Home Drinking Enthusiasts Enjoyed Cass with Baek Jong-won... OB Beer Shines in the 'Home Use Market'

OB Beer, No.1 in Both Commercial and Home Use... Twice the Sales of No.2 in Home Use
Untact and Ontact Marketing Targeting Home Drinking Consumers... High Consumer Response

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] OB Beer is active not only in the commercial market but also in the home market. Due to social distancing measures following the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the domestic alcoholic beverage market has seen a decline in commercial sales and an increase in home sales. In response, OB Beer is actively conducting contactless marketing targeting home drinkers (people who drink at home) and stay-at-home people, thereby increasing its market share in the home market.

According to Nielsen Korea's beer retail market data on the 19th, OB Beer's market share rose by 0.5 percentage points from 49.1% in 2019 to 49.6% in 2020 (cumulative from January to April). Although the overall alcoholic beverage market was severely impacted by COVID-19, OB Beer's market dominance in the recently emerging "home drinking war" has actually increased. Industry experts say that the rise in market share in the highly competitive home market amid ongoing market stagnation is quite significant. The previous ratio between commercial and home markets was 5 to 5, but due to the impact of COVID-19, starting from the first quarter, the home market increased to 6 while the commercial market decreased to 4. OB Beer's "Cass," the number one brand in commercial beer, also demonstrated its dominance as the top brand in the home beer market, with a market share twice that of the second-ranked brand.

An OB Beer official said, "Although the alcoholic beverage industry took a direct hit in the first half of this year due to COVID-19, we carried out various consumer activities targeting the home market, including home drinkers and stay-at-home people," adding, "As a result, it is encouraging that the home market share slightly increased even during these difficult times."

These consumer activities centered on contactless and ontact (a concept combining contactless with online connection) marketing. Cass planned "Baek Jong-won's Valuable Beer Class" with Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea and known as the "Master of Home Cooking," to help home drinkers enjoy beer in various fun ways at home, providing valuable information and entertainment about beer. Baek and comedians Yang Se-hyung and Yang Se-chan created a natural talk show atmosphere, earning positive reviews from consumers for being both entertaining and informative. The series has currently recorded over 13 million total views, receiving enthusiastic responses from consumers.

To support consumers exhausted by COVID-19, Cass also ran a digital campaign called "Keep it Fresh," inviting consumer stories. This campaign was for those who could not properly celebrate important life moments such as graduations and weddings with loved ones due to COVID-19. Selected stories among the submissions were helped to commemorate missed precious moments, receiving high praise.

Additionally, an unusual online event was held combining grilled meat, a favorite home drinking snack, with a "challenge," where participants certified their own meat-grilling know-how and received a "Meat Grilling Master" certificate. The "Jipdwaeji Challenge - Guwolking" event provided stay-at-home people with the joy of an online cooking competition during the height of COVID-19. Teaser videos featuring composer Don Spike grilling pork in the yard or composing music while enjoying pork and Cass attracted attention, recording 350,000 views on YouTube shortly after release.

An industry official said, "OB Beer's strengthening of home drinking marketing can be seen as consumer-targeted marketing activities aligned with recent market conditions and trends," adding, "As the domestic alcoholic beverage market is rapidly changing, contactless marketing by companies will be actively carried out."

Meanwhile, according to the report "Post-COVID Era, Changes in the Business Environment of the Alcohol Industry" published by Korea Ratings, the production index for alcoholic beverage manufacturing and pub businesses in March fell by 13.9% and 34.7%, respectively, compared to the same month last year. Considering that relaxed forms of social distancing are still ongoing, it is unlikely that the dining-out market will recover quickly in the short term, and the share of home sales in the alcoholic beverage market is expected to increase in the "post-COVID" era.

Yeom Jae-hwa, senior researcher at Korea Ratings, said, "Although government quarantine guidelines have been gradually relaxed, considering the increasing possibility of COVID-19 resurgence, the reduced demand for commercial use is unlikely to recover easily in the second half of the year," and predicted, "The main stage of competition in the alcoholic beverage market will shift from commercial to home channels." Accordingly, Korea Ratings forecasts that future company performance will be differentiated based on the brand power of their flagship products and the level of home sales.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.