In the 80’s, the beer industry was lacking the immense quality and quantity there is today. There were only a few beer brands offered at bars and all of these brands were from large, well-established breweries. Jim Koch came from a long line of beer brewers and he felt this was the perfect time to introduce a new product to shake up the market. In 1984, Koch and his colleague Rhonda Kallman formed the Boston Beer Company. They named their brand “Samuel Adams”; like its namesake, Koch and Kallman expected their beer to start a revolution in the beer industry. This small, craft brewery found tremendous success from their fresh and truly unique beer options.
According to our textbook, Strategic Management of Technological Innovation, “marketing strategies can influence the market’s perception of how widely used the product is or will be, and thus can influence the behavior of customers, distributors, and complementary goods producers. Preannouncements, the firm’s reputation, and credible commitments can all influence the markets assessment of the product’s likelihood
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Smaller craft breweries have become exceeding popular among younger beer drinkers. This leaves less space on shelves and taps for Sam Adams, with had the reputation of a larger beer producer but lacks the “cost advantages of big brewers” (Mickle, 2016).
In terms of marketing strategy, Sam Adams has some advantages over smaller firms. Sam Adams has a wider scope of accessible in places of distribution, while small craft beers may only be available locally. For example, I doubt I could find a glass of Blue Point or Great South Bay Beer outside of New York; However, Sam Adams is a big name that is able to ship their beer nationally. Similarly, Sam Adams is in a better position to offer promotions for their products due their increased