Shock Top Cannabeer

Primary Goal

Develop an exciting new concept product with high profit potential for the beer brand Shock Top. I collaborated with a team to develop Shock Top Cannabeer, a version of Shock Top infused with 5 mg of CBD oil.

Process

Our first step was to identify a product with a high potential for innovation; due to the imminent boom of the CBD market and CBD products, we determined that a beer that incorporated CBD would be a great product to take advantage of the opportunity. Ultimately, Shock Top was chosen by our group as the beer brand we would use to its brand image lending itself well to a CBD-infused brand extension. From there we defined important facets of the product, including features, appearance, production cost, and retail pricing. Determining the strategies and tactics that we would use was also a crucial part in ensuring a successful launch. One key contribution that I made in this regard was in developing a trigger we would use to gain mind share among consumers. For the trigger, I decided to redefine CBD to mean “Chill Belgian Drink” as most of the populace doesn’t know what CBD normally stands for (cannabidiol) off the top of their head. Using our definition as the new definition would help create a strong association between CBD and Shock Top, which would in turn lead many consumers to think of Shock Top when they see or hear the term CBD. Our team then developed potential TV commercials and print ads that incorporated the “Chill Belgian Drink” tagline. Additionally, we created an implementation timeline of all the tactics we would use during Shock Top Cannabeer’s first year on the market.

Challenges

The project required developing an all-encompassing marketing plan from initial concept through to marketing strategies that we would use across various marketing channels as well as how and when we would implement our tactics. Also required was conducting research to construct a solid estimate of development cost, production cost, supply chain cost, marketing cost, and expected revenue in order to project how long Shock Top Cannabeer would take to become profitable.

Results

We successfully pitched our proposal for Shock Top Cannabeer to our marketing professor and our peers. Both she and they were sold on the potential of our product concept and marketing strategies.

To see the entire marketing plan for Shock Top Cannabeer, please follow the link below.