Madison Magazine’s Post

PART 2: Building on my comments from yesterday regarding the Brewers Association Harris Poll Results shifts us into a demographic slice. Below shows who's drinking more or less #craftbeer this year vs last and compares that to the same results about a decade ago. Then splits those results by classic demographic measures. What we see very clearly is a shifting landscape. 1. There are 32% - 37% drops in all age brackets for intent to drink more craft. WOW 2. College grads are the only demo in that slice intending to drink more 3. Black and Hispanic drinkers are still drinking more craft So what do we do? 1. Start by thinking about WHO SHOULD be drinking craft beer differently. I touched on this yesterday. Broaden occasions outside of traditional craft occasions AND protect the turf we've fought for. Don't just paint yourself on a cultural occasion or ad opportunity - ENGAGE 2. Simplify marketing around communication that MATTERS to consumers. Where / when and why they would enjoy what you offer. Less about process and ingredient details - caveat: if you are a technical brewery looking to talk to beer geeks exclusively then this would not work for you and that's ok. 3. Think about price perception and value proposition. This is a great way to turn the tides in people who think craft beer is too expensive. The $28 4-packs over the past couple of years did not help price perception. We need to reclaim beer's value prop. Other ideas? https://lnkd.in/e5hkDEhK

🍻 Dive into the fascinating history of the beer bottle in our newest blog post! 📚 Click the link below to read more. Cheers to knowledge! https://wix.to/C0Vw7GY #Sen5esBottles #BeerBottles #GlassBottles #BeerHistory #BottleStory #BlogReaders

Get ready to fire up the grill because it's National BBQ Day! 🍖 What's your favorite style of barbecue? Are you all about the bold flavors of Texas brisket, the mouthwatering pulled pork of the Carolinas, the smoky meats of Memphis, or the saucy goodness of Kansas City? Share your BBQ preferences in the comments below!

🍻 Happy Friday, #LostGardenCommunity! 🍻 Today, let's show some love to our unsung heroes - the MICROBREWERS! For those of you shaking your heads, we all know who they are - the genuine artists who take pride in their craft, making every bit of the pint you enjoy as nuanced as a Mozart symphony 🎵 🍺 WHY CELEBRATE THEM? • PROLIFIC CREATIVITY: The variety of craft beers today is simply mindboggling! Variety is the spice of life and our beloved microbrewers are literal spice merchants, cooking up concoctions that twist our taste buds into unimaginably delightful knots! • LOCAL PRIDE: These small-scale brewers add a vibrant touch to our local communities. Their unique, locally influenced, and - dare I say - quirky beers provide a sense of belonging and take locally sourced to a whole new level!🌍 • PERSONAL: Every microbrewer has a story, a inspiration drawn from life that spins into their brew. Every sip of their craft beer is a sneak peek into who they are. It’s like reading a book, one gulp at a time! 📚 🍺 HOW CAN WE SUPPORT THEM? • TRY, TRY, TRY: Taste their work. Explore. Find your favorite amongst the haystack. Not liking the first, second, or even third beer does not mean there isn't a perfect one waiting for your taste buds! • SPILL THE BEANS: Share your experience, let others know. Believe me, word-of-mouth is gold for these micro magicians. 🗣️ • COLLABORATE: If you own a restaurant or a retail business, why not consider collaborating with a local microbrewery? Not only will it support local, but it will also enrich your offering. Everyone wins! 🤝 Just like a garden's beauty blooms with diverse flowers 🌺🌼💐, the world of beer becomes infinitely more exciting and colourful with our audacious microbrewers. It's high time we stepped away from the 'macro' and embraced the ‘micro’ world - a world where each drop has a story to tell. Here's to raising a glass in the name of diversity, creativity, and locality. Here's to our microbrewers. 🍻 #MicroBrewers #CraftBeer #SupportLocalBusinesses

Good piece from Dave Infante on VinePair with commentary from Bryan Roth. This is an honest reflection of the current tension in the business. I've been preaching for a while "What got us here won't get us there." It's not my phrase - that credit is to Marshall Goldsmith, but it's pointedly true. From the article: "'You have to start thinking more about what you’re making as a vehicle for these flavor experiences, and not as a representation of what the beer [style] is.' Put another way, brewers have to stop thinking like brewers, and start thinking like customers." It's incredibly hard for anyone who enjoyed the wave of success pre 2019. Brewers were trend setters. Customers flocked to them for the NEXT THING. Drinkers delved into books, social media and brewery tours to learn. It was a wonderful and simpler time for beer. But those phases do not last by nature. Within this mess, there is always a place for "beer flavored beer" and breweries that uphold its virtue. But the scale of the industry and new adoption will rely on FLAVOR forward propositions and some clever marketing. https://lnkd.in/g6KCQKC9

Using beer styles that were designed to categorize beers for competition's sake and side-by-side comparison as marketing terms to consumers was never going to work long term. I have been hung up on a stat that Bart Watson shared from the Harris Poll results that ~50+% of consumers that don't drink craft beer abstain because they do not like the flavor... This bewilders me as there are more flavor possibilities and representations in beer today than ever before in history. Could the answer be dropping antiquated and non-consumer-friendly beer styles to describe our beers and using flavor anchors to position our products? We MUST be better at conveying the things that matter to drinkers if we want them to pull our products off the shelf!

🌮🔥 Taco Bell + Hidden Valley = Sauce Royalty 🔥🌮 Today’s the day, Taco Bell fans! Their newest (and dare I say, boldest) creation has dropped: chicken nuggets paired with a spicy Hidden Valley hot ranch. This isn’t just another menu item—it’s a masterclass in fast food innovation. From Doritos Locos Tacos to Klondike Chaco Tacos, Taco Bell has cracked the code on partnerships that redefine what’s possible. Now they’re proving again why they’re the king of collabs with this latest launch. In my newest article, I break down: ✅ The genius behind Taco Bell’s collab strategy ✅ Lessons every brand can steal for their own partnerships And yes, I might have dreamed up my own fantasy collab (Momofuku Chili Crunch, anyone?). Fast food fans, marketers, and lovers of guilty pleasure bites—this one’s for you. Let’s talk nuggets, sauce, and how to live más. 👉 Read the full article and let me know your dream Taco Bell collab in the comments! #brandmarketing #retailmarketing #cpg #brandpartnerships #tacobell #hiddenvalleyranch #yumbrands

The diversity of styles is one thing that makes craft beer great. Here are your favorite brewers in eight different craft beer niches. 2023 rank is noted in parentheses. https://lnkd.in/g57a-HRP

There’s little debate that West Michigan’s craft beer scene is one of the best in the country. And while Grand Rapids may hold the moniker of “Beer City, USA” — the entire region feeds into the phenomenon, including Comstock’s famous Bell’s Brewery. I gravitate to Michigan’s beachtowns — in particular, my “customized” Western Michigan Craft Beer tour. I love the unique blend of bitterness in a robust IPA, the creamy foam of a dark stout, and every shade and flavor in between. I’ll be based in Saugatuck in late May — for 10 days (it’s okay, you can hate me) and you’ll find me in many, many brewery’s from South Haven, Grand Haven, Holland, Benton Harbor, Silver Lake and many, many more from Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, St. Joseph and then some. I’d name more towns and breweries but I don’t want you to think I have a drinking problem 🤓 What are your work vacation plans this spring and/or summer? “Vacation, all I ever wanted Vacation, had to get away ...” — The Go-Go’s Source: Beerconomy #Michigan #Beachtowns #Beer #CraftBeer #NonAlcoholicBeer #Cider #Microbreweries #Taprooms #Brewpubs Slàinte☘️! ✦✦✦ Stephen Carter King Chief of Growth and Marketing and Strategy and ‘The Beerconomist’ + CEO of Beerconomy • Market Analyst • Speaker • Futurist & Author • with beer market trends, insights, data and forecasts Publisher: The Beerconomist

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