Felicia Faria

PRS 340
Narragansett Beer Proposal
26 October 2016
As being a native Rhode Islander and brought up to know the history of this state, one icon that I
have grown up seeing around me, ever since I was young, was Narragansett Lager Beer. When I was a
young girl, my uncles and my dad would always be seen holding a can of Narragansett, with the famous
saying, Hi-Neighbor! Currently, I work as a waitress at a restaurant in Newport, Rhode Island and we
always have Narragansett Lager on tap, as well as their seasonal beers in a can. Narragansett Beer is
always popular in demand between my tables that come in as well as the regulars who come to the bar.
Overview
According to the Narragansett Brewery website, Narragansett Beer is New Englands oldest beer
and was founded in Cranston, Rhode Island in 1890. It has been New Englands number one beer from
the 1890s through the 1970s and has been the official beer of the Boston Red Sox now for over 30 years.
Narragansett Beer is currently the 37th largest brewing company in America and the fastest growing in the
Northeast. Their flagship leader was the winner of the Bronze Medal at the 2008 World Beer Cup, as well
as winning First Place at the great International Beer Festival in 2010 ( Hellendrung, Mark).
Also according to the Narragansett Brewery website, on January 16, 1920 prohibition is in full
effect across the country, and Narragansett Beer was only sold for medicinal purposes. After thirteen long
years, prohibition is repealed on December 5, 1933 and is sold back to the public. Of course like any
other company, the way they successfully can market themselves is with having a clever logo as well as a
captivating phrase. In January of 1934, Narragansett Beers President Rudolf Heffenreffer Jr., heirs
Theodor Seuss Geisel, famously known as Dr. Seuss, to create an icon for the company. He then designs

the Chief Gansett image as well as several other advertisements for Narragansett Brewery. In April 1944,
Narragansett Beer begins a 31 year relationship with baseball. First starting out with the Boston Braves
and eventually with the Boston Red Sox. In April 1951, Curtis Curt Gowdy becomes the voice of Red
Sox Baseball and the spokesman for Narragansett Beer. Famously coining the phrase, Hi-Neighbor,
Have a Gansett. During the year 1955, the market share peaks at 65 percent of all beer sold throughout
New England. In 1958, Narragansett Beer hires the famous model and television personality, Irene
Hennessy as one of the Hi-Neighbor Girls. The job of these girls was to attend promotional events as well
as escort the public on tours of Narragansett Brewery (Hellendrung, Mark).
One of the most impressive acts Narragansett Brewery was known for doing was presenting each
employee with a gold platted Narragansett bottle in 1959 in honor of brewing one million barrels. This act
of kindness proves that Narragansett Brewery was very employee oriented and fairly respected each of
their employees. In September of 1961, Narragansett Beer began using television ads, with the help of the
famous comedic duo, Mike Nichols and Elaine Mae. An astonishing fact of Narragansett Beer is that on
July 15, 1965 Fall Staff Brewing Corporation purchases Narragansett Beer for 17 million dollars in cash.
The fact that they were able to pay that much money in cash alone, is unbelievable. It then took nine years
to finalize. On October 25, 1969 Led Zeppelin performs in the Gansett Tribal Rock Festival at the Boston
Garden. Also on October 10, 1971 Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young perform at the Gansett Tribal Rock
Festival. Narragansett Beer also sponsors the Newport Folk Festival when Bob Dylan goes electric. In
April of 1972, Narragansett Brewery is producing 1.7 million barrels a year! Known from the infamous
movie, Jaws, on June 20, 1975 Captain Quinn is shown crushing a can of Narragansett Lager in his hands
during the famous scene to intimidate Cooper (Hellendrung, Mark).
Sadly, under Fall Staff Brewing leadership, Narragansett Beer began to lose its identity. Fall Staff
than ended the Red Sox Sponsorship, let go of salesmen, and moved the production of the beer to Indiana.
On April 13, 1983 the Narragansett Brewery closes its doors for good and on October 27, 1998
demolition of the once proud brewery begins. Fortunately, twenty-two years later, a group of investors,

including Mark Hellendrung, buy Narragansett Beer and bring it back to its original recipe (Hellendrung,
Mark).
Also stated on the Narragansett Brewery website, Mark Hellendrung, current owner and President
of Narragansett Brewery, wrote a letter to the Narragansett Beer community about how proud he is of the
company and success they have made since making a comeback in 2005. Written on August 3, 2016 he
was pleased to announce the returning of Narragansett Brewery back to the state of Rhode Island. He
grew up in East Providence, Rhode Island and attended Brown University. Currently, Narragansett
Brewery offices are located on 60 Ship Street in Providence but will be moved to The Guild, the home of
Gansetts future brewing operations, at 461 Main Street in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. At the end of his
letter Hellendrung states, Make no mistake, you made this happen. Please accept my letter as your open
invitation to come visit us when were up and running. This is your brewery and we cant wait for you to
be a part of it. Thank you for everything, Mark D. Hellendrung (Hellendrung, Mark).
Recommendations

Hispanic Population
One major reason as to why the Narragansett Brewery should focus its efforts on the Hispanic

community is that according to the United States Census, the state of Rhode Islands Hispanic
population, as of July 1, 2015 is up to 14.4%. They happened to be the largest percentage when
compared to all the other races and ethnicities, not including white alone.
Also according to the U.S. Census in Rhode Island, the percentage of other languages spoken
other than English at home is at 21.1% from the years 2010-2014. This is a huge importance of
information since most of the community besides white alone, is Hispanic. The Spanish-speaking
language is rising in the state of Rhode Island and according to the census, a good chunk of language
spoken besides English is large. By knowing this, Narragansett Brewery can focus its efforts and
advertising in Spanish to accommodate the Hispanic population.

Veterans Population
According to the U.S. Census, the population of Veterans in the state of Rhode Island from 2010-

2014 is 68,506. Almost 70,000 people in this state are retired Veterans. This is a large population size
since the entire population of the state of Rhode Island is at 1,056,298 (July 1, 2015). This should be
considered as very important to Narragansett Brewery since it was around and selling beer during the
time of the Vietnam War, World War I and World War II. Maybe making a short term patriotic logo to
support the Veterans and the sacrifices they made could earn more revenue from the Veteran
community. It would prove to show a sense of community between Narragansett Beer and the Rhode
Island Veterans.
Another important fact about the Veteran population from the U.S. Census in Rhode Island is that
the amount of Veteran-owned firms (2012) is 9,904. Even though they are the smallest amount of
firms compared to Minority-owned firms, it still is a big part in Rhode Islands economy to sell to
since it is such a small state. By targeting Veteran-owned firms, Narragansett Brewery would be
making more revenue rather than not targeting these almost 10,000 businesses.

Women Business Owners

Based on the U.S. Census in Rhode Island, the Women population is 51.5% (2015) which is

larger than the Male population in the state. Targeting the Womens population would be a huge
advantage to Narragansett Brewery since most of their advertisements and fan base focuses on the
majority of the male population. Granted there are the Gansett Girls that attend business promotions,
but can attract mostly men to come because of their sex appeals. If Narragansett Brewery focused
more in on women, they would gain a doubled amount of revenue.
Another important fact from the Census is that the amount of Women-owned firms (2012) is
30,484. They are the second largest firm owning businesses right below Men-owned firms. Since

women own a majority of firms in Rhode Island, this would help create an increase of buying power
as well between women and Narragansett Brewery.
Competitive Analysis

Rhode Island Organizations Presence

o CVS Pharmacy
In the year 1963, the first CVS store, with just a focus on selling health and beauty products, is

founded in Lowell, Massachusetts. CVS was started by two brothers, Stanley and Sidney Goldstein, along
with their partner, Ralph Hoagland. The abbreviation, CVS, stands for Consumer Value Stores. In just
the first year, the chain grew into seventeen stores by 1964. In 1967, CVS begins their first operations of
stores with pharmacy departments in Warwick and Cumberland, Rhode Island. By 1970, CVS operated
100 stores throughout New England and the Northeast. Finally in 1981, CVS breaks ground on the Store
Support Center in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Just a little bit of a fun fact, in 1994 Tom Ryan, a fellow
graduate and alumni of the University of Rhode Island, is named President and CEO of CVS/pharmacy.
The University of Rhode Island named the Ryan Center after him, as well as a pharmacy building in his
honor. Currently now in 2016, CVS has funded, Be The First, a five-year, $50 million initiative to help
deliver the nations first tobacco-free generation. They are also making an effort and approach to ending
the nations growing prescription drug abuse epidemic (CVS History).
CVS offers ten departments that carry their own CVS brand product line, as well as other top
product lines. The ten departments are: Baby and Child, Beauty, Diet and Nutrition, Health and Medicine,
Home Health Care, Household and Grocery, Personal Care, Sexual Health, Skin Care, and Vitamins (CVS
Shop). Each department carries multiple options including multiple product lines to target certain
customers that come in to purchase. An example of a product line I have been very familiar with is that
they carry their own CVS Health brand of medicine and compare it to the same ingredients in a popular
product line. I always purchase the CVS Health brand of allergy medicine that has the same comparison
of ingredients found in Zyrtec.

CVS community relations efforts are focused on charitable giving to create better outcomes in the
surrounding community. They refer to this as Health In Action. They have six giving strategies that
support their organizations and dedicated to: Ensuring patient safety, supporting those with chronic
disease, meeting the needs of an aging population, promoting medication adherence, facilitating
accessible and affordable care, and combating prescription drug abuse (CVS Community Grants). An
interesting article I found on the CVS website is that back in April 2013 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island,
CVS Caremark Corporation announced that $2.6 million in grants have been awarded to 66 non-profits
across the country. Two out of the 66 non-profits in Rhode Island that were donated some of this money
was the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation and Family Service of Rhode Island, Inc.
(Dwyer, Joanne).
o

Blue Cross and Blue Shield

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island, was founded in Rhode Island in the year 1939. They
were a beginning operation as the Hospital Service Corporation of Rhode Island. By 1942, their member
enrollment reached 100,000 people. Three years later in 1945, their enrollment exceeded 350,000 which
accounted for more than half of Rhode Islands population. In 1973, The Hospital Service Corporation of
Rhode Island changes its name to Blue Cross of Rhode Island. Then in 1974 The Rhode Island Medical
Society Physician Service changes its name to Blue Shield of Rhode Island. Both Blue Cross and Blue
Shield merge to become Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island in 1982. Fast-forward to today in
2016, Kim Keck becomes the President and CEO and has the drive to simplify customer experience and
to advance affordable healthcare to all Rhode Islanders (Blue Cross & Blue Shield, "Our History").
Blue Cross and Blue Shield offer great product lines to their customers all throughout Rhode
Island. One of their product lines I found very important is a 24/7 Nurse Care Line. This offers the
comforting feeling of always knowing you can call at any time on any day for nurse care assistance. They
can help any question about a familys health including: colds or flus, minor sprain and cut injuries,

headaches, medications and side effects, health problems like diabetes or asthma, and much more (Blue
Cross & Blue Shield, "24/7 Nurse Care Line").
Since Blue Cross and Blue Shield is based in Rhode Island, they are constantly always impacting
our community. Through our BlueAngel Community Investment Program, we invest in organizations
that address the most critical health issues impacting Rhode Islanders in need (Blue Cross & Blue
Shield, Community). Within the last year they have supported more than 145 local nonprofits in Rhode
Island with the use of sponsorships and charitable donations. Their BlueAngel volunteers have donated
over 7,200 hours to the community in 2015. They are always seen giving back to the state of Rhode
Island. Back in 2015, Blue Cross and Blue Shield had donated $993,000 to Rhode Island nonprofit
organizations. Some of the organizations were Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation, Latino
Public Radio, American Heart Association, and many more (Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Community).

National Presence
o Ben & Jerrys
In 1978, two men that are very well-known throughout the country today, Ben Cohen and Jerry

Greenfield, opened their first ice cream shop in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont. A year
later, Ben and Jerry hold the first-ever Free Cone Day: free scoops for everyone all day long! By 1981,
they had gotten so popular by demand that Ben & Jerrys creates their first franchised ice cream shop in
Shelburne, Vermont. In 1983, Ben & Jerrys ice cream is used to create the worlds largest ice cream
sundae in St. Albans, Vermont (it weighed about 27,102 pounds!). In 1988, Ben and Jerry are named
U.S. Small Business Persons of the Year by President Reagan. A year later they announce that their ice
cream is and always will be Artificial Growth Hormone free (Ben & Jerry's, "Ben & Jerry's History").
Throughout the recent year, since the 90s, Ben & Jerrys focused their efforts on also saving the planet
and being green. The importance of being earth-friendly is one of Ben & Jerrys most valued core
values.

Ben & Jerrys entire product line is focused on their beloved ice cream. Not only does Ben &
Jerrys produce regular ice cream, they have also come out with Non-Dairy, Cookie Cores, Core, Sorbet,
and now Frozen Greek Yogurt. They have heard what their fans have been asking for, and they have
listened. They created a whole different product line for those who are dairy intolerant and for those who
are trying to cut out dairy all together in their diet. Now you can eat the Ben & Jerrys youve always
loved, without feeling bad about it.
Since Ben & Jerrys is so widely known for being eco-friendly, they are always helping out the
community. The Ben & Jerrys Foundation helps fund the Vermont Community Action Team (CAT). They
fund a large amount of community programs- social services, organizations, cultural, recreational, and
community celebrations within Vermont. They also help with large-scale community service projects such
as, to fix, clean, build, and refresh things that improve the quality of life to their communities. Some
community action projects they worked on was volunteering at camps with kids that have cancer, they
restored a water plant warehouse to house the local food shelf for Irene storm recovery, and they worked
clean-ups and fix-ups at camp DREAM in Fletcher, Vermont (Ben & Jerry's, "Community Action).
o

Starbucks

According to the Starbucks website, Starbucks was created in 1971 in Seattles Pike Place
Market. What I found to be extremely important in their history timeline, is that in 1988 Starbucks offers
full health benefits to eligible full-time and part-time employees. This also includes for domestic
partnerships. At this time, there were only 33 stores in the country. A year later, they rose to 55 stores in
the country. In 1994, they open their first drive-thru location and is at a booming success with 425 stores.
They extend Starbucks into grocery stores across the U.S. in 1998. By 2015, they have created stores
worldwide and with a success of opening 22,519 stores, including their worldwide shops (Starbucks
Coffee, "Starbucks Company Timeline").

Starbucks product line is very straight forward since all of their products are made by them. They
have a variety of coffees and teas. They have their own Starbucks equipment that you can buy. In grocery
stores as well as in a Starbucks, they have created their own Starbucks Via Instant Coffee and Lattes mix.
They also sell their syrups and sauces the use in specialized tea and drinks, and also have started their
own anniversary collection for their Starbucks lovers.
Starbucks mission statement of when it comes to community service states, Every Starbucks
store is a part of a community, and were committed to strengthening neighborhoods wherever we do
business (Starbucks Coffee, "Community Service"). They focus their efforts on their commitment to
disconnected young people. Over 290 million young people throughout the world are not in school and
are unemployed. Starbucks is trying to create innovative ways to help young people gain the skills and
schooling they need to succeed later on in life. One act of volunteering they focus on with young people
is the Customer Service Excellence Training with YouthBuild USA. They help prepare young people who
are not as fortunate growing up, for careers in retail and customer service. These young people are then
enrolled in a course on how to receive classroom training and on-the-job training in a caf (Starbucks
Coffee, "Community Service"). I really love how Starbucks focuses their efforts on preparing the future
successors of this country and worldwide.

Newport Storm
o Newport Storm was created by four lifelong college friends whose idea it was to create a
brewery right after college. In 1999, Brent, Will, Mark, and Derek, opened Newport
o
o

Storm Brewery in Newport, Rhode Island (Newport Storm).

They do not have a specific target audience except for those who love to drink beer.
The way they reach their target audience is by doing local beer tasting and beer dinners
across the state of Rhode Island. On their website you can look under the Events tab and
see all the local events Newport Storm will be hosting.

Cottrell Brewery
o Cottrell Brewery was founded on February 28, 1997 in Pawcatuck, Connecticut by a
couple, Charlie and Ann Buffum ("Cottrell Brewing Co.").

They are still a family owned brewery and focus on traditional beers with a New England

twist.
Their primary focus when it comes to giving back to the community is on cultural and

social-service organizations ("Cottrell Brewing Co.").

Some of the local organizations they help out is the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center,

Mystic Art Center, La Grua Center, and the Nature Center.

Grey Sail Brewery
o Grey Sail Brewery was founded in the fall of 2010 by Alan and Jennifer Brinton. They
had a dream to once start their own brewery for over 15 years and after their fourth child,
o

their dream became a reality.

They are located in Westerly, Rhode Island and was built and refurbished in the old

Westerly Macaroni Factory that was built in the late 1920s.

Grey Sail has events all throughout October and November where they host beer events

throughout the state of Rhode Island called Cheers for Charity (Grey Sail Brewery).
Once a month they open their doors to local non-profit organizations to host fundraising
and awareness events (Grey Sail Brewery).

Conclusion
As you can see in my proposal I have stated a full drawn out timeline of Narragansett Brewery
and their entire history of when they were first founded in Cranston, Rhode Island, to Mark Hellendrung
and his group of investors for bringing back Narragansett Brewery in 2005. Located underneath
Narragansett Brewerys history, I have stated the three major publics I believe Narragansett Brewery
should focus their efforts and advertising on. The first public I introduced was the Hispanic population in
Rhode Island, based off of the U.S. Census. I found them to be a very important targeting group since
they make up a huge percentage of Rhode Islands population, and throughout the years have been
intensely increasing. The second public I have proposed is on the Veteran population in this state. This
population has been around for a long time since Narragansett Beer came on the scene and became
popular. Creating a relationship with the Veteran population would create a sense of community between
the brewery and them. As well as increase sales and revenue, since about 70,000 people in Rhode Island

are a part of the Veteran population. The final public I have proposed is on Women Business Owners.
Women alone make up more than half of the population in Rhode Island. This is a huge importance for
when it comes to selling Narragansett Beer. Along with women being a huge part of the population, they
also are one of the largest owning firm percentages in the state. This would create an increase of buying
power between women business owners and Narragansett Brewery. This would be successful for the
women in Rhode Island, as well as creating a larger revenue in beer sales among the greatest percentage
of population in the state. I hope you can take away from this all of the great information I have, to help
increase sales for Narragansett Brewery as well as my understanding of Narragansett Brewerys history.

Work Cited

Ben & Jerry's. "Ben & Jerry's History." Http://www.benjerry.com. Ben & Jerry's, n.d. Web. 25

Oct. 2016.
Ben & Jerry's. "Community Action | Ben & Jerrys." Http://www.benjerry.com. Ben & Jerry's,
n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield. "24/7 Nurse Care Line." Home. Blue Cross & Blue Shield, n.d. Web.

25 Oct. 2016.
Blue Cross & Blue Shield. "Community." Home. Blue Cross & Blue Shield, n.d. Web. 25 Oct.

2016.
Blue Cross & Blue Shield. "Our History." Home. Blue Cross & Blue Shield, n.d. Web. 25 Oct.

2016.
"Cottrell Brewing Co." Cottrell Brewing Co. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
CVS. "Community Grants." Official Corporate Website & Company Information. CVS, n.d. Web.

25 Oct. 2016.
CVS. "History." Company. CVS, 2016. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
CVS. "Shop." Beauty Products, Wellness Products, and Home Essentials. CVS, n.d. Web. 25 Oct.

2016.
Dwyer, Joanne. "CVS Caremark Charitable Trust Supports Non-profits Nationwide with $2.6
Million in Funding." Official Corporate Website & Company Information. CVS Caremark

Charitable Trust, 3 Apr. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.

Grey Sail Brewery. "HOME." Grey Sail Brewing of RI. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
Hellendrung, Mark. "Our Story." Narragansett Beer. Narragansett Beer, 2015. Web. 24 Oct.

2016.
"Newport Storm Beers - Coastal Extreme Brewing Co. in Newport Rhode Island." Newport
Storm Beers - Coastal Extreme Brewing Co. in Newport Rhode Island. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct.

2016.
Starbucks Coffee. "Community Service." Starbucks Coffee Company. Starbucks, n.d. Web. 25

Oct. 2016.
Starbucks Coffee. "Starbucks Company Timeline." Starbucks Coffee Company. Starbucks, n.d.

Web. 25 Oct. 2016.

United States. United States Census Bureau. N.p.: n.p., n.d. United States Census. Web. 25 Oct.
2016. <http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/44>.