The Gulder brand has gone through several marketing phases in recent times. It has taken several innovative approaches to sustain its equity and address some of its marketing challenges since it started in 1970. The brewer giant recently changed the brand’s bottle. Could this decision have been informed by the competition in the larger market? ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI asks.
The beer sector has never lacked crazy creative concepts to activate its brands. But in a market that is bogged down by dwindling sales and the entry of new players, only a brand that deplores a result-oriented creative approach with good taste could win the heart of consumers.
The reason every brand in the sector spends so much to get the most memorable activation for their brands is obvious. In recent time, the beer industry recorded a decline in growth as at third quarter of last year.
Research showed that high cost of living and heightened security concerns led the overall beer market to further witness a decline of about 10 per cent last year. Two key factors were also responsible for this.
The heightened security concerns in certain parts of the country has added pressure on distribution. This has impacted negatively on beer consumption as its supply was constrained by the circumstance.
Financial Derivatives Company (FDC), a financial institution, said the nation’s beer market has seen a decline in the super-premium and mainstream brands to the benefit of value/growth brands by 8.3 per cent last year. This was characterised by relatively lower prices. Such brands include Trophy lager, Hero beer, Goldberg, Life beer and Dubic beer.
“From our analysis, we conclude that the industry is attractive. We note that though the barriers to entry are high, the bargaining power of suppliers is moderate, while the bargaining power of buyers is low. There is little threat of substitutes for the products produced in the industry and favourable complements for the products,” FDC said.
To remain relevant in the industry, every brand has continued to explore marketing tactics to stay on top of the game to deepen market share. While some engage in various activations, others are bringing new flavour to their brand.
Guinness Nigeria, one of the two biggest brands in the country recently launched the #Made of Black campaign, in addition to other successful campaign outings last year when it unveiled the largest Jersey in the world. Also, a few years ago, Nigerian Breweries built an Ultimate Ship likened to a titanic ship in a bid to build the Guilder brand and leave a memorable experience for consumers.
However, the sector has recently witnessed another creative spark from Gulder. In its attempt to introduce a new bottle for the Guilder brand, NB built a Walkway at Oceanview Ground where it was launched during the Gulder Ultimate Search Final Selection Party. The Walkway was built with Guilder crates to create an aura around the newly launched bottle.
Forty four years after its introduction into the Nigerian alcoholic beverage market, Gulder is now wearing a new look. The re-introduction and repackaging of the brand, popularly called the Ultimate.
The event marked the culmination of several weeks of a suspense-filled campaign tagged “The Cube is Coming”, which had millions of Nigerians guessing what the Gulder brand had up its sleeves.
The Managing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc., Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde, said the Gulder re-launch was in tandem with the company’s penchant for innovation, which has sustained its leadership in the brewery sector.
He said: “In 1946, the story of innovation started with Nigerian Breweries Plc. We launched the Gulder brand in 1970 in a unique brown bottle with a unique logo and unique recipe. This unique beer is loved by millions of Nigerians who savour the taste every day, every week, every month and every year. Gulder was the first beer to be launched in cans, which is a further sign of its innovativeness.”
Vervelde described Gulder’s new bottle launch as revolutionary. He further said: “It is a historic moment for the Gulder brand. The new bottle which was contained in the Cube reflects that this celebrated brand, Gulder, is at the forefront of advancement and I can assure that what you are going to see is the result of several years of hard work and skill that the brewery industry has seen in a long while.”
The highlight of the occasion was the official presentation of the new bottle, which was performed by Hubert Eze, and Sales Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc., respectively.
The Marketing Director, Messrs Walter Drenth, described the bottle as the most innovative in Nigeria. He said: “What we have done is to take Gulder from a 1970 bottle and transformed it to a 2020 bottle. I can tell you that this is the most innovative bottle in the Nigerian beer market today. Let me also assure that despite the efforts and resources committed to giving our esteemed consumers of Gulder this classy bottle, the price and the taste remain the same.”
According market survey, Gulder is the second highest selling beer in the country. It spent about N0.7 billion on above-the-line advert last year trailing behind Guinness Extra Stout’s N1.6 billion and Star Larger beer’s N1.5 billion in the same media category.
It is also adjudged the second only to another brand also manufactured by Nigerian Breweries Plc.
