Jessica Sciacca

October 26, 2016

PRS 340
Narragansett Beer Project

1. Overview Hi Neighbor, have a Gansett! Narragansett Beer is a company that has been around for
over one hundred and twenty five years, who have earned winning the first place at the
International Beer Competition. Currently being made in New York at a major brewery,
Narragansett Beer is making its way back to Rhode Island. They are planning to open a brewery
in Pawtucket in 2017, which the community can visit. Narragansett Beer was founded within
December of 1890, originally only brewing lager. From the first moment of opening to the 1970s
it was known as the number one beer within New England. It was considered the largest
brewery within the area, their location specifically in Cranston, Rhode Island. This company has
achieved so much within the years that their doors have been opened. Due to a series of
unfortunate events, in the 1980s the company had to close their doors, but it was not long until
they reopened under new owners. Narragansett Beer has used their creativity over the years to
achieve their immense success.
In 1934, the owner of the company, Rudolf Haffenreffer, made the huge decision to hire
Theodor Geisel, who is more famously known as Doctor Seuss. They had hired him to create
logos and advertisements, which signifies the companies goal to stand out against their

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competition. Narragansett Beer has done everything to allow their company have a different
philosophy and brand than other beer companies. Most people are completely unaware of the
huge role Narragansett Beer plays within the New England community. The beer was featured in
the movie Jaws, which happened to be a huge film within the New England area, reenforcing the
idea of community basis. For over thirty years, they were the official beer of the Boston Red Sox.
They sponsored the New England home team, and broadcasted the games so that viewers
could watch it anywhere. They have utilized their famous Gansett Girls at the Boston Red Sox
games. They had local girls who wanted to be a company representative promote the beer at
different games or events. The entire focus of the Gansett Girls program was to help outsiders
get to really see how community oriented this company was. This illuminates their New England
patriotism, they want to help their community grow.
Narragansett Beer has used technology to help their local, Rhode Island community
grow. They have curated an online blog called, Hi Neighbor, which highlights a new, local
company each week. For example, one week their post was Hi Neighbor bowling tournament at
Old Mountain Lanes. One of their other significant blogs, Made on Honor, is extremely similar
to the previous one. This blog promotes local artists, chefs and retailers within Rhode Island.
They have stated, they have inspired us and were sure theyll do the same for you.
Narragansett Beer is not only dedicated to their community relations, but they are also
highly involved in ensuring a great product for their customers. Their original recipe is what
allowed everyone to fall in love with not only the product, but the company itself. After they tried
changing it the reciepe, they realized that it was unsuccessful and to go back to the beginning.

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One of the current owners, Mark Hellendrung, in an interview with Turn to Ten was quoted in
saying, It had sort of been morphed into basically a sort of watery light beer. And now it's got a
lot more flavor. They have created over twenty six kinds of beer to choose from, giving their
customers a wide selection. They have broken down their types of beer into six major
categories:

Flagships
Sessionables
Mash - ups
The Love Craft Series
Not Forgotten
The six most popular kinds of Narragansett Beer you can purchase now are:

Narragansett Lager
Narragansett Light
Narragansett Town Beach India Pale Ale
Narragansett Hefewezen
Narragansett Lovecraft White IPA
Narragansett Bermuda Style Pilsner
2. Recommendations -

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There are three specific publics I would recommend Narragansett Beer purse as a target
customer:

Hispanic Population According to the United States Census, 15% of the Rhode Island population is within
the Hispanic race. This is one of the biggest percents for one specific race within the
state, and that is the biggest reason as to why Narragansett should be targeting them
as customers. If you target the top percents of race within the area your business and
you target them correctly then the product has a higher chance of reaching more
people.

The second crucial detail, according to the United States Census, as to why the
Hispanic population should be a target customer is that out of all of the small business
firms within the state, Hispanics own about 14,000 of them. This alone gives them
huge purchasing power when it comes to products that they want or are interested in.

Women Women should be one of the biggest target customers for Narragansett Beer, who
make up about 52% of the Rhode Island population. Women make up more than half
of this state, which is incredible within itself, due to this their location will be all over
the state, geographically this is perfect. The perfect opportunity for Narragansett Beer
to advertise their products to women can be done anywhere.

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 The second reason as to why women should be a target customer for Narragansett
Beer is because out of all of the businesses within Rhode Island women own about
30,000. This is not just a normal purchasing power, this is an incredibly huge
purchasing power. Women have the opportunity to purchase the products they want,
which in turn will create brand loyalty.

Veterans Currently, one of the biggest sectors within Rhode Island is the Veteran community.
They make up over half of Rhode Island, both female and male. In 2014, according to
the US census, there was over 70,000 Veterans living in the state, which means if you
were to take a count today there would be even more. Due to the fact that there is an
incredible amount of veterans in Rhode Island, Narragansett Beer should make that
their main target.

One key factor to note is that Veterans are known to be community oriented and will
use products that have a sense of community behind them, which Narragansett Beer
is known for. They have a strong sense of United States pride and will stand behind
anything created in US, which the beer is, they will show brand loyalty.
3. Competitive Analysis:

Rhode Island Organizations

CVS - Consumer Value Store, more commonly known as CVS, originated in 1960
opening its first store in Lowell, Massachusetts. CVS has grown their small local health

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and beauty store into a multi billion dollar corporation, whos motto is helping people on
their path to better health. CVS is headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. They
are the largest pharmacy chain in the country, having sixty three stores in Rhode Island
alone. The company itself is extremely community oriented. Each year CVS puts on golf
classic, which raises money to give away to local nonprofit companies. Last year they
raised over one million dollars which was divided among different companies. This really
shows how community oriented CVS is, they are promoting their company, but at the
same time allowing others to build their own.

G Tech - Located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, G Tech is the largest online
gaming and lottery company. They have about 8,600 employees and supply
products/services to over 100 countries. G Tech was brought to Rhode Island by an
Italian group of investors, called De Agostini Group. According to their website and proof
by their actions, We will treat our employees with respect, equality and fairness, and
provide a working environment in which they can excel. They have offered a program to
their employees called, G Tech Reach Out Program, which allows employees to get
one paid work day per year volunteering at any charity this company sponsors. By the
end of the year they are hoping to donate about 39,000 hours. This company is also
hugely known for their community oriented services, like their G Tech After School
Program. They donated a brand new computer room to nonprofit community centers
and public schools so children had a place to go to during after school.

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 National Organizations

Ben & Jerrys - Originating in 1978, Ben & Jerrys is a company that has had huge
success. They began their journey in a small redone gas station, in their hometown
within Vermont. Ben & Jerrys has a three part mission that strives to help the entire
community, focusing on the product, economic and social wellbeing. They want to give
their customers the best product, made from good quality and all natural backgrounds.
Ben & Jerrys wants their employees to grow, they allow for huge development. We
strive to show a deep respect for human beings inside and outside our company and for
the communities in which they live. They are also highly involved in the community, due
to the fact that they originated in Vermont, they focus on local businesses there. The
Ben & Jerrys Foundation, was formed to allow employees to give back and volunteer at
Vermont charities.

Starbucks - Starbucks is a large company, that is still growing, that is not only highly
focused on the great taste of their products, but also the growth of their employees. It
was first opened in 1971 in Seattle, and has developed in the million dollar company it is
today. Interestingly enough the name of the company, was inspired from Moby Dick.
Their mission is inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup, and one
neighborhood at a time. They are noted for hiring Veterans looking for employment, they
believe in their history and want them on their team. Starbucks is extremely devoted to

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education, whether you are an employee or not. They have four major programs to get
young people in school, which are:

Customer Service Excellence Training with YouthBuild USA

Starbucks Work Placement Program
Starbucks Apprenticeship - Barista Mastery and Customer Service
Soong Ching Ling Foundation (CSCLF)
One of the highly noted things about Starbucks is that if you work for the company and
you have not gone to school and you want to, they will 100% pay for it. Starbucks
has
developed a program with Arizona State University, where the company will pay for your
entire education for a very structured program.

Community Relations of Local Breweries

Newport Storm -

Newport Storm Beer was founded in 1997 by four college friends from Colby College.
They released their first beer in 1999, Hurricane Amber Ale, and it was success from
there. They are located in Newport, Rhode Island, and of course they are huge in their
home state and also Pennsylvania. Newport Storm has offered their customers the
chance to come and visit the local brewery, where they have developed over one

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hundred different kinds of beer. Their target audience for this product is the sailing
community, which they have reached by developing cans for their beer, which is easier
to take on boats. They are the official beer of the Newport Folk Festival, which allows
them to reach their entire audience.

Cottrell Brewery -

Cottrell Brewery was founded in 1997 by Charlie Buffman, in the Connecticut

community. He was inspired to start this brewery while studying in London. His
mission is to to produce the best product that we can using fresh, natural, quality
ingredients. This company is extremely New England area oriented, they have made
their target audience anyone who lives within the local areas. The Cottrell Brewery has
been available for customers to come and visit, as well as being featured in different
local festivals and events. This company has donated to about twenty different local
Connecticut social organizations, like Mystic Aquarium.

Gray Sail Brewery -

Gray Sail Brewery originated in Westerly, Rhode Island in 2011. The company is
owned by couple, Alan and Jennifer Brinton, who have had a long term goal of
opening a brewery. Their flagship ale, creatively, was first brewed on 11/11/2011.
Currently they have about fourteen different kinds of beer available to their consumers,
giving them a huge choice with variety. Their target customer/audience is the sailing
community, which coincidently is where they discovered their company name. Gray

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Sail Brewery has created a charitable program called, Cheers for charity. Once a
month the brewery turns into an event hall, and hosts a local nonprofit organization to
help spread the word about what they are doing or their cause.
4. Conclusion
In conclusion, after reviewing the history, overview, current footprint, among other things,
Narragansett Beer is an extremely community oriented and successful company. Narraganset
Beer has evolved immensely over the last one hundred years and if they follow
recommendations they will enjoy even more growth. The three publics that I recommended this
company begin to target are all within huge percents in our Rhode Island community. If they
begin to reach out to Hispanics, Women or Veterans, they are branching out from their norm and
giving their company the chance to expand with profits. Based on my findings from the
comparative analysis, out of the local breweries researched, Narragansett Beer is the most
community oriented and wants to continue to enhance New England, specifically Rhode Island.
When the company does begin to grow even further, I think they should take their community
relations up to the G Tech level or even CVS. Both of the Rhode Island based companies are
hugely successful both locally and regionally. Narragansett Beer, ultimately is a traditional, local,
expanding company that is, Made on honor and sold on merit.

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Works Cited
"About." Official Corporate Website & Company Information. CVS, Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
"ABOUT US." IGT. GTECH, Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
"Ben & Jerry's Foundation | Support Grassroots Activism and Community Organizing for
Social Justice." Ben & Jerry's Foundation | Support Grassroots Activism and Community
Organizing for Social Justice. Ben & Jerrys, Web. 21 Oct. 2016.

"Cheers for Charity." Grey Sail Brewing of RI. Grey Sail Brewing of RI, Web. 20 Oct.
2016.

"Company Information." Starbucks Coffee Company. Starbucks, Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

Comparison, We By. "Narragansett Brewing Company, Cranston, Rhode Island."
Narragansett Brewing Company, Cranston, Rhode Island. 1998 -2016. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

"Cottrell Brewing Co." Cottrell Brewing Co. Cottrell Brewing Co.,Web. 19 Oct. 2016.
Gevelber, Lisa. "Your Next Big Opportunity: The U.S. Hispanic Market." Think with
Google. Google, July 2014. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

Gtech. "GTECH Launches National Community Involvement Program." GTECH Launches

National Community Involvement Program. GTECH, 7 Dec. 1998. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

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 Kure-Jensen Sanne. "Creativity at Newport Storm Brewery Leads to Steady Growth." Wine
and Craft Beverage News. 25 Sept. 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

"Newport Storm Information." Company Information. Newport Storm Brewery,Web. 19

Oct. 2016.

NEWS, RJ HEIM NBC 10. "Narragansett Beer to Be Brewed in RI Again." WJAR. NBC 10,
19 Oct. 2016. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

"Youth Leadership." Starbucks Coffee Company. Starbucks, Web. 18 Oct. 2016.

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