I saw this in the Wall Street Journal at the beginning of July and all I could do was shake my head. Another giant international beer conglomerate focusing everywhere but on the product.
Granted that seems to be the only arrow in the “water lager” quiver. Blanket all forms of media with ads in the hope that you can drown out the siren call of craft beer.
But that call is still getting through. It has been mentioned on many a blog but the state of Oregon now drinks 15% + craft beer. That is not a niche, boutique industry number. That is a player.
And as important as educating the consumer about craft beer is, I believe it is more important to just get the word out that craft beer exists. Break through the cloud cover of constant Miller ads and Coors billboards and Budweiser sports sponsorships.
How do you do that? Get outside the craft beer community. Partner with local restaurants that don’t have taps or beer lists. Give to charities in the community that are not affiliated with the food and beer industry. Get your beer on tap or in bottles where new people can find it. Or brainstorm your own, out of the box ideas.
Just get the name of the brewery out there. That is all the advertising you need. Let Heineken spend their money on Facebook and Google.