Clayton Fowler
10/23/14
MKTG 4340
Dr. Blodgett

New Belgium Case

1) Rather than use focus groups to test its branding and messaging, New Belgium used insiders in the bike community and brewery friends who had a personal history and knowledge of the brand. Evaluate this decision. Should New Belgium have used the more traditional approach to ensure the widest possible input to its marketing strategy? Discuss.

Jeff Lebesch came back to Colorado with the idea to produce high quality beer and began experimenting in the basement of his home, he never anticipated owning the seventh largest brewery in the nation with sales of over 700,000 barrels of beer per year. With this being said, I highly doubt that Jeff and his wife Kim had the financial stability allowing them to spend money to market a home brewed beer that could have potentially failed. Jeff may have faced a little biased reaction from brewery friends and insiders in the biking community who knew what the brand stood for, but in the long run the “word of mouth” method works to their benefit and saved them countless amount of money. Some might say that people who already know the business can only help elaborate it, where people who are unaware of the business can bring new ideas to the table, but I believe that Jeff and his wife executed their marketing strategy the best to their ability.

2) New Belgium’s focus on sustainability, whimsy, and fun is clearly rooted in its Colorado-based culture and the ethos of its founders and employees. As New Belgium’s distribution continues to expand away from that locale, how can the company make its branding and messaging resonate with consumers in different parts of the country? Discuss

Currently NBB is distributed across twenty-eight states and is in the process of expanding their beer into new states by using a seventy-page manifesto created by Dr. Douglas Holt, a cultural branding expert. Also they have teamed up with a New York advertising agency called Amalgamated creating a ten million dollar campaign for NBB. In 2007 NBB decided to expand their marketing segment by using different social media sites.
A cheap and efficient way NBB could expand their brand and messaging resonate with customers is by traveling to different states meeting with current and potential customers at different biking festivals, sharing their story with the community. NBB could also set up booths at these events handing out samples of different beers and conduct surveys to gain knowledge on which current and new beers to distribute in each state.

3) Currently, New Belgium has been much more successful using social media than competitors Boston Brewing Co. and Sierra Nevada. Evaluate how social media has contributed to the firm’s marketing strategy, and make suggestions for the use of social media in the future. Discuss.

Since 2007 when NBB began using social media they have gone the extra mile spending nearly $235,000 to expand their business in hopes of reaching out to their customers, and inform them about local events. Successfully reaching out to their customers through the use of Facebook NBB has estimated their 400,000 Facebook fans to be the cause of $50.7 million in sales. Currently NBB has thirty-eight pages across twenty-eight states allowing their sales team to focus attention to what they are doing in each local area. In 2012 NBB spent one million dollars to promote their four seasons beer throughout print, social media, mobile ads, and radio stations. NBB uses their social media site to interact with customers by posting different stories from customers online and even on the side of Flat Tire bottles.
With this many fans on Facebook I think that NBB should use their Instagram account to hold a weekly competition or search for the best picture over the weekend. Every Monday NBB could post the picture of the winner on their Facebook and Instagram page. Also, a mobile app that has pictures, different flavors, alerts them of upcoming events, etc would also be a great idea to keep their fans aware.

4) Check out NBB’s website, its Facebook, and YouTube channel. Having looked these over, what are your perceptions of New Belgium Brewing? Are your perceptions consistent with what you read in the case, or different? Discuss.

After looking at New Belgium Brewing’s Facebook page, website, and Youtube channel I was able to get a better perception of what they are trying to do with their business and the way they want to be perceived by customers. While visiting NBB Facebook page I was very impressed by the way that they interact with their customers by commenting, posting pictures, and putting customer feedback on the left side of the page. If I was a loyal fan of NBB beer this would be a page I would visit on the daily basis to stay updated.
NBB website layout is very organized and allows their customers a plain sight of all the upcoming events, new beers that will be offered, the Grand CRU Rewards program, and tour dates and times available. All of the options you have to choose from on their website are different ways to benefit the customer, proving that NBB main priority is serving their customers. In attempts to improve connection through social media I noticed that NBB has posted links to their social media sites in plain view.
The Youtube channel brings viewers in by making them laugh and creates bonds between the customers and employees through different tours and company gatherings. After reading the case study and viewing the businesses social media sites my perceptions about the company are consistent for the most part, although one issue comes to my attention that NBB does not cover very well. In the case study five pages are dedicated to how NBB is dedicated to the environment and society but on their Facebook page I saw absolutely nothing. Their store website does have a section about bettering the environment but it does not portray the importance like the book did.