Somersby

: a communication strategy to reach young consumers

Abstract

The company selected to serve as a background for this marketing case study was Unicer. Following the case there is a teaching note that provides useful theory for a better understanding of the case, along with suggested questions to be discussed by students when analyzing it. Unicer is the largest Portuguese soft drinks company with a multi-brand, multi-market strategy with its main operations in the beer and bottled water businesses. Throughout the years, the firm had developed a huge portfolio of well-known brands. In 2011 the company was presented with the challenge of recruiting young adults customers. Somersby, a Carlsberg Group brand of cider was the product chosen to approach the defined target. The first couple of years had questionable results, although a high potential for the brand was identified too. In this way, in 2013, faced with the possibility of internalizing the production of this beverage, a strong communication strategy needed to be employed, as measurable results were required. Hence the brand had to choose between continuing to use event marketing or to switch for a mass media approach, namely to introduce advertisement in TV. The case presents the Portuguese market environment for Somersby, its target consumers, as well as its main competitors. Further it allows students to become familiar with market and competition analysis, and illustrates the above and below the line set of options. After this, they are challenged to identify the best strategic approach, both in qualitative and quantitative terms, given the costs and reach associated with each alternative.

Date of Award	12 Feb 2015
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Paulo Alexandre Gonçalves Marcos (Supervisor)