New premium lager launch for Asian beer brand

A prominent Asian beer brand was preparing to launch its premium lager beer line to compete with established premium beer brands in the U.S. To create a successful launch strategy, the brand needed to build a thorough understanding of various beer drinker segments, identify potential segments to target, and estimate the size of the opportunity within the segment.  

The brand used NielsenIQ Segmentation Science to identify its target customer segment and create a customized marketing plan to reach them. 

Identifying the right customer segment  

The Segmentation Science framework identified four distinct beer drinker segments, with detailed profiles of who they are, what they want, and their behaviors.  

The NielsenIQ analysis evaluated the size and value of the segments, psychographic traits, category needs and disposition, and consumption and spending behavior and identified the consumer segment “Affluent Spirts Lovers” as a high-value target for the beer brand.  

The Segmentation Science framework gave the beer brand a detailed profile of the Affluent Spirits Lovers, from their thoughts and opinions on beer, to their personality traits and how best to engage them. 

The brand was able to see that consumers in this segment (23%) have high beer category and brand involvement.  They prefer premium beer brands and have a more open-minded attitude towards new brands, ideas, and concepts. 

Building a winning strategy  

In addition to detailed segment profiles, Segmentation Science provided a blueprint for a comprehensive marketing mix strategy to target Affluent Spirits Lovers. 

For product promotion, the brand received detailed suggestions for the product story and messaging, from mood and themes, to which types of sponsorships were most likely to influence their target segment. The promotional strategy incorporated Affluent Spirits Lovers’ attention to aesthetics, and their strong association between beer and connection, fun, and friendship.  

The strategy also included recommendations and explanations for targeted product positioning and packaging, including what claims and features to emphasize in the product story (descriptors like “depth of flavor” that emphasize the beer’s sophisticated taste profile). The brand received suggestions for how to communicate a sense of sophistication and “premiumization” with its packaging, and pick the materials and design that would best convey that message.   

With Segmentation Science, the brand was also able to understand the best activations for their product and how to optimize their assortment.  

Leveraging the power of Segmentation Science, the beer brand was able to answer two basic (but far from simple) questions to build a successful launch strategy:  who do we target and how do we reach them? 

NielsenIQ Segmentation Science: Turning consumer behavior into reliable, actionable strategy 

Segmentation Science was designed to help brands keep up with the rapidly changing world. Segmentation Science provides a comprehensive segmentation approach, built on a deep understanding of an individual’s behavioral, emotional, and functional needs.  

Segmentation Science uses this intel to generate measurable, actionable plans, helping identify the right consumers for a brand’s products or services. Through identification and qualification of segments built on deep consumer understanding, Segmentation Science offers a single, meaningful point of view that’s adoptable across retailers, industry verticals, and geographies.