What was seen by the company as their biggest communications challenge and how did they go about addressing it?

With beer the dominant player in the UK pub market, cider was until recently a mature market in decline. Cider was perceived to be a cheap drink attracting first-time drinkers, students and street alcoholics. It was considered mainly a man’s drink or, at best, an occasional or summer drink, according to women. This negative image limited sales – which in 2005 amounted to £1.2 billion, compared with beer’s £19 billion.
The world’s largest cider maker is Bulmers, owned by Heineken International. Bulmers’s largest sub-brand, Strongbow, is the UK’s market leader. Its largest competitor is Magners, owned by C&C Group.
Once a small domestic Irish cider brand, Magners decided to challenge Bulmers by attacking the British market with an aggressive strategy to change the brand perception of cider.