Executive Summary

The remarkable success of the marketing campaign "The Most Interesting Man in the World" by

Dos Equis can be attributed to the niche value proposition provided by the brand – the beer

drinker is the man everyone aspires to emulate. The campaign created an aura and defined the

persona of the world's most interesting man by portraying the beer drinker as the center of their

universe using witty and quirky parallels⁰. The campaign ran across television, print, social

media, and events, making it widely known. The campaign started in the late 2000s and

continued for a good part of the last decade.

The campaign addressed multiple challenges for the brand: create brand loyalty for imported

beer within an overcrowded beer market, make a regional brand a global icon, generate revenue,

and push back competition responses while avoiding any backlash from the audience.

Analysis
The parent company Heineken started the ad campaign to create a US market for imported

Mexican beer. In a saturated US market with almost competitive prices between beer brands,

Heineken established itself in the market with horizontal positioning. Due to positioning and the

creative strategy, Dos Equis managed to strike a chord with the emotional quotient of the

consumers. The ad campaign positioned the beer drinkers away from the stereotype party animal

on a beach into a sophisticated gentleman, which was very contrasting for the target consumer

segment of men. The overall sales of this beer have increased by 30% since its launch. The

company shipped 116% more barrels in 2013 compared to 2008. The beer's market shared

jumped to 25% in 2013 and increased the parent company's share by 3.9% in volume.

The ad campaign targeted the audience demographically, men aged 21 to 35, but used the

psychographics of the consumers to attract themselves. The beer was positioned to give these
men a means to authenticate their claim as sophisticated and exciting amongst their peers and not

as party animals who only cared about women and alcohol. Using an older actor in the late 60s

and portraying him as the most interesting man resolved the fear of aging into boredom from the

minds of men in their mid-30s. The campaign showed an in-depth understanding of consumers'

interests and how they wanted to be perceived as men, addressing their desires and fears.

The consumer segmentation and targeting were well researched as well. The percentage of

womenⁱ consuming beer was low and declining at the time of campaign launch and therefore

benefitting only men did not harm the brand image.

As compared to competitive brands, Dos Equis grew its consumer loyalty through all possible

media channels of the time – television, print, social media, and events. The beer became the 6th

best-selling import beer, banking on the success of the ad campaign⁴.

The increased sales and market size testify to the ad campaign's success, which heavily

influenced the consumer decision-making process by generating brand awareness and assisting

purchase decision-making. The repeat consumers substantiated the growing sales depicting the

post-purchase behavior.

Recommendation
The ad campaign was an overall success for the brand. The ad helped the brand go beyond the

US borders and generate an international brand image Dos Equis. The ad campaigns should

continue with witty lines and personifications. Focusing only on men will not be a prudent

choice with society's changing sentiments and beliefs. A more gender-neutral ad campaign will

help the brand avoid backlash on social media platforms.

The brand can also diversify from beer into club sodas and bottled water to capture an even

broader consumer base. The situation for market share is the same in the packaged water

industry, and a successful horizontal positioning will establish the Dos Equis brand.
Appendix
⁰ https://www.mic.com/articles/9659/22-of-the-best-dos-equis-the-most-interesting-man-in-the-world-
quotes-video

ⁱPreffered Drink, by Gender

⁴https://www.brewbound.com/news/2011-2-10-
First_beer_brand_globally_to_reach_figure/#:~:text=NEW%20YORK%20%E2%80%93%20Dos%20Equis
%2C%20the,Million%20'Likes'%20on%20Facebook.