy. Nevertheless, mobile marketing provides high rate of personalisation, interactivity, low cost of reaching large audience at the right time at the right place, immediate, matched communication, does not depend on time and space etc. Hence, followed the benefits of increased brand awareness and sales through social media and mobile social marketing applications here are proposed brand positioning strategies for Canadian Club 2014-201 Strategy OneFirstly, a new brand positioning campaign called Canadian Club-Unexceptional Quality allow for be launched in September 2014. A campaign will focus on promoting major brands assets quality and exclusivity in order to seize wider audience. The main companys strategy will be to use facebook application to educate users of brands quality and suitability for various cause in order to increase the usage. It will involve posts of various taglines such as Theres no better way to impress a woman than Canadian Club-Unexceptional Quality or To be well groomed is an exceptionCanadian Club is Unexceptional in order to strengthen marketi ng communications message. The campaign is also going to encourage users to post and share photos of various occasions when CC can be consumed. This way brand tries to withdraw with audience whilst suggesting that CC is not only old men drink and can be consumed during various occasions. Additionally, in order to boost users confidence and strengthen the relation between brands image and quality the campaign will provide tips on their facebook page for exclusive Canadian Club consumers of how to silk hat dress up when drinking Canadian Club.These tips will only be accessed if users liked a page. This campaigns aim is to engage users in open and active conversations about the brand and its quality, as well as increase awareness. The campaign will be supported by billboards, radio and youtube videos. Strategy ii Secondly, since company aims to target younger audience in order to capture their life-time loyalty the use of mobile social marketing is essential. Therefore, it is sugges ted to develop a mobile application that either engages, interacts or benefits consumer.Furthermore, many of the companies nowadays collaborates with mobile social media applications such as Foursquare in order to generate users word-of-mouth, facilitate sales promotions and discounts or develop relationships through loyalty programs. Hence, Canadian Club will use foursquare meshingsite to promote brands image and increase sales. Therefore, users will be encouraged to check-in at five high class luxurious bars, restaurants or hotels listed on Canadian Clubs foursquare web page in order to get a 40% discount for a suit for upcoming occasion from a local high quality retailer.The check-ins should be followed by users comment about Canadian Clubs exceptional quality and shared on facebook with his friends. The number of discounts will be limited and the promotion campaign will run until all the discounts will be given away. Users will be updated of the remaining promotions on Canadian Clubs facebook page and personally reminded how many more locations they need to check-in if entered a competition. The campaign firstly will be tested in US and then adopted in emerging markets such as India, China, Russia. Some adjustments will be made if needed to adapt to local market. ConclusionsFor decades Canadian Club whiskey was known for its exclusivity and unexceptional quality. A brand always tried to differentiate itself from competitors whilst launching various interactive and exciting advertising campaigns that were comical and innovative for the category. Therefore, when suggesting different brand positioning strategies for 2014-2017 Canadian Club should remain enforcing its distinctive image and promoting high quality in the market. Hence, a number of social media and mobile social marketing strategies were suggested in order to capture younger users attention and build life-time loyalty towards the brand.For instance, the use of facebook application to educate us ers about Canadian Clubs high quality and suitability for various occasions is suggested, which will increase brands awareness whilst engaging in users conversations and encouraging them to share comments and photos. Also, due to increasing number of mobile applications users and forecasts of mobile phone becoming as a primary internet union tool marketers should net a great attention into mobile social media marketing when developing a brand positioning plan.Therefore, a Canadian Clubs quislingism with Foursquare website was advised in order to grab consumers attention, spread word-of-mouth and increase sales whilst asking users to check in at 5 high class listed locations to get a 20% discount for a high quality suit from a local retailer. 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