Phoenix Marketing, Inc.’s Post

For #NationalBlackBusinessMonth I want to highlight 10 businesses of which I am either a customer or a collaborator or both - and all of which I heartily and joyfully endorse for their true excellence, outstanding executive leadership, great products/services/impact. Expand your choices by being intentional and open yourself up to great new opportunities for excellence. So where are you spending? 1. Ujamaa Lighting for lightbulbs. Really good ones, regular or fancy. 2. Hillside Harvest for hot sauce (fruity mild one too!) 3. Fresh Food Generation for catering - corporate, event, anything. 4. Talley & Twine Watch Company, Inc. two watches I love - dressy and casual 5. DREAM Collaborative, LLC architecture firm - commercial, residential 6. City Sealcoating, Inc. driveway or parking lot paving, seal-coating, striping 7. Sweet Teez Bakery low sugar bakery - custom branded logo cupcakes 8. Black Lion Strategies for government relations, social impact strategy 9. White Lion Brewing Company craft brewed beer. https://lnkd.in/eKpdy2zJ 10. Frugal Bookstore For big orders - school, company, event. Gr8 Kids books.

We have a new beer coming, and it is one we never anticipated making.   About a year ago, our friends at the Sheraton Hotel challenged us to make a beer using honey from their culinary garden on the rooftop of the Sheraton downtown. The sales team and I got very excited. The brewers, not so much.   Honey in a beer… Isn't someone else in DFW doing that already? And it's their flagship beer, right? Yes, which is why we knew we couldn't also use citrus. That made the challenge even harder because the flavors pair perfectly together!   After a year of playing with variations and sometimes avoiding the project altogether, we created a beautiful honey lager that our brewers love just as much as the sales team. You can taste the honey, but it's not over the top or too sweet. And no fake adjuncts. It's truth to materials with the honey exactly as it should be.   Now, it needs a name! We've been brainstorming, and we need help. Do you love any of these names or have ideas?   Buzz Brigade Bee-52 (I can't believe how much I love this one) Buzz Bomber Sweet Victory (might be a trademark violation) Honeycore Golden Cargo   It will be on tap on Tuesday. It's not ready for distribution yet. We need a name first so then we can label it!

Get to know Emilio Perez, recipient of the 2024 Professional Certificate in the Business of Craft Beer Diversity Award. We asked Perez, a 2024 graduate of the Fowler College of Business who majored in marketing, about his professional plans after he completes the craft beer certificate program. Read more in our most recent blog post.

Fall will be here before we know it — and that’s peak event season. 🍂 Here are five genuinely unique, fun field marketing ideas you should consider hosting: 1️⃣ Biergarten/Winery + dogs Rent out a bar that allows dogs and have guests bring their furry friends. I know one guest that would attend in Indy 👀 Peep Remi, our Bernedoodle 🐶 2️⃣ Cooking class Book a class that focuses on making fall dishes with in-season ingredients — squash, pumpkins, apples, cinnamon, etc. 3️⃣ A panel + pickleball Host panel content, followed by a pickleball tournament. (I just might steal this one.) 4️⃣ Wine tasting Tour 2-3 different wineries and provide a luxury shuttle to take people around for the evening. 5️⃣ A private boat dinner Headed to Boston or San Francisco? Rent a private boat for an evening. #fieldmarketing

🍺 this week’s beer/leadership musing: In my first foray into a New South Wales pub I tried to order a pot of their finest. The response was: “Stupid Victorian, we have schooners here” So I ordered a pot of schooner*…. Which didn’t go well either (For non-Australians: ‘pot’ + ‘schooner’ are names for glass sizes, which oddly differ between states) When I finally got my beer 2 more odd things: It tasted a lot like the yeast bombs in Victoria and another patron referred to it as ‘mother’s milk’ - presumably to endorse its distinction? Pureness? I wasn’t sure (and still aren’t) Since that time the choice of beer has broadened considerably and we seem to order schooners or pints. My experience of leadership has similarly developed. Initially it came with different labels, but was expressed very similarly. Nowadays the label ’leadership’ covers all kinds of expressions. Some are outdated. Some have a legacy that is no longer useful. Most of the newer ones are more flavourful + unique. It has progressed to the point that people have a choice and (like craft beer), many are exercising that choice. What’s your experience? Cheers 🍻 #whataboutthebeer #leadershipchoice #wheredidthepotgo

Here's why featuring modern craft ales is a winning strategy for your venue 🍻 👉 Cater to growing demand: modern keg ales are experiencing impressive growth (+2.7% YoY). 👉 Stand out from the crowd: offer something different to your competitors with unique local or national craft brews. 👉 Attract new customers: craft beer enthusiasts are constantly searching for exciting new experiences. 👉 Drive sales: a wider beer selection caters to diverse taste preferences and encourages repeat visits. Greene King Brewery's Hazy Day and Prior Life are two great examples of how you can incorporate craft ales into your venue's offering - find out more: https://bit.ly/3SH46gX Source: Molson Coors

Have you ever heard of Runza the food chain? If you have never heard of a Runza, chances are you haven't made it to Nebraska yet! You can see that my grandson is already a raving Runza fan!! Our state might not be the first place you think of for a food adventure, but let’s talk what makes Runza Restaurants so unique to the Midwest. So what makes Runza so unique and what they are best in the world at? Runza is a #Nebraska food chain and is known for its savory bread pockets filled with ground beef and cabbage and that is favorite to us Nebraskans. I would go as far to say that the Runza Sandwhich is a Nebraska Staple and also a Nebraska Game Day special. On a typical Husker football game day, there will be between 10,000 - 15,000 Runza’a sold inside Memorial Stadium. For Sage, his favorites are the Runza cheeseburger and fries. While Runza may not be recognized as the best in the world at cheeseburgers and fries, they have a loyal following in Nebraska and where they operate due to the consistent quality and taste of their menu items. In my opinion, Runza has the best cheeseburger you can get at any fast food restaurant. The fries and onion rings are also a huge hit. This picture of Sage made me think of work we do with clients when we initially start working together. ⬇️⬇️ We lay the groundwork for a: ☑️ Magnetic Vision. ☑️ Focused Strategy. ☑️ Confident Execution. If you make your way to Nebraska, give Runza a try! You can learn more about Runza here: https://lnkd.in/gE3xnB5N #uniquesellingproposition #unique #values #hedgehog #strategicplanning #vision #quality #systemandsoul

The future of wine festival customer experience is here. It doesn't matter whether you are a winery, operator, influencer, or attendee. The ability to create engaging digital experiences that support and enhance the modern wine festival experience is critical for younger, more digitally-savvy, modern wine consumers. #winefestival #winesales #winemarketing

Recommend reading for new grillers 1. How To Grill by Steven Raichlen 2. Franklin Barbecue by Aaron Franklin 3. Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue by Meathead Goldwyn 4. Rodney Scott’s World Of BBQ by Rodney Scott What would you add to the list? #bbq #burnpitbbq 

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