Marketing Strategies Case Study

Diageo’s Global Strategy: Differentiated Marketing

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Abstract:
Segmenting, targeting and positioning” (STP) formed the base for marketing strategies of any firm. Global organizations used to segment the market either continent wise or according to the economic development (i.e. developed, developing and under developed). But in alcohol industry, that might not be the proper criteria, as climate and tradition played an important role in consumer preference. The industry was subdivided into three major categories: beer, wine and spirit; and every market had their unique characteristics. As branded beer sales accounted for around 76 percent of total branded alcohol sales, the global players were primarily concentrated in marketing beer products. Eight out of the top nine global alcohol companies were primarily breweries. The only exception was Diageo, which was the leader in the global spirit market, and had presence in all three categories through out the world. Thus, Diageo’s global business strategies were quite different from the others. Diageo had followed a unique STP strategy so as to succeed in such complicated and competitive environment. Diageo’s geographic segmentation was quite different from the usual continent wise segmentation. Diageo intended to have complete category participation, rather than solely focusing on individual brands within categories. Accordingly, Diego’s marketing and investment strategies also differed in different geographical segments.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To understand the trends and structure of global Alcoholic Industry
• To have a brief understanding of the Spirit market and its driving forces
• To understand the concept of “Segmenting, Targeting and Positioning” (STP) with respect to alcoholic beverage industry
• To understand the reasons behind Diageo’s differentiating marketing strategy
• To analyse the possible threats for a differentiating marketing strategy.

Keywords : Marketing strategy, Differentiated, Segmenting, Targeting, Positioning, Diageo, Beer, Marketing Strategies Case Study, Wine, Spirit, Beverage, Global priority, BRIC, InBev, Haniken, Sab Miller

Contents:

• About Diageo
• Industry Overview
• Segmenting, Targeting and Positioning
• Marketing Mix Was In Line With STP
• The Road Ahead