Case Study 1: Magners Cider

‘Magners has redefined a sector,’ says Rune Gustafson, UK chief executive of branding consultancy Interbrand, on the cider that in just a few years has taken the British drinks market by storm.

‘Magners has redefined a sector,’ says Rune Gustafson, UK chief executive of branding consultancy Interbrand, on the cider that in just a few years has taken the British drinks market by storm. ‘We’re basically giving people permission to drink cider again – or to drink it for the first time,’ adds Maurice Breen, marketing director for Magners. ‘You are no longer the mad person at the bar not drinking beer.’

Magners has been on the market for decades in its native Ireland under its original name, Bulmers – William Magner of Clonmel having entered into a cider-making joint venture with HP Bulmer of Hereford back in 1937. ‘Up until the early 1990s we were a pretty small operation,’ says Breen. ‘So the company decided to invest heavily in getting its story across to Irish consumers.’

This marketing push led to increased sales in Ireland, so in 2003 the drink was launched overseas, initially in Glasgow. The name was changed to Magners for the British market to avoid a clash with the HP Bulmer brand, by now part of the Scottish & Newcastle stable.

Glaswegian drinkers came flocking, so Magners went Scotland-wide in 2004. Advertising and sponsorship campaigns began, and Magners drinking glasses appeared in pubs. By the end of 2004, Magners had become the leading cider in Scotland. Magners then went UK-wide, with sales growing 264 per cent in 2006. The drink is now also on sale in the US, Australia and across Europe.

Drinking cider is suddenly cool. Why? Much of Magners’ success is rooted in two factors that were new to the UK cider market. First, Magners is sold in pint bottles in pubs and bars, rather than on tap. Second, bar staff and drinkers are urged by the marketing blurb on Magners bottles to pour it ‘over ice’. ‘Putting it in bottles was genius,’ says Robyn Lewis, drinks editor of the Grocer. ‘Not only because they could charge loads for it, but also because consumers had the Magners brand in their hands. You’d walk into pubs and Magners bottles were everywhere. It’s much harder to build a brand with a draught product.’

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