Product details

This case examines the marketing of Murphy''s Irish Stout at the time of the merger between Guinness and Grand Metropolitan. Murphy Brewery is owned by Heineken International and has expanded its scope beyond Ireland in recent years. However, the brand is a distant second internationally to Guinness in the stout category. Furthermore, the company has launched a new brand - Murphy''s Irish Amber. This case discusses the Murphy''s situation in Ireland, the UK and Europe as well as the United States. One of the issues to be examined is whether the company should have similar positioning worldwide. The case concludes with a series of questions that are posed in a hypothetical management meeting at Murphy Brewery Ireland. Teaching objectives: (1) to examine the entire marketing program of an Irish brand; (2) to discuss the interplay between overall corporate objectives and subsidiary objectives of marketing penetration and profit maximisation; (3) to analyse international marketing problems facing a particular firm; and (4) to raise potential ethical issues faced by one marketer. This case contains colour exhibits.