Hello all,
Today I will be again talking about my two favourite things in the world: advertising, and beer! Today the discussion is about listening to the groundswell, and finding out what the heck people are talking about on the internet. So, because I love to emphasize local talent from Edmonton, and everything they do. I have chosen Alley kat brewery( http://www.alleykatbeer.com/) my topic of discussion, and how I think they could utilize their listening caps in a positive way towards their business.
Now when wanting to learn about how to market a business through the right media channels, people often want to know what is effective, as well as what is ineffective. Companies will often use methods such as market research, surveys, and focus groups that they believe will give them insight as to what a consumer prefers. I believe these methods can be effective when trying to find out simple things about what colour they prefer, or what they don’t like about the shape of it simple things like that used in a product. When I’m looking at a consumer I would much rather see their emotional appeal to a product. Such as if that colour reminds them of a happy nostalgic memory, or a certain status that one would feel when using the product(i.e. champagne). This leads me to my point that I believe that companies should strive for content awareness where the consumer tells you how they feel about a product rather than finding out through market research if it has a higher use in the demographic of 18-24 year old. Marketing research can be effective, but definitely nowhere near as much as consumers who generate or listen to content. These people are the ones who are your brand ambassadors, and these are the ones you need to influence.
Now to get down to brass tax. I have found alley kat’s website to be fun, interactive, and overall just informative as to what the brewery does to be a part of the community. When I have looked at their social media I have found it to be excellent. It keeps their fans up to date about what’s going on and how they can get involved.
Saying that there is always room for improvement. What I have always found to be influential in marketing is what helps differentiate yourself from the competitors. Alley kat doesn’t have a social media offering that really is different compared with others. Although they really should. They are part of the Edmonton home brewer’s guild, as well as many other Edmonton institutions. What would be influential for Alley kat would be to listen to what their consumers are using to generate content. Unfortunately I can’t’ find information on who frequents their site I believe it to be predominantly young beer lovers. An application that they can use for this demographic that I have found to stand out is called untappd(http://untappd.com)
What this application allows beer enthusiasts to do is state where they are, and what they are drinking. Untappd offers a great social media platform that allows beer lovers to connect with one another, through reviews, types, and local breweries in different areas. This application offers Alley Kat a ticket into the niche market they have already built, which is people who care about what is put into their beer; and influence them before competitors. By offering a feed or highlighting this application Alley kat is offering people who are interested in their product to discuss, and follow the company in a new unique way.
Other methods that I would love to see Alley Kat or any other microbrewery do in the future is to create a private online community such as the ones they use on communispace (http://www.communispace.com), that offer online communities to followers of brands. As far as I can tell they have not made a site for a brewery so i think that is an excellent area to branch out.
Alastair Lillico 