@HeyBeerDan
  • WHO IS "HeyBeerDan?"
  • TITLE INDEX to all articles
  • CONTACT HeyBeerDan

Five years ago, we said: "Bet on it." If you did, you won... big.

12/22/2017

 
Picture
So proclaimed Beer Marketers Insights this week, announcing that Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids, Michigan had joined the ranks of the top-ten craft beers in America... with a bang!

​Founders has been posting double-digit growth numbers for some time, and this year it recorded the largest volume gain of any craft brewery. The vast majority of this remarkable growth arose from a single offering: All Day IPA Session Ale.
Picture
The envy of every craft brewery
No doubt, as the BMI article mentioned, some of this achievement was the result of Founders innovative move to bring the brand to market in 15-packs, with pricing at or slightly below many craft brands' 12-packs. Similarly, the infusion of capital from Founders sale of 30% of its equity to the Spanish brewing giant, Mahou-San Miguel Group, played a role, too. But while both may have helped, there's a far more consequential reason for All Day's success. Indeed, without this marketing idea, no amount of pricing cleverness or capital-raising would've mattered.
Picture"Been done before" isn't always a bad thing
Founders All Day enjoyed a sine qua non (without this, nothing) marketing advantage from its inception. We said as much when we featured the brand and made our prediction nearly five years ago. How could we be so confident? Easy. The session IPA product idea arose from a category need that existed long before Founders was... um, founded. That need--to be able to consume more beer without losing one's edge--had been the powerhouse marketing idea behind highly successful brands like Schaefer's ("The one beer to have when you're having more than one") and Coors Light ("No slowin' down with the Silver Bullet.") Bringing this "extended-consumption benefit" to craft beer was arguably an even more powerful notion since most craft brands were high alcohol and heavy-tasting, two features that compromise the multiple-beer experience. This strategic opportunity was there for any craft brewery to grab, but only Founders was sharp enough to take full advantage of it.

To be sure, the Founders folks created a wonderful beer with lower alcohol levels (4.7% ABV) to deliver on the session-ale promise. Its slight hint of grapefruit flavor even suggests the summer peak selling season vibe. We would never minimize the role of product quality in a brand's success. That said, there are way more quality products out there than there are brands posting Founders kind of success. The difference? Founders identified and delivered on a key, proven benefit others had simply abandoned. And their "All Day" brand name registered product distinctiveness beautifully. When we spotted their insight and their execution, we were confident enough they had a winner to conclude our 2013 article with "Bet on it."

​Yes, we're patting ourselves on the back here. But more important, we're patting Founders on the back for a classic marketing success that has rocked the craft beer category.


Picture

Comments are closed.

    Subscribe to New-article updates from HeyBeerDan

    * Note: Certain video links may not function in emailed articles.
    Picture

    The Author

    Dan Fox is a real beer guy.

    For more than half his 30-year career at ad agency, Foote, Cone & Belding, he ran the Coors Brewing account. Leading a group of dozens of advertising professionals, Dan also personally wrote the Pete Coors "Somewhere near Golden, Colorado" commercials, designed the Coors NASCAR graphics, authored sales-convention speeches, and most important of all, formulated marketing strategy for virtually every Coors brand, including Coors Light, Keystone, Killian's Irish Red and more. His proudest achievement? "Our team had every Coors brand growing at once."

    Over his advertising career, Dan was personally involved in the analysis, planning and creation of thousands of ads for a variety of products and services. By way of this blog, he freely shares his expertise about what works, and what doesn't, when it comes to selling beer.

    If you're in the beer-marketing business--or just interested in the subject--you may want to read what "HeyBeerDan" has to say.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.