University Marketing Report: Analysis of Feral Brewing Company

This report provides a marketing analysis of Feral Brewing Company, an Australian brewery specializing in craft beer. The analysis explores the company's market position, its strategies, and the challenges it faces, particularly in light of its acquisition by Coca-Cola Amatil. The report highlights the competitive landscape of the Australian craft beer market, the impact of corporate ownership on branding and marketing, and the potential for 'brand incongruence'. It also considers the company's achievements, such as winning the Perth Royal Beer Awards, and how these accolades influence its marketing approach. The report references relevant sources to support its findings and offers insights into the evolving dynamics of the craft beer industry.

Running head: MARKETING STUDY
MARKETING ANALYSIS of FERAL BREWING COMPANY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1MARKETING STUDY
Marketing can be understood as the action or process of selling and or promoting services
or products, and can include market research and advertising practices. Feral Brewing Company
is a brewery located in Swan Valley, Australia that expertise in beer brewing. The company
specializes in brewing different types of craft beer brews; however their website strictly says
they do not brew craft beer, but just beer (Hand Craft Beer from the Swan Valley | Feral Brewing
Company, 2017). Craft beer is much different from the mainstream brews since they are
prepared in a traditional and non-mechanized process having strong flavors. They account for
about 15% of sales in Australia (Macdonald, 2017).
According to recent study, revenue of $500 million is generated every year from
Australian Craft Breweries with a growth rate of 10% per annum. However there is a massive
corporatization of the breweries in Australia. Global Brands like SAB and LION has control of
more than 50% of the market, and owns most of the companies selling craft beer. Even
companies like Coca Cola Amatil also have gotten involved in the beer market in Australia. Very
recently Feral Brewing was purchased by the Coca Cola Amatil (Why Australia's best craft beers
are being corporatized, 2017).
The involvement of big corporate evidently have given rise to acute competition in the
market, and therefore posed a significant challenge for Feral Brewing. However, the company
was able to overcome all obstacles to receive the 2017 Perth Royal Beer Awards with titles like
The Best Commercial Brewery, Best Ale Packaged, Best WA Brewery, Best Stout Packaged and
Best Ale Draught (Prestipino, 2017). It can be well understood that such accreditation can lead to
steep competition in the market, causing flux in the existing marketing methods, like
advertisement and branding used by the company. It can also potentially shift the company focus
from craftsmanship, flexibility and small batch size, to profit margin and dividends. Also the

2MARKETING STUDY
changing of ownership could create challenging scenarios where the handover of marketing roles
can cause significant changes in the the branding and advertisement by the company, apart from
affecting the distribution channels, and diversification. This can ultimately be reflected from the
consumer response and annual revenues generated. Studies have shown that when small brewing
companies sells out to large corporations, “brand incongruence” can occur (Why Australia's best
craft beers are being corporatized, 2017).

3MARKETING STUDY
References:
Hand Craft Beer from the Swan Valley | Feral Brewing Company. (2017). Feral Brewing Co..
Retrieved 16 November 2017, from https://www.feralbrewing.com.au
Macdonald, K. (2017). Craft Beer: Is the boom about to run dry?. Insider.thewest.com.au.
Retrieved 16 November 2017, from https://insider.thewest.com.au/august-2017/no-small-
beer/
Prestipino, D. (2017). The sweet brew of success: Feral Brewery dominates beer awards. WA
Today. Retrieved 16 November 2017, from
http://www.watoday.com.au/entertainment/your-perth/the-sweet-brew-of-success-feral-
brewery-dominates-perth-beer-awards-20170728-gxktg5.html
Why Australia's best craft beers are being corporatised. (2017). ABC News. Retrieved 16
November 2017, from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-18/craft-beer-why-some-of-
australias-best-brands-going-corporate/9058964