SAB's new beer a knee-jerk reaction?

One has to wonder though, whether SAB's moved is motivated by rational marketing thought or sheer bloody-minded knee jerk reaction.

The reason one needs to ask this question is because SAB has decided to tag its new beer onto the Hansa brand – calling it Hansa Marzen Gold. All of which suggests that in terms of finding a replacement in a hurry for Amstel, the only option was a Hansa something or other.

Record new product failures

On one hand, one cannot help recalling an era not all that long ago where SAB must have held a world marketing record for the highest number of new product failures ever. But, having said that, ever since SAB ventured into the highly competitive and brutal US beer market through Miller, it has learnt an awful lot about marketing.

So, I have to admit that their strategy might be diabolically clever and not quite as naive as it might seem looking at it from the outside. Which is always, incidentally, quite a good way to look at marketing strategies because that's the way the consumer sees things.

Just looking at the full page ad for Hansa Marzen Gold, the emphasis seems to be on the fact that this new product is different from other lagers in that the malt is slow-roasted.

Now, one wonders, if this is enough incentive for all those Amstel drinkers in SA to at least give the new beer a try while they wait for Amstel supplies to arrive from overseas.

Brand loyal

The question needs to be asked whether the name Hansa might be a problem. Not that there is anything wrong with it. But the way I understand it beer drinkers are extremely brand loyal and don't chop and change on a whim. And I would guess that few self-respecting Amstel drinkers would give the Hansa brand the time of day even if the malt is roasted slower than anything else.

And it surely must be a fact of life that status plays a major role in the choice of beer brands. It would be fascinating to see some honest research on how many beer drinkers choose their brand primarily from the point of view of status and only secondarily because of taste.

Of course, according to press statements from SAB, testing of the new Hansa Marzen Gold had “far exceeded expectations”. But then, they always do, don't they? That's more marketing hype than serious research I would imagine, simply because I don't believe there has been anything like enough time, from the day SAB heard it was losing Amstel to the launch of this product, to undertake extensive and conclusive enough market research.

There is also the distinct possibility that the majority of Marzen Gold consumers will comes from the ranks of existing Hansa customers.

Meaningless advertising

The initial advertising promises nothing. The headline “Now for the Glow” is about as meaningless as one can get and whether slow roasting malt is enough incentive to get former Amstel drinkers rushing to Hansa sounds extremely optimistic with overtones of desperation.

This combination of bland advertising that carries no promise, no excitement and no mystique along with what looks like an almighty rush to get something, anything, onto the market ahead of Amstel, cannot help but make one wonder how much rational thought went into this new beer and its marketing campaign.

Consigned to history

Just given SAB's track record for new product launches, the odds are very much in favour of Hansa Marzen Gold joining the ranks of all those has-been beers that briefly saw the light of day and then very quickly disappeared into that full-to-the-brim museum in the SAB cellars of brands that didn't make it.

On the other hand, their experience in the US and noticeable improvement since then of the SAB marketing effort worldwide might just suggest that at first glance, I like many others, might have missed something.

But, time will tell and it is going to be interesting to look back in six months' time and see whether Hansa Marzen Gold is being quaffed in bars and around braais all over SA or whether once again it was just an ill-considered knee-jerk reaction.