Back in 2015, our client, a major beer manufacturer in Mozambique, set itself a target of reaching over 90% share of the beer market there. The time span was “in the short term” – so that meant pretty much within the next few months. Our client was certain that the goal was realistic, even though it had never yet been achieved. We were asked to rise to the challenge and we assigned one of our account directors, Shaun Bain, to come up with a research based solution.
In collaboration with his team, he applied a statistical analysis of the way in which his client’s different brands acted in different sales channels, and the way that their behavior affected each channel. He then developed a plan with a simple underlying structure: depending on its characteristics, each brand was assigned to either defend the clients share, or attack the competitor share.
The analysis was quite intricate. The complexity arose because each channel had a set of dynamics unique to itself. So any tactic applied in any particular channel was likely to have a different outcome to a similar tactic driven forward in a different channel.
Of course, the Frontline Team had been immersed in the client’s business for some time, and so they had an in-depth knowledge of the market environment. But knowing which brands to use to defend or fight against competitors required interrogating the channel environment via a long thread of historical data – separately – for every single brand we needed to qualify.
As it turns out, the plan achieved more than what the client had hoped for. They loved the analysis. And they did achieve their 90% + target a few months later. It never ended there. They have continued to gain share into 2018 – the power of good research.
Frontline Research Group – we know Africa!
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By Kevin Abraham & Shaun Bain