It’s the perfect Saturday afternoon, and you’ve stopped to pick up some beer on your way to a barbecue. There in the store, you decide you’ll show up with something different, fresh and cool.
But what to choose?
MillerCoors hopes you’ll grab Colorado Native, a new craft-style beer that it’s trying to break through the clutter with. Which you might, if: you’d tried it previously; taken a picture of the SnapTag on the bottle with your camera phone; answered a few questions over a text message survey; then received local, brew-related tips and messages from Colorado Native.
“The SnapTag technology allows us to have thousands of individual, one-on-one conversations with our consumers and provide them with information that’s relevant to them and share that information with other natives,” said Glenn Knippenberg, president of Colorado Native’s brewing company, AC Golden. “Ultimately, they’ll define the brand for us.”
MillerCoors is testing the new beer only in Colorado, for now. It could capitalize on the attraction to trying new products. As Americans’ palates have developed, microbrews’ sales have increased. Even the macrobreweries like MillerCoors have grass-roots hits, such as Blue Moon. After a slow launch in 1995, Blue Moon sales recently picked up, rising 14% in 2009. Attribute that to the power of word-of-mouth for the self-proclaimed “artfully crafted” beer.
But, can MillerCoors quicken the catching-on of Colorado Native with SnapTags?
Traditionally, marketing efforts for craft brews have taken off at events like beer tasting festivals or in print media recommendations, such as Maxim’s Top Beers list.
Social marketing begs a time investment from consumers. However, consumers benefit from messages on topics they like, if they’re willing to join in conversation with the brand. MillerCoors is hoping to stimulate “discovery” of Colorado Native instead of using the heavy-handed, commercial approach.
Would you take a picture of Colorado Native’s SnapTag before your first sip?
Susan Monahan is a graduate student in Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern and a VitaminIMC blogger. Though Colorado is great, she still thinks Portland, Oregon, is the #1 brewing town. Contact her at susanmonahan2010@u.northwestern.edu.
