Positioning Problems

~COLT 45 MALT LIQUOR*

A well-dressed middle-aged gentleman is seated at a table in a restaurant. In the background, there is chaos. Fights break out between patrons and tables are smashed. A man clutches his bloody nose and broken china litters the floor. The well-dressed man is calm. He remains oblivious to his surroundings as he enjoys a can of Colt 45 malt liquor.

Tom Bolin, Brand Manager for Colt 45 Malt Liquor, sighed as he recalled this advertisement.
He sat back in his chair and stared at the two research reports lying on his desk. According to the reports, this particular ad and several others like it, had been very successful. All the commercials scored high in unaided ad and brand recall. Even the media had lauded the creativity behind Colt 45's new communications campaign. But in looking at the research in front of him, he had a dilemma. Colt 45 and its Position in the Malt Liquor Category Malt liquor differs from regular beer in alcohol content. Most regular beers contain about 3.5% alcohol, while malt liquors contain about 4% to 6% alcohol. Malt liquor accounted for only about 3% of beer category consumption, and Colt 45 had worked to hard to become the leader in this particular segment. They had invested heavily in advertising and distribution. And although an increasingly health conscious population and high excise taxes had brought about a decline in overall beer consumption in the last few years, the malt liquor category had continued to grow. After light beers, it had the fastest growth rate of 9% per year. Colt 45's long and expensive venture to capture market share and the recent decline in beer consumption made it critical they hold on to their niche. It was imperative that the ad campaign be used to its full potential.

* This case was prepared Professor Brian Wansink and Eric Fleming as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either

effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright 2000 by Professor Brian Wansink, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission text.

THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS MBA

Bolin's Problem It was the reports on purchases and consumption of malt liquor in general, and Colt 45 in particular, that stumped Bolin. The data showed that the percentage of blacks purchasing malt liquor was four times higher than the general population, and almost seven times higher than the white population. The data on the consumption of Colt 45 was similar to the category data. The problem was that while the popular ad campaign featured white actors, 47% of Colt 45 drinkers, were blacks. Bolin was pleased with the success of the ads, but he was concerned that the spots' positioning missed the bulk of Colt 45 drinkers. "Is the message implied by the ads effective to the black population?" he wondered. Perhaps the campaign was inappropriately focused. Bolin pulled out a sheet of paper and began listing his three options: 1. 2. Keep the same campaign with the same actor; Continue the campaign but prepare a series of ads with a black actor; Develop an entirely new campaign targeted specifically at the black population.

3.

While he hadn't thought much about the second and third options, one thought came to mind instantly. Ads were usually successful when people could associate with the actor or actress featured. Would replacing the white actor with a black actor be a disincentive to whites who might be interested in purchasing the product? To date, very few blacks had been used in advertising, and they usually had very minor roles. It was going to be a long night.