Beer and Marketing
Marketers are scolded by everyone, and beer marketers especially. Why? Perhaps are subconsciously jealous of them: after all, they are constantly associated with beer bars and restaurants, their beer is free and they get paid for it!
If you take it seriously, however, this profession stands a little apart and is not as simple as it seems at first glance. For starters, a marketer must understand psychology. He must understand what you want (even if you don’t suspect it) or, more often than not, make you want what he wants.
Brewers know that brewing good beer is only part of success. You have to sell it, and not just sell it, but make people love it. And magic flavor isn’t enough to do that. Two classic examples: Corona and Guinness.
Mexican Corona beer, not that it’s average, it tastes far below average… However, marketers were among the first to use clear bottles for this beer, which immediately set it apart from other brands.
This beer has a horrible smell of boiled eggs and hydrogen sulfide, but have you ever seen this beer being drunk out of a glass? – Only from a bottle! And the image of a hardcore macho man sucking beer from a bottle on a hot beach is actively promoted. Pouring this beer into a glass, you will simply suffocate from the terrible smell, which is why it is suggested to drink it from a bottle, that you do not feel the smell. Why on the beach? – Because at the beach you drink not to enjoy the rich flavor of beer, but to quench your thirst.
I am a huge fan of Guinness beer. I drink it always; I think it’s a great stout and a truly magical beer. Its first brewer, Sir Arthur Guinness, was a brilliant marketer. He realized what kind of beer people needed and created it – a light “drinkable” beer that could be sipped easily in a pub and not get drunk. “I drink strong Guinness, I’m a cool guy!” – Why is it strong?! There’s only about five degrees of alcohol in there?! – Because it’s black. And dark beer is associated with strong beer in people’s subconscious. By the way, in technological terms, this deep black (actually it is dark ruby) color hides all the errors of color and clarity of beer – they are simply not clear. And the high bitterness of this stout concentrates all your attention and does not let you think about other shades of flavor. The smell of roasted barley involuntarily takes us back to our childhood, to a browned loaf of hot bread, which seemed so delicious to us! There are stouts much richer and brighter than Guinness, but it remains the most popular.
Sir Arthur Guinness created and his marketers continue their aggressive marketing: the whole of Ireland is painted black and green, Guinness is served in almost every pub. A common religious holiday dedicated to St. Patrick was once known only on this emerald island. Marketers associated it with Guinness beer and turned it into a holiday that was celebrated all over the world. In many countries, regardless of religion, colorful parades are held on March 17. This holiday has evolved from a religious holiday to the Guinness Beer Festival!
Walk into any of the smallest kiosks in Ireland and you will come across the word Guinness. You can buy everything in Ireland, from socks and underwear to elegant suits decorated with the Guinness logo. I think that if you want, you can also buy a car with the Guinness logo on it.
St. Patrick’s Day Guinness is celebrated all over the world, but marketers decided that this is not enough and began to think about celebrating the birthday of Guinness beer, but there was a small problem – no one knows the date of the first brewing of this beer, only the year 1759 is known. But that’s what marketers are for, to turn problems into advantages.
With their helps, last several years, instead of the birthday of Guinness beer, all over the world celebrate… the birthday of its creator – Sir Arthur Guinness. On a pre-announced day in all pubs at the same time, at 17:59 (the year of the beer’s creation) Dublin time, Guinness glasses are raised with the words “To Arthur!”. Isn’t that impressive? That’s what good marketers get paid money for!