Verhoeven had recently bought a number smaller craft breweries in an attempt to expand their market. All these newly acquired craft breweries required their own advertising strategies, and on top of that there was the ongoing work on Verhoeven’s existing lines.
He was aware of a backlash another big beer company had experienced by marketing their so-called craft beers as such, claiming they were locally made and so on when they really weren’t.
“Verhoeven wants us to target Millennials,” Scott said. “Which I don’t disagree with.”
“Stats show that cohort is less likely to drink beer than Gen Xers.”
Scott frowned.
“But,” Levi continued. “Nearly half of all craft beers are drunk by Millennials. Millennials are more adventurous. When it comes to craft beers, they’re more likely to try something new.”
“How the hell do you know all this?” Scott fixed a narrow-eyed gaze on him.
Levi smirked inwardly. Scott thought he knew more about beer than him. “I did some research,” he said casually.
“I guess that’s true,” Scott said slowly. “My dad drinks the same kind of beer he did when he was in his twenties. That’s all he drinks. Ever. I take over a new kind of beer for him to try and he drinks one bottle, says it’s good, and goes back to his Bud Light.”
“Right. So Millennials are more adventurous. I get that. I’m a Millennial.” Levi rolled his eyes. “Or close, anyway. I haven’t picked one kind of beer and stuck to it. I like to try new things.”
“As we clearly saw yesterday.” Scott smirked.
Levi wasn’t sure whether to laugh or punch him. He decided to laugh. “Fuck you.” He shook his head. “We need to reach Millennials through a combination of traditional and social media. Not just billboards and magazine ads.”
“I know that.” Scott frowned.
“Of course you do,” Levi said easily. “Just saying.”
“We need to build their loyalty.” Scott held up a Sharpie he was using to doodle on the notebook in front of him. “How do we reconcile that adventurous attitude with getting them to stick with our brands?”
“Great question. Even when they do commit to a brand, they’re still interested in trying new things. But considering how many craft beers Verhoeven has now, they could try a new one every day for…well, a long time.”
“I’m not sure of the exact numbers either, but yeah.”
Levi scribbled some notes to himself. That was a point he wanted to spend more time thinking about. “Last year craft beers were the only beer category that had double digit growth in sales. Despite the higher prices.”
Scott met his eyes with a challenging glare. “And nearly half the growth was from new drinkers, which was way up from the year before.”
Yeah, yeah, you did some research too. I got it.
They continued to throw out random facts, trying to best each other. Thank Christ he’d stayed late last night to do some research.
“We know that craft beer drinkers expect a brewery to have numerous beers, not just one,” Levi said.
“Seasonal beers,” Scott said. “Lighter for summer. Different ones for fall and winter.”
“Why do people drink craft beers?” Levi posed the question as he picked up some notes he’d made. “Fifty percent of people polled said they like to experiment with different flavors. Forty-six percent said they bought craft beers because they taste better.”
Scott snorted. “Well, duh.”
Levi smiled. “Thirty-six percent said they buy craft beers as a treat, sometimes as a gift.”
“Definitely more impressive than a dozen light beer if you’re giving someone a gift.”
“Eighty percent of craft beers are drunk by white consumers in the twenty- to forty-five-year-old age bracket. The majority earn at least fifty grand a year and are college-educated.”
“Meaning growth is with multicultural and lower income beer drinkers.”
“Possibly.” Levi did a doodle of his own. “So white male Millennials and Gen Xers are the number one consumers of craft beers. Our natural tendency is to market to that group, but there’s still potential in other groups. What about women?”
“We’ll never target a beer campaign to women. No client will ever go there.” He gave him a you-are-an-idiot look.
Levi agreed inside, but shrugged. He knew better than to rule anything out in the early stages. “Consumption by women is about a quarter of all beer consumption. It’s not growing, but there are indicators that women are more interested in beer. Especially craft beer.”
Scott shook his head. “Okay, I’ll give you that. But anything marketed to women is the kiss of death. Women hate that shit.”