Dive Brief:
- Diageo is revamping its marketing efforts in North America, the company's largest market, after consistently falling sales in the region.
- "Following an investor conference Wednesday in New York, [Deirdre Mahlan, head of Diageo's North American business] said Diageo was restructuring and investing in marketing because it came to rely 'perhaps too heavily' on its U.S. distribution network and hadn't paid enough attention to consumer trends," The Wall Street Journal reported.
- Part of the revamp will include a renewed focus on consumer analysis which will spot and track emerging spirits and other alcohol trends in the U.S.
Dive Insight:
Diageo reported a 3% decline in volume in North America in its July earnings report.
One trend Diageo has already identified in the U.S. is consumers' growing preference for premium spirits. Diageo has responded by acquiring the remaining 50% stake in premium tequila brand Don Julio, which saw a 5% volume increase in North America.
Diageo has also trimmed down its portfolio by selling its U.S. and UK wine assets to Treasury Wine Estates, as wine is "no longer core to Diageo and this sale gives us greater focus," Diageo CEO Ivan Menezes said in October.
"We are structuring ourselves now in a much more deliberate and specific way because we think we've been underdelivering our potential with respect to consumer insights," Mahlan said.
Regarding Anheuser-Busch InBev's SABMiller potential takeover affecting competition in Africa, Menezes said, "There is no doubt they will be a formidable competitor, and we absolutely plan to hold our own. We have very big growth ambitions for Africa."