Brand Health Check: Grolsch

The brewer, which has its headquarters in the UK, intends to boost
Grolsch's global presence by developing the brand in markets such as
Africa and Latin America as well as central Europe. However, SABMiller
cannot have failed to notice that Grolsch's performance closer to home
has been woeful of late.

Grolsch enjoyed iconic status in the UK in the late 80s, when its
bottle's famous swing tops adorned the shoes of fans of boyband Bros
across the UK. After a slump in the 90s, it bounced back in the early
noughties with its 'Never rushed' advertising campaign.

However, after a strong performance in 2004, its sales plummeted 21%
from £343m to £270m in 2006, according to Mintel. While
Nielsen data for the year to October 2007 suggests it has arrested this
alarming decline, its value sales remain 3% down.

Part of Grolsch's trouble has stemmed from a lack of investment in the
brand between its UK distributor Grolsch UK, a joint venture by its
Dutch parent and Carling-owner Coors. While its stablemate Carling was
backed by a £7m advertising spend in the first 10 months of 2007,
only £1.1m was put behind Grolsch's promotional activity over the
same period. This compares with £6.2m in 2004, £4.8m in 2005
and £2.3m in 2006, according to Nielsen Media Research.

In the off-trade, Grolsch enjoys the same status as a brand such as
Belgian beer Hoegaarden, which is often consumed on special occasions.
However, it is not cheap enough to benefit from the discounting that the
likes of fellow export lagers Stella and Heineken receive in
supermarkets.

To make matters worse for Grolsch, entrants into the 'genuine export'
lager sector such as Beck's Vier are succeeding at the expense of more
premium brands.

Nonetheless, there are signs of investment in the brand. It has recently
returned to TV with a £3m sponsorship of British comedy on Channel
4 and has launched a lower-strength 4% variant as well as a wheat
beer.

We asked Clare Draper, brand manager at Fullers, and Stef Jones,
creative partner at Big Al's Creative Emporium, to suggest a way forward
for Grolsch.

DIAGNOSIS 1 - CLARE DRAPER, BRAND MANAGER, FULLERS

A lack of marketing direction has left the Grolsch brand tired and
confused.

Its fresh, comedy-focused strategy is promising and must be made to work
hard, particularly by driving through into the on-trade where the brand
does not have enough stand-out at point-of-purchase.

The iconic swing-top fixture is a valuable brand asset, but has been
diluted by a shift toward the draught product, and the sale of
non-swing-top bottles at discount prices. Concentrating effort back onto
it would create a real point of difference.

Customers are visiting pubs less often, but when they do, are
increasingly prepared to trade up to more interesting brands. Bottle and
font design must be eye-catching, and innovative merchandising and
glassware adds value and wins customers.

Grolsch has a good brewing heritage and is an excellent product - great
foundations which must be built on through the primary brand before
brand extensions.

REMEDY

- Make the most of the comedy strategy by concentrating on building
distribution and greater presence in on-trade outlets.

- Improve the standout of the draught font and introduce more innovative
glassware.

- Try focusing the brand positioning on the swing-top design to create
stand-out.

- Promote the primary brand before considering rolling out brand
extensions.

- Capitalise on brewing history to qualify premium status.

DIAGNOSIS 2 - STEF JONES, CREATIVE PARTNER, BIG AL'S CREATIVE
EMPORIUM

'When will I, will I be famous?' So sang Bros in 1987. And Luke, Matt
and the other bloke found fame almost as quickly as Grolsch, with its
pop-top bottle screaming from the shelves.

Then came the shoes. Good for Bros. Not so good for Grolsch. Once the
band went flat, Grolsch had an albatross around its slim green neck.

By the early 90s, Grolsch was 'Extra sensory perfection'. The surreal,
nonsensical ad made perfect sense of such a complex product. It felt
like the start of a long-term idea for the brand.

But the once clear, golden waters of premium lager were getting
cloudier. The Canadians, Japanese, Indians and Mexicans were filling the
bars, and our thirst for the new and exotic was changing the sector. It
was less about taste, and more about exclusivity.

After ditching 'Extra sensory perception', Grolsch flitted from idea to
idea; 'It's not ready yet' and 'The green light district' being two more
recent campaigns. No surprise then that some of us are a bit hazy about
what Grolsch stands for.

REMEDY

- Put some money behind the brand and get it back on TV so that it can
be considered a serious player again.

- Don't let relevance strangle the work. The Cadbury Gorilla isn't
wasting its time making a profound statement about chocolate. People
will thank the brand for it and may even drink it because of it.

- See if you can't get a pop-top into Amy Winehouse's lip. You never
know, it might open up a younger audience.