2069I Mountain Man Brewing Company: Bringing the Brand to Light Chris switched off the videotape and glanced up at a photograph of his father with a group of rugged, middle-aged men from the Coal Miner's Union. Although Chris firmly believed that the window of opportunity for introducing Mountain Man Light was closing, Oscar had warned, "Look at what new product lines get you 90% more products, 90% more chance you'll kill your core brand Chris wondered how the men in the photograph would react to a billboard picture of yuppies consuming Mountain Man Light. Could Mountain Man command as much pride for the brand from his generation as it had from his father's? Moreover, could he reposition the brand to drive sales of Mountain Man Light to young people without eroding the core brand equity of Mountain Man Lager As Chris prepared to discuss the brand extension with Oscar, he knew that whatever strategy Mountain Man pursued, it would have dramatic implications for the brand, the company, and his famil Mountain Man: The Company and the Brand Guntar Prangel founded the Mountain Man Beer Company (MMBC) in 1925. Mr. Prangel had reformulated an old family brew recipe using a meticulous selection of rare, Bavarian hops and unusual strains of barley, resulting in a flavorful, bitter-tasting beer which the Prangel family launched as Mountain Man Lager. By the 1960s, Mountain Man Lager's reputation as a quality beer was well entrenched throughout the East Central region of the United States. Mountain Man Lager was a legacy brew in a mature business. By 2005 Mountain Man was rating revenues just over $50 million and selling over 520,000 barrels of Mountain Man Lager r primarily to distributors in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and its native West Virginia. (See Exhibit 1 for MMBC income statement.) It had held the top market position among lagers in West Virginia for almost 50 years and had respectable market share for an old school, regional brewery in most of the states where the beer was distributed. To accentuate the beer's dark color, it was packaged in a brown bottle, with its original 1925 design of a crew of coal miners printed on the front. Mountain Man Lager was priced similarly to premium domestic brands such as Miller and Budweiser and below specialty brands such as Sam Adams. Its price was typically $2.25 for a 12-ounce serving of draft beer in a bar and $4.99 for a six-pack in a local convenience store. Brand played a critical role in the beer-purchasing decision. When selecting beer, consumers considered several factors taste; price; the occasion being celebrated; perceived quality; brand image; tradition; and local authenticity. MMBC relied on its history and its status as an independent, family- owned brewery to create an aura of authenticity and to position the beer with its core drinkers blue collar, middle-to-lower income men over age 45 (Exhibit 2 provides profiles of the average Mountain Man Lager consumer in contrast to average profiles of premium-beer and light-beer drinkers.) In a recent study in West Virginia, this audience had rated Montain Man Lager as the best-known regional beer, with an unaided response rate of 67% from, the state's adult population. In 2005, Mountain Man Lager won "Best Beer in West Virginia" for its eighth year straight (it also won "Best Beer i Indiana") and was selected as "America's Championship Lager" at the American Beer Championship. Brand awareness was one conerstone of the brand's success with blue-collar consumers. Market research showed that Mountain Man was as recognizable a brand among working-class males in the East Central region as Chevrolet and John Deere. The other cornerstones were the perception of quality in Mountain Man Lager and the brand loyalty it cultivated. There were ranges of subjective 1 The East Central beer region of the United States consisted of seven states: Binois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. 2One beer barl 3 US gallons 2 'half-barrel (15.5 gallon) kegs 13.78 cases (of 24 12-ounce bottles) 2069I Mountain Man Brewing Company: Bringing the Brand to Light Chris switched off the videotape and glanced up at a photograph of his father with a group of rugged, middle-aged men from the Coal Miner's Union. Although Chris firmly believed that the window of opportunity for introducing Mountain Man Light was closing, Oscar had warned, "Look at what new product lines get you 90% more products, 90% more chance you'll kill your core brand Chris wondered how the men in the photograph would react to a billboard picture of yuppies consuming Mountain Man Light. Could Mountain Man command as much pride for the brand from his generation as it had from his father's? Moreover, could he reposition the brand to drive sales of Mountain Man Light to young people without eroding the core brand equity of Mountain Man Lager As Chris prepared to discuss the brand extension with Oscar, he knew that whatever strategy Mountain Man pursued, it would have dramatic implications for the brand, the company, and his famil Mountain Man: The Company and the Brand Guntar Prangel founded the Mountain Man Beer Company (MMBC) in 1925. Mr. Prangel had reformulated an old family brew recipe using a meticulous selection of rare, Bavarian hops and unusual strains of barley, resulting in a flavorful, bitter-tasting beer which the Prangel family launched as Mountain Man Lager. By the 1960s, Mountain Man Lager's reputation as a quality beer was well entrenched throughout the East Central region of the United States. Mountain Man Lager was a legacy brew in a mature business. By 2005 Mountain Man was rating revenues just over $50 million and selling over 520,000 barrels of Mountain Man Lager r primarily to distributors in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and its native West Virginia. (See Exhibit 1 for MMBC income statement.) It had held the top market position among lagers in West Virginia for almost 50 years and had respectable market share for an old school, regional brewery in most of the states where the beer was distributed. To accentuate the beer's dark color, it was packaged in a brown bottle, with its original 1925 design of a crew of coal miners printed on the front. Mountain Man Lager was priced similarly to premium domestic brands such as Miller and Budweiser and below specialty brands such as Sam Adams. Its price was typically $2.25 for a 12-ounce serving of draft beer in a bar and $4.99 for a six-pack in a local convenience store. Brand played a critical role in the beer-purchasing decision. When selecting beer, consumers considered several factors taste; price; the occasion being celebrated; perceived quality; brand image; tradition; and local authenticity. MMBC relied on its history and its status as an independent, family- owned brewery to create an aura of authenticity and to position the beer with its core drinkers blue collar, middle-to-lower income men over age 45 (Exhibit 2 provides profiles of the average Mountain Man Lager consumer in contrast to average profiles of premium-beer and light-beer drinkers.) In a recent study in West Virginia, this audience had rated Montain Man Lager as the best-known regional beer, with an unaided response rate of 67% from, the state's adult population. In 2005, Mountain Man Lager won "Best Beer in West Virginia" for its eighth year straight (it also won "Best Beer i Indiana") and was selected as "America's Championship Lager" at the American Beer Championship. Brand awareness was one conerstone of the brand's success with blue-collar consumers. Market research showed that Mountain Man was as recognizable a brand among working-class males in the East Central region as Chevrolet and John Deere. The other cornerstones were the perception of quality in Mountain Man Lager and the brand loyalty it cultivated. There were ranges of subjective 1 The East Central beer region of the United States consisted of seven states: Binois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. 2One beer barl 3 US gallons 2 'half-barrel (15.5 gallon) kegs 13.78 cases (of 24 12-ounce bottles)