Andrew Katz’s Post

The NCAA Men’s & Women’s Basketball Tournaments brought a lot of excitement to Raleigh, North Carolina. As a craft beer enthusiast, I noticed that breweries like New Belgium Brewing, Wicked Weed Brewing, and R&D Brewing were big winners during the event. This success may be specific to the Raleigh market, but it applies to larger markets as well. Having beer on tap in the right places and keeping it in stock with wholesalers was crucial in March. These two factors helped boost sales for these breweries in the North Carolina market, elevating their H1 2024 numbers and adding to the growth they were already experiencing in Q1 2024. However, not all craft breweries were successful during the tournament. Some missed the boat by not timing their promotions in the on-premise and off-premise to activate craft beer around the NCAA events. Craft beer consumers watch sports while drinking beer, so having out-of-stocks or no representation in the on-premise could be another reason why craft breweries are starting 2024 down 25%.

**Introducing the new Heineken Beer Outdoor Transporter (B.O.T.)!** Summer is here and that means it's time to crack open a cold one without worrying about it getting warm. But wouldn't it be even better to have a cold beer delivered to you wherever you are? Enter the Heineken B.O.T. - your new favorite summer accessory. Are you ready to take your outdoor drinking game to the next level? #HeinekenBOT, #beerlovers, #summerfun, #outdoordrinking, #innovation

The Budweiser Factor It is said, "Budweiser is the second favourite beer in the world." I don't know if this is true, and I can't confirm. Also, I don't drink beer, so I don't have much data about beer to attest to this assertion. So, for the sake of this article, let's assume it's true so that we can continue talking. Why is Budweiser beer so successful? The answer lies in the statement above. While every other beer is striving to be number one, Budweiser says, "We just want to be the alternative... if you can't find what you want to drink, or you are just tired of it, get Budweiser." So whatever people choose to drink as the first option, all of them will choose Budweiser as the second option, giving it a larger market share than the first option. I know a local musician who we don't even talk about as being the best. However, they are booked about three times every week, for not less than 10pin net on each booking. That's a cool 30pin. Do you know why they are booked like that? Because, when event organisers can't get anybody the so called best, they say, "let's just get this one" They are the best alternative. Sometimes in strategy, study the best, then ask yourself, "How can I make a good alternative to them?" When I was still in Livingstone, I was surely not the best Emcee for functions. We had Pastor Buster and Pastor Michael. These two were the best. But you know what, I made myself the best alternative, and was booked almost every weekend. I was actually happy when these two got booked because I knew, any other job that will come at the same time, will be mine. Getting to the top is possible, but not easy. You can strategically aim for the second or third position, as the best alternative, and like Pepsi in the presence of Coca-cola, you too can pull a large market share. #MADTalks #kuhletrainers

What was the last successful big brand beer launch? Was it TUi? Flame? Boundary Rd? Up to you to define success. Pls comment below. This weeks newsletter includes some reminiscing about beer and when beer marketing was about getting more (fun), rather than less (carbs) Cos today the less wars stepped up a gear with the national launch of white claw. Is this the end for beer?

Athletic Brewing built a $500M company by rethinking every piece of non-alcoholic beer. From making it, to marketing it, and getting it to your doorstep. Here's the TL;DR 👇 → The company was founded by Bill Shufelt and John Walker in 2015. → They developed a new brewing method that zaps the alcohol without zapping the flavour. → They found new occasions for people to drink it. Working out? Climbing a mountain? Grab a cold one. → John showed up at marathons, handing out beer to runners. It's unexpected. And it's a hit. Huge early community builder. → They launched a beer subscription, delivering your favourites monthly. This builds habit and loads of customer data. → Athletic is always finding fun new ways to throw a brewski at you. The latest is a pre-workout cocktail. Because why not. _____ Athletic saw a neglected category, jumped in, then expanded fast. But it gets much bigger. The market for wellness products is $450B. That's where these guys are headed. A lot of people want to eat clean and cut out the alcohol. But they still want to sip something hoppy. Athletic's here for it. #marketing #branding #foodandbeverage

🟢HASHTING IN THE WILD🟢 Yesterday Amie Jackman, James Elsworth and I were out doing some "Market Research" when we stumbled across the latest Poretti campaign that the team has been working on. As a brand, your marketing touchpoints for conversion are EVERYWHERE. This is a pure example of how to win new customers at the point of consideration and one of the most effective ways to win the "first drink of the night" in this sector. Did we only have 1 Poretti? absolutely not, did we have any other brand of beer after redeeming one for free? absolutely not. If you aren't sure if your brand is making the most of all marketing touch points drop me a message and let's find out together! Hashting Carlsberg Group #ontrade #marketing #beer #poretti #marketresearch

Traditional beer sales have slumped, but non-alc brews are growing by double digits (33% in bars-restaurants and 35% in supermarkets). 45% of Gen Z says they've never had alcohol, and 41% of imbibers are trying to drink less. That's the backdrop for summer, normally the busiest time of year for beer sales. See how the currently-on-fire six-year-old Athletic Brewing Co. plans to tackle this crucial season, how its alliance with country music star Walker Hayes keeps paying off, and why it bought the first round recently for anyone asking for its brand. Check out my chat with CMO Andrew Katz here: ADWEEK #marketingandadvertising #experientialmarketing #sobercurious #sampling The New England Consulting Group Gary Stibel Kendall Toole

12 years ago this journey began. We became social media agency. One year later we became lead agency. The goal was intense: double volume and market share in 5 years. Now 12 years later the milestones are: From nr.5 to nr.1 in market share. Breaking all records with key brand KPI’s. Beating Heineken in the home market. And still growing. Sticking to the ‘For the Love of Beer’ strategy with 5 Hertog Jan brand managers in 12 years time and a military focus on brand consistency and customer experience (CX). 2016 golden Effie 2021 silver Effie 2023 golden Effie The Hertog Jan case is a perfect example of the best possible collaboration between client and agency: build on trust, perseverance, consistency and always with our eye on the business side of brand building. Not to forget lots of frustration on both sides now and then 😉. Thanks SO much Hertog Jan marketing, sales and brewer teams for making this happen together. We created a case for the marketing books. And now? Back to work and staying humble. Like the brand itself.

A view from our CEO Adrian Goldthorpe on the link between BrewDog and Tesco club card where you can earn points in restaurants... Is he getting old and is now more Tesco than Brewdog... or does he have a point about brands maturing? https://lnkd.in/ej88qSj8 .... "I'm no fan-boy of Brew Dog but to draw comparisons between them and Liquid Death is slightly unfair. BrewDog was founded in 2007... Liquid Death was founded in 2019... So BD is a whole 12 years further along in its life span... it may not seem much but when LD is only 4 years old and is therefore only a quarter of the age of BD. That will be a huge amount of time for a rapidly growing brand. BD is sold in over 55 countries... LD sold in a fair fewer... BD now has a plethora of equally crafted, niche, and in many cases disruptive brands (such as Beavertown) in the beer category LD is still the brand that is the sole disruptor in the water category. BD revenues are circa £300m LD revenues are circa £35m The truth is BrewDog is maturing, in much the same way Virgin did (do you remember when that was cool), or Ministry of Sound records, or innocent drinks (anyone else lament the loss of the Fruitstock festival). It would be amazing if they could stay as edgy as they once were, but the truth with most edgy brands is that they often capture the zeitgeist of that time and find it hard to maintain that as they age. New audiences come in for whom there is a different zeitgeist... We see this every few years in fashion and music, as well as brands. It's probably why the brands that are most enduring are the ones that are built on a true human insight rather than being too personality centric or too enemy obsessed. At LBA Branding we love references like Brewdog and Liquid Death to learn from, but we're always conscious when advising our clients which lessons can be taken into their category, business, and brand."

🍺The eyes of the world’s sports fans will be on 𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝗮𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 this summer, after the Olympic Games signed a sponsorship deal with global beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev. > The deal – which includes this year’s Paris Olympics and the 2028 games in Los Angeles – makes ABInBev the first beer brand to sponsor the event. > The company – which is the largest brewing firm in the world - has particularly highlighted its 0.5% ABV beer Corona Cero as “the beer of choice for the partnership”. 💬 “The low-alcohol space is a great opportunity,” ABInBev CEO Michel Doukeris told CNBC. 🔬LGC AXIO Proficiency Testing’s 𝗕𝗔𝗣𝗦 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲 has supported the world’s leading breweries for more than 35 years, and now features dedicated low- and no-alcohol beer samples. Click here to explore now: https://okt.to/fyXNBU #DrivingQualityTogether #ScienceForASaferWorld #ChemicalAnalysis #ProficiencyTesting