A & W Root Beer, Mission Statements and Marketing Strategies

For a while now I’ve been talking to business owners about Mission Statements and how it drives their Business and Marketing Strategy.  Missions Statements define the purpose of a company, who they are in the marketplace, how customer service is handled, the company culture and core values, commitment to the community they service and more. This is a foundational step in developing a successful marketing strategy.  Being able to clearly convey this principle to business owners has been a challenge.

I recently visited New Brunswick for a few days and happened to drop by an A&W Restaurant in Moncton.  I’ve been a root beer lover from way back so visiting an A&W restaurant brought back great memories of visiting the (now closed) Scarborough, Maine A&W years ago.  As I was eating my Mama Burger (remember those), I looked over the packaging and there it was – their Mission Statement right on the side of the brown paper bag.

“A&W was founded on the principle of doing things right 50 years ago. That belief continues today in our commitment to the environment.  That’s why this bag is made from 100% recycled fibre ….” 

That was interesting reading …. A&W believes in doing the right thing and it affects the packaging materials they choose to use to promote their business.  I moved onto the orange cup containing the much coveted root beer and there it was again …

“Why is there no ice in our drinks? Our soda fountains chill our drinks to the perfect temperature.  Ice just melts and dilutes the taste.  And that just won’t do.”

This paragraph goes back to the original Mission Statement of “doing things right.”  I had already disposed of the hamburger wrapper when I made these discoveries but my guess is that another tell-tale sign of their Mission Statement would be printed on the wrapper as well.

A&W’s marketing is carefully branded to conjure up memories of an earlier time when people were concerned about “doing the right thing”, community, family and social responsibility. Their Core Values and Mission Statement speak to their long history dating to back to 1919 and their success.

Living their Core Values through their Mission Statement and Marketing has played a big part in the success of A&W.  They just keep “doing the right thing” over and over again and have continued to grow for nearly 100 years.  Today they are the number one producer of root beer in the world.

What are your Core Values?  Do you have a Mission Statement?  How do your Core Values and Mission Statement drive your business to success?