Situational Analysis A situational analysis essentially outlines the position of the business and how their product is placed

as well as identifies internal and external factors that the business will face in the present and future. As mentioned earlier in the introduction of this report, Coles has developed a new low-carbohydrate beer, Blaze, aimed at women aged between 18 to 25 years. Since this new beer, Blaze, has not yet been launched into the Sydney metropolitan market, there will be more emphasis on external factors, which are opportunities and threats. Traditionally, most beer was consumed by males with only a small percentage consumed by women. According to the Beer Institute in 2008 highlighted that 25% of women consume beer (EUCAM, 2008). The following year, beer analysts realised that at least 30% of the beer market were consumed by women, even though it was still mostly a male demographic market (Blackthorne, D, 2009). Following this emerging trend, Coles and the marketing team intends to market the beer, Blaze, towards women in the Sydney area and hope that marketing strategies would help them achieve 30% brand awareness within three months. However, although the brand Blaze is targeted towards women, research shows that aiming the release of a beer directly at women will cause them to alienate themselves from the brand as they find it patronising and thus the product will fail (Neil, 2011). Thus, without directly marketing the beverage towards women, the Coles marketing team would approach the market by involving both men and women in advertisements such as radio and magazines to widen the appeal of the beer, Blaze. This would highlight that women may also enjoy the beer (EUCAM, 2008). Some women viewed beer as unhealthy or unsophisticated. Society is also pushing towards having a healthy beer that is low in carbohydrates (Lin, 2008). Thus, the Coles marketing team expects that when the product Blaze is launched into Sydney, it would encourage women in to consume the beer. Combined with perception mapping, where competitors brands such as Pure Blonde, Hahn Super Dry are mapped out in relation to womens perception of the brand, it is clear that there is a gap in the market. This can be seen as an opportunity, as our main competitors have already positioned itself in the market where it is targeted more towards the male segment than females, although a study shows that Pure Blondes main goal was to introduce women to low-carb beer (Simpson, 2004). Customers tastes and society views are changing and Coles hopes that their new product Blaze would be able to encourage women aged 18-25 to drink beer. However, there are already many manufacturers and other competitors targeting women in the beer consumption sector such as the new beers Karla and Animee in the introduction of fruit flavoured beer and the different tastes that women would like (Springwise, 2006). Although having different flavoured beer appeal to women, that group is still a minority, where most women still prefer the normal taste of traditional low-carb beer. Thus, the Coles team believes they have a good opportunity in the Sydney market to launch their new beer Blaze.

Some external threats could also be related to the consumption of alcohol such as beer (Lin, 2008). This would could impact on the brand and consumption of beer could be government intervention, such as the increase in drink-driving laws or increase in the age limit of alcohol consumption as well as additional restrictions have a negative impact on the sales of the beer Blaze which would make it more difficult to achieve the goals of the company, which was to raise brand awareness by 30%. Consumers may know of the brand through advertisements on radio and magazines, but not purchase the beer. Another threat could be that the other competitors already have a market share and have the experience and knowledge to market beer to women and men more effectively. Since Blaze is a new brand to hit the beer market, consumers may be reluctant to try the new beer or competitors may quickly develop new or introduce similar beer to the market. Although there is an emerging trend regarding women in the consumption of beer, a recent graph illustrates that the total consumption of beer has fallen to an all-time low (refer to figure 1 below). The Australian Bureau of Statistics also shares this point and illustrates that approximately only 4.5 litres of beer were consumed per person from June 2009 (Beer Advice, 2010). This highlights that the number of potential women that consume beer may also decrease. The study highlighted that many Australians, men and women, were becoming selective over the type of beer they consumed, choosing those that were of a healthy option and low-carb.

Figure 1 (Beer Advice, 2010) Despite having such threats in the market, the opportunities of launching a new beer Blaze towards women outweigh the negatives, since encouraging women to consume beer is still a fairly new idea. There is also potential gap in the Sydney market which highlights that Coles launch of Blaze could be successful, together with the marketing strategies.

References Beer Advice 2010, Aussie beer consumption hits a record low, 28 May, viewed 15 October 2011, < http://www.beeradvice.com.au/688/aussie-beer-consumption-hits-a-record-low/>. Blackthorne, D 2009, Beer Trends: Women Drinking Beer, 29 January, viewed 15 October 2011, < http://www.kegerators.com/blog/2009/01/29/women-drinking-beer/>. European Centre for Monitoring Alcohol Marketing 2008, Women The new market: Trends in Alcohol Marketing, EUCAM, viewed 13 August 2011, <http://www.eucam.info/content/bestanden/women_the_new_market_final.pdf>. Lin, J 2008, Heineken Case Study business Analysis, viewed 15 October 2011, < http://www.slideshare.net/jin88lin/heineken-case-study-analysis-presentation>. Neil, 2011, Brewing Beer For Women, Mash Sparge Boil, viewed 13 August 2011, <http://www.mashspargeboil.com/brewing-beer-for-women/>. Simpson, W 2004, New Brews, The Age, 2 November, viewed 15 October 2011, < http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/11/01/1099262775753.html?from=storyrhs>. Springwise 2006, Functional beer for women, 3 July, viewed 13 August 2011, <http://www.springwise.com/food_beverage/functional_beer_for_women/>.