Chapter 23 Developments in the Marketing of Beer

The millennial generation is referred to as the generation that came into early adulthood around 2000. Although there is no precise starting date for this generation, the millennial generation is often referred to as those born between the early 1980s to around 2000. By mid-2016, the millennial generation had overtaken the Baby Boomer generation as the largest living American generation,¹ and the majority of them are now of legal drinking age in America. With immigration adding more numbers to the millennial population than to any other generation, the American millennial population is expected to peak in 2036. As a result of this shift in the population’s demographics, the habits and behaviors of the millennial drinkers are changing the shape of the alcohol industry as retailers evolve their offerings to meet the latest consumer demands.

The millennial consumer tends to mistrust traditional approaches to advertising. They are very open to advertising online, and they rely on online sources such as online marketing, blogs, social media, and recommendations from friends when making purchase decisions. But the millennial consumer is focused on more than just convenience and price point when making a purchase decision. They also interweave the value of the experience into their alcohol consumption decisions.² Indeed, the role of the experience has become so interwoven into the millennial beer market that it has led to the growth of beer-cations (vacations themed around exploring new beer locales and flavors).

Although more than 50% of millennials say they have purchased beer in the past three months,³ it is the millennial focus on the experience that has driven beer trends such as the rise of craft beers (perceived to provide unique taste experiences), an expansion of flavored and seasonal beers, and a greater interest in beer attributes beyond flavor (such as organic, gluten-free, or small-batch). Of the group of drinkers aged 21 to 27, 44% have never tried Budweiser,⁴ a beer that at its peak in 1990 was the best-selling beer in the world. This shift away from the more traditional megabreweries has caused some concern within the traditional brewing industry.

23.1.2 Marketing to Women

Traditional beer marketing has focused on the male consumer, and although the customer gender base for beer is still strongly slanted to men, particularly with the megabrands—there remains an opportunity to better connect with the female beer market. When AdvertisingAge.com, a popular media site, created their list of top ad campaigns of the twentieth century, two beer campaigns were in the top 15 most notable campaigns, Budweiser’s “Whassup” campaign and the Dos Equis “Most Interesting Man in the World.” The 1999 Budweiser ad series known as “Whassup” was included, which focused on “Bro Humor,” in which a group of buddies repeated the phrase “Whassup” to one another over the phone as they drank Bud and watched a football game on TV, while the 2007 “Dos Equis-Most Interesting Man in the World Campaign” focused on a character based on “every guy’s fantasy”—someone who men aspire to have as a beer-drinking wingman in the bars by their side, who always gives them something to talk about.

Compared to the megabrands, the craft beer market has captured greater interest from the female beer drinking market. Although women represent only 20% of the total beer drinking population, women drink around 32% of craft beers.⁵ The popular misconception is that “women only want to drink sweeter and lighter products.” However, the growing sales of craft beers to the female consumer demonstrates that women enjoy a wide variety of products and, as already discussed in this chapter, there is an opportunity to further grow beer sales through expanding the focus of beer marketing beyond men.

23.1.3 Flavored Beers and Ready-to-Drink (RTD) Products

Over the past few years, the demand for seasonal flavors and nontraditional flavored beers and flavored ciders has grown. The millennial consumer tends to demonstrate two separate taste profiles for beers, a more traditional interest in pale ales that have a hop-driven bitter profile and an interest in sweeter nontraditional taste profiles. Table 23.1 shows some examples of beer flavors recently seen in the market.

Table 23.1 Some Examples of Beer Flavors

Apple	Chocolate	Grapefruit	Pumpkin /Spicy
Apricot	Cilantro /Lime	Lemon	Pumpkin /Smoke
Bacon/Maple	Cinnamon	Lime	Raspberry
Barrel Flavors (Oak, Bourbon, Gin, etc.)	Citrus	Lime /Verbena	Salted Caramel
Basil/Citrus/Agave/Coconut	Coffee	Maple	Serrano /Cucumber
Blackberry	Coriander/Cilantro	Orange	Smoke
Blueberry	Coriander/Cilantro /Orange Peel/Tangerine Peel	Peach	Sour
Cardamom	Cranberry	Peppercorn	Spicy
Cherry	Crème Brûlée	Pine /Citrus	Strawberry
Cherry/Licorice	Honey	Pineapple	Sugar Cookie
Chili	Juniper	Pomegranate	Vanilla/Bourbon/Madagascar
Chili Pepper/Lychee	Ginger	Pumpkin

First seen in the mainstream market in the mid-1990s, “Speers” or “Spirit Beers,” are also appealing to the young millennials of today as a way to introduce innovative flavor combinations through the addition of spirit flavors to beers, including flavor combinations such as rum-, tequila-, or bourbon-flavored beers. The use of spirits for flavoring is not limited to beer and has also led to the growing area of “spiders” or “spirit-flavored ciders” in the market. One example includes a “spider” in which a 25-mL measure of Irish whiskey is added into every 500-mL bottle of cider.

The trend toward flavored beers and the ready-to-drink (RTD) segment is not limited to the craft industry. For example, Bud Light Lime, first introduced to the market in 2008, is made by one of the largest brewers in the world, AB InBev. Within the first two years after launch, Bud Light Lime achieved annual US sales of more than US$100 million. Four years after the launch of the lime-flavored beer, the Bud Light Portfolio expanded further into sweetened, flavored beers with Bud Light Lime “Lime-a-Rita,” described as a cross between a cocktail and a can of chilled beer. This product line was later extended further to encompass more than eight additional fruit-flavored variations in the “Rita” line extension. RTD products score especially well with female drinkers and are positioned as a consumer alternative to hard liquor. Although only 30% of Bud Light drinkers are women, in the Bud Light-A-Rita extension line, 65% of the drinkers are women.⁶

23.1.4 Next-generation Marketing

Traditional marketing relies on time-tested approaches, such as print advertisements, billboards, and TV ads. Perhaps most recognizable, is the long history of male-targeted beer commercials airing during the National Football League’s Super Bowl. At a cost of US$5 million to air a single 30-second ad⁷ in 2016, beer-related Super Bowl ads included a Budweiser Clydesdale horse helping a man make the decision to purchase Budweiser in a beer store, and comedian T. J. Miller trading barbs and bathroom humor with the Shock Top mascot. Although traditional marketing techniques are not expected to die out any time soon, these types of marketing approaches often require large budgets and target a broad base of potential customers. With the development of small craft breweries, and a growing number of nontraditional marketing options available, the beer industry has embraced next-generation marketing approaches with mixed success.

23.1.5 Stunt Marketing

Stunt marketing is the use of a promotional gimmick or publicity event designed to attract the public’s attention. Brands may release a false or comedic press release or advertisement to gain media coverage and public attention. Alternatively, stunt marketing may be an organized event, arranged primarily for media coverage and to drive consumer awareness of a product.

In the spring of 2015, Carlsberg unveiled a one-day-only, beer-dispensing billboard. The billboard was attached to the side of the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane in London, with the headline “Probably the best poster in the world,” a take-off on the Carlsberg slogan of “Probably the best beer in the world.”⁸ In the middle of the poster was a spout connected to a keg behind the poster. Carlsberg handed out free glasses and passersby were free to help themselves to a free glass of beer. The brand had monitors on hand to ensure that no one under the age of 18 was drinking the free beer, and only one beer was allowed per person.⁹ Brand managers viewed the stunt as an opportunity to quickly reach a large variety of potential beer consumers, but more importantly, to gain considerable free publicity. Dozens of newspapers, magazines, and blogs wrote about the stunt, and it quickly became a trending topic on Twitter. On the heels of the success of the first event, in December 2015, Carlsberg launched a one-day-only, 27-foot-tall beer-dispensing Christmas tree on London’s South Bank.¹⁰

23.1.6 Technology-enabled Marketing

Technology has become an integral part of how the millennial consumer shops for beer. In a 2016 study looking at smartphone usage and beer purchase behavior, almost 60% of craft beer drinkers noted that they used their smartphone at the shelf to decide which beer to buy, and 74% of craft beer drinkers used their smartphone before going to the store to aid in their purchase decision.¹¹ Providing easily accessible, mobile-friendly information to a tech-savvy consumer base can pay off. Of the consumers that said that they used their smartphones during the buying process, 18% said they bought more beer than usual, and 78% said they bought a beer they had never purchased before.¹² Although conventional thinking has noted that price and recommendations from friends/family have been the most important factors influencing beer purchase decisions in the past, there is a growing role for online information to become one of the major influencing factors.

Using Bluetooth beacon-equipped venues and smartphone apps, companies can also use technology to reward consumer loyalty. For example, in 2016, the Heineken Live app offered users a chance to receive rewards and experiences each time they visited one of the brand’s beacon-equipped venues. Customers who used the app more often, or who visited Heineken venues more often, earned more frequent reward points.¹³

The growth of mobile shopping apps is also changing how consumers shop for alcohol. For a small fee, many apps now not only deliver alcohol to the location of the consumer (in some urban markets, alcohol can be delivered within an hour of placing an order), but they also recommend alcohols to the consumers or pairings based on what cocktails the consumer may want to make.

23.1.7 Digital Marketing, Social Media, and Beer Marketing

During the early years of social media, many alcohol brands avoided social media, unsure of how to navigate the challenges of ensuring posts did not break strict regulations meant to prevent pitching to underage consumers. However, as the technology that enables the ability to more narrowly target specific consumer groups continues to improve and the millennials have almost all hit the 21-and-over age demographic, companies have responded by increasing their budgets and focusing on digital marketing and social media marketing opportunities.

Social media marketing has moved beyond the traditional marketing approach of celebrity-endorsed products and is now more focused on creating an online buzz through interactive campaigns and the pursuit of campaigns so successful that they go viral, an oft sought but rarely achieved status.

In the digital marketing space, consumers share their personal experiences with their online audiences on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as other social media platforms. The brands do not control these individual consumer-led communications, and yet they have the potential to be both beneficial and detrimental to brands. Beers with long histories have found entering into the digital marketing arena to be more challenging, while some younger brands, unburdened by historical perceptions, have demonstrated more nimble success. Budweiser, one of the oldest beers on the market, posts Instagram images of perfectly posed bottles and happy people, aligned with their historical approach to beer marketing but not designed to potentially go viral or drive active consumer engagement. Smaller brands are taking a different approach. For example, Boneshaker, a Canadian craft beer,¹⁴ created a social media campaign designed to engage its consumers by having them recommend slogans for this relative newcomer to the beer market, the more ridiculous the slogan the better! The prize for the winning slogan was one year supply of Boneshaker beer.

The development of new social media tools gives the beer marketing teams opportunities to move beyond Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to try new ways to connect with consumers. Apps such as Periscope or Meerkat allow for live streaming of videos, enabling marketers to give consumers live access to behind-the-scene events or to view the use of the brand in action. When Coors Light first tested live-streaming video, they expected that only a handful of people would watch the first attempt. But when they partnered the live-streaming video of the inside of a refrigerator with an April Fool’s Day stunt, claiming that Coors Light was testing beer in a bag,¹⁵ and launched the concept with a single tweet, it led to unexpected levels of consumer interest and engagement. The link to the live stream from the inside of the fridge quickly spread, and unexpected levels of consumers logged in to watch the inside of the fridge through the live stream and chatted, on average, for about two minutes about the brand.

In a study that looked at alcohol marketing on Twitter and Instagram, in which users followed 22 alcohol brands for 30 days, user profiles averaged 1,836 alcohol-related tweets and 362 alcohol-related Instagram advertisements over 30 days.¹⁶ In an era where marketers view digital marketing and social media as lower budget, but important, ways to access and target consumers, the greatest challenge is standing out from the pack and breaking through the clutter. The most successful alcohol digital marketers work toward finding a balance in their content, covering product news, brand communications, different locations, events, and opportunities for the consumers to engage. Dogfish beer has a popular following on Instagram and balances telling the tale of their product, engaging the consumers, and providing unique behind-the-scenes access to the brand with striking photography and fun captions.¹⁷ Marketing with social media can be mistakenly referred to as “free,” but it is important not to underestimate the financial costs that may accompany leveraging social media. Often, companies have teams of marketers and ad agency people dedicated to social media marketing, working on strategy, content creation, community management, optimization, analytics, and campaign coordination. However, for marketers at smaller breweries or for craft brewers, understanding and leveraging the marketing opportunities available through social media can give small savvy marketers of independent breweries an opportunity to promote and advertise their beer on a grand scale.

23.1.8 Developments in Packaging

The role of technology and digital marketing has expanded to influence packaging as well. Although traditionally, packaging has been designed to protect the product, contain the beverage, and to provide consumers with basic ingredient and nutritional information, technology is evolving as to how consumers are using and interacting with packaging.

In response to a consumer desire for unique, customized packaging, in the summer of 2015, AB InBev used advances in printing technology to create limited-release cans of Bud Light with more than 200,000 unique labels.¹⁸ AB InBev describes their unique packaging executions and disruptive design approaches as one of their tactics to elevate the role of their core products to their key demographics.¹⁹

Consumer interest in sustainability has led to an increasing number of companies pursuing the development of sustainable options, including the development of a biodegradable beer bottle.²⁰ In 2016, at the Sustainable Brands Conference, Carlsberg unveiled the prototype for its sustainably wood-sourced beer bottle, made from responsibly managed sources, with trees replanted at the same rate that they are harvested. The green fiber bottle²¹ is scheduled to be test-launched in a pilot market in 2018. Overall, there is an increased focus on the postconsumer recycled content and on creating sustainable packaging materials.²² All of these approaches are meant to highlight each individual company’s approach to sustainability in an effort to have their eco-conscious consumers establish a better connection with the brand.²³

How marketers have experimented with building technology into the traditional beer bottle has ranged from stunt-based approaches to broader incorporation of mobile-friendly approaches. Stunt-based marketing events, often include limited runs of beer bottles with LED lights and sensors built into the bottle such as the creation of a “smart” beer bottle, with embedded LED lights that react to sounds and synchronizes to the beat of music,²⁴ or pressure-activated switches so the bottles only illuminate when the consumer is holding the bottle.²⁵ Technological advances are even influencing the inks used on the labels as thermochromatic inks on labels can tell consumers if the beer they are buying is cold inside the package.

Smart packaging innovations include additions such as a quick response (QR) code. A QR code is a mobile phone-readable bar code that can store alphanumeric data, such as Web sites or phone numbers. Figure 23.1 is an example of a QR code.

Figure 23.1 Example of a typical QR code.

Near field communication (NFCs) is short-range, high-frequency wireless communication technology that allows a smartphone to interact with an object that has an NFC chip embedded in it, as long as the embedded chip is within 4 to 10 cm of the smartphone. NFC codes on labels allow consumers to use their NFC-enabled smartphones to immediately link to digital content, including Web sites, coupons, surveys, streaming music, or videos.²⁶

Finally, the merging of social media, technology, and beer marketing has led to social beer tracking services, such as the development of a beer bottle opener that automatically messages your friends on Facebook every time you use it to open a bottle of beer²⁷ and a mobile app that allows consumers to log, rate, and track what beers they have tried. Equally important for the tech-savvy generation, consumers can follow what and where their friends are drinking.²⁸ After all, for the millennial generation, knowing what their friends are drinking and the opinions of their cohort, as well as exploring unique beers, are key features that interest this demographic.

23.1.9 Marketing Opportunity: The Health Benefits of Beer

23.1.9.1 Myth versus Reality

Although wine is frequently featured in the news media as an alcoholic beverage with potential health benefits, consumers often view beer in a negative health light, and marketers of beer must find ways to address common beer misconceptions. Some consumers avoid beer in an attempt to prevent developing a “beer belly.” However, the concept of excess belly weight due exclusively to beer consumption is a misconception. The “myth of the beer belly” comes from an oft-portrayed image of the beer drinker with a roll of belly fat that is said to be due to their intake of beer. However, scientific studies have shown that this is in fact a fallacy and that beer in moderation does not result in a beer belly.^29–31 The dreaded “beer belly” is unhealthy belly fat due to overall obesity and not due specifically to the consumption of beer.

Although there is a growing trend among consumers to examine product labels and to try to avoid products high in sugar, most consumers are unaware that mainstream beers often contain very little sugar. Beer labels disclose that a bottle of beer contains only some carbohydrates (primarily the dextrin in the beer that provides mouthfeel) and, in most mainstream lager beers, there is no glucose, fructose, or maltose present as the yeast has metabolized most of these sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide (CO₂). It is important to note that, although beer offers a good option for customers keen to avoid consuming large amounts of added sugar in beverages, some specialty beers—especially those that have ingredients added after the brewing process (priming), do not fall into this category (e.g. honey beer).

As a marketer, communicating the many health benefits in a beer’s raw materials can be a challenge. However, growing consumer interest in understanding both the raw materials that go into the beer as well as the potential benefits, combined with a growing variety of raw materials to draw from, may provide new unique marketing opportunities. For example, hops offer health benefits due to the polyphenols present. The silicon from the grain in beer is good for bones, vitamin B from the grain is good for general health, and the ethanol produced by the yeast—as long as it is consumed in moderation, yields a number of health benefits.³² Moderate beer consumption has been shown in study after study to provide cardioprotective effects.³³ The cardioprotective health benefit is equivalent to that received from red wine as it is the alcohol (and not whether the alcohol comes from beer or wine) that is the key element providing the cardioprotective benefit.

With all of these potential health benefits, why do consumers believe that red wine is good for your health when you drink it and they falsely believe that beer lacks this same halo? In many countries, local laws prohibit marketers from espousing the health benefits of an alcoholic product. However, for wine, it was the popular press that convinced consumers that red wine was filled with health benefits, not advertising from the wineries. Articles in the popular press and television shows, discussing “the French paradox,” have elevated red wine to health food status, at the exclusion of other alcoholic beverages. In today’s marketing world, the use of the popular press and social media may have a much bigger influence in terms of how products are perceived than what has been seen in the past. As millennials are growing increasingly more interested in the health benefits of products, and they prefer to obtain their information from peers and social media, how the millennials respond to the potential health benefits of beer has yet to be established.

23.1.9.2 Gluten-free and the “Free From” Trend

Gluten-free beer production is a good example of beers coming into existence due to consumer demand for products tailored to meet special dietary requirements and the desire for a beverage “free from” a particular dietary element.³⁴ Due to heightened consumer awareness of gluten in products, there has been a growing trend in the food industry to avoid products with gluten due to the belief that it causes health issues. Gluten, a protein compound primarily found in wheat, barley, rye, and other grain derivatives, has been a part of the human diet for thousands of years.

Demand for gluten-free products comes from a cross section of consumers, including people with celiac disease (an autoimmune disease), who cannot tolerate gluten and must live gluten-free lives. People that exhibit gluten sensitivity (intolerance), or consumers who have symptoms such as abdominal pain and bloating, therefore, avoid gluten. There is also a large segment who, although they have no formal medical diagnosis, believes that a “gluten-free” diet results in a healthier lifestyle. The 2014 global market for gluten-free beer was more than US$12 billion, and it is expected to continue to grow by more than 40% during the next five years.³⁵

There are many ways to produce a gluten-free beer with good flavor, ranging from technological processes (removal of gluten) to the use of only gluten-free pesudocereals in the raw materials, such as rice, sorghum, and quinoa. The gluten-free market is still in its initial development phase, but based on the current growth predictions, it is currently expected to grow to be a sizable and sustainable market niche. Gluten-free beer is an example of the growing “free from” trend, where there is rising consumer concern and interest about the ingredients that are going into their food and drinks. Products that begin with small niche consumer groups often grow to attain broader consumer acceptance. The market for “free from” foods (genetically modified organism [GMO], plasticizers, pesticides, etc.) is projected to be more than US$23 billion³⁶ by 2020. (Further details on beer product integrity issues are in Chapter 24.)

23.1.9.3 Organic Beers

Currently, organic beer is a relatively small section of the beer market, and it is challenging to predict how large a role beer will eventually play in the global organic market in terms of revenue. The overall organic food and beverage market³⁶ in 2012 was valued at more than US$70 billion, and it is expected to reach more than US$211 billion by 2020. Whether organic beers will be more than a small segment of that growth market is difficult to predict. This overall market is driven by consumers with an affinity for organic ingredients, who prefer domestically grown raw materials. These consumers tend to be both health conscious and socially conscious. Domestically grown and organically farmed raw materials can dramatically increase beer’s raw material cost. Often higher in cost by as much as 40% compared to the nonorganic equivalent, these raw materials are often difficult to source, and verifying the trustworthiness of the certification can add complexity, making organic beer a more challenging market niche but one that may still have an opportunity for potential growth.

23.1.9.4 Alcohol-free and Lower Alcohol Beers

Alcohol-free beers are not new, but the growing popularity of this market segment reflects a global trend toward healthier lifestyles. Although the rules regarding the labeling of alcohol-free products are usually specifically defined by each country’s legal regulations, many countries use the guideline that “no alcohol” products contain no more than 0.05% alcohol and “lower-alcohol” products contain no more than 1.2% alcohol.

At one time, the taste of alcohol-free beers was far removed from what the average consumer would consider to be a similar and acceptable taste compared to a regular beer. Today, with the emergence of better technologies, brewers are offering tastier options both for lower alcohol and nonalcoholic beers.

Demand for low and nonalcoholic beer has substantial regional variability. Spain is currently the largest consumer of low alcohol beer within the European Union (EU). Countries with significant Muslim populations, where there are cultural prohibitions against alcohol consumption, often tend to have higher demand for nonalcoholic beer, and the Middle East now accounts for almost a third of the worldwide sales by volume of nonalcoholic beer. Nonalcoholic beers seem to have a broader appeal overall, and they appear to especially resonate with women. In terms of sports in some countries, such as Germany and Canada, they are positioned as exercise drinks, “a refreshing isotonic recovery drink.” Other countries have experimented with marketing these products as an alternative to soft drinks because consumers are continuing to move away from highly sweetened beverages.

The role of a strong marketing vision, and accompanying campaign, can make all the difference to the sales of a nontraditional beer’s transition to a niche product. When the Beck’s “nonalcoholic” beer changed its name to “Beck’s Blue,” sales increased rapidly. The megabrands have identified potential growth in this niche market. AB InBev stated that their goal³⁷ is for at least 20% of their global beer volume to be alcohol-free or lower alcohol by 2025. This increased focus on a small but growing market will likely drive significant changes in the consumer’s perception of these products.

23.1.10 Quality and Marketing

One of the most important trends in beer is the consumer’s desire for quality! Whether it is the millennial consumer looking for a new flavor or an organic consumer keen to address a growing health trend, time and again, the modern-day beer drinker has expressed a desire for improved quality. No matter how inspired or creative, no marketing campaign can compensate for a poor quality product. Consumers may be willing to try a product once, but for long-term repeat sales, customers will demand a quality product.

Large brewers have always spent significant time and effort to implement strict quality systems for their beers, and when a quality issue does arise, they have an effective recall system in place. However, historically, the quality of many craft beers has not been as consistent. The equipment and expertise to conduct the needed tests on every batch were often not considered important or were not affordable. Education, in terms of what was needed for quality checks and how to maintain consistency, was lacking. The focus on quality and how it can create a loyal customer following has now been recognized by most craft brewers. They now know how to focus on quality if they wish to succeed. Today, a vast number of relevant courses are available from both private organizations and colleges/universities. Also, there is a substantial body of knowledge available on the Internet (including YouTube videos), making it much easier for a small brewer to obtain the education that is needed to create a product of consistent quality. (Further details of beer quality systems are discussed in Chapter 21.)

Consumers want to understand what they are buying and to be able to track their products from “farm to glass.” With so many easily available resources, there is little excuse to not have the basic protocols in place to ensure the production of a clean and consistent product. The marketing of beer continues to increase transparency by focusing on communication information about the raw materials, providing consumers with behind-the-scene access through photos and videos of how the beer is produced. Unprecedented access to information is now available through social media and is digitally connected to the global community. Quality issues, when not treated as one of the most important product priorities, can result in a marketing disaster. Poor experiences can lead to consumers using their digital resources to tarnish and damage a brand at such a rapid pace that a brand or product may never recover! Ensuring that a beer is free of quality issues enables the beer marketer to focus on sharing the story of the product with the consumer. This creates a long-term, connected relationship between the individual consumer and their chosen brand.

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