To continue building momentum, MillerCoors is increasing marketing spending in 2011 by $50 million. Imagine that...a product that is gaining market share by increasing its marketing spending. Funny how that works! But I digress.
While the major breweries are duking it out at the top of the mountain, it seems the real action is in the micro-brew or "craft beer" scene. According to the Brewers Association, which recently reported that while overall beer sales were off by 1% in 2010, "beer sales [for craft breweries] jumped from $7 billion in 2009 to $7.6 billion in 2010. The number of barrels sold by craft brewers rose from 8.9 million in 2009 to nearly 10 million in 2010."
Portfolio.com, cites several reasons for the increase in craft beer sales: "For people who can no longer afford a luxury vacation, the ability to treat themselves to a tasty local beer for just a few dollars more is a reward they still can afford, said Todd Usry, Breckenridge Brewery director." Additionally, "At a time when large corporations are laying people off and becoming less relatable to average Americans, craft breweries are still seen as a local product and member of the community, said Eric Wallace, president of Left Hand Brewing Co. of Longmont."
It has become very chic and trendy to drink craft beer. Sitting on a stool in a bar asking for a Bud Light, when a slew of micro brews are on the menu, is often viewed as conservative and perenially "unhip". Craft beer is to the brewery world, what Mac is to the home computer world.
Is this a sustainable trend? Who knows? But if the big boys don't figure out how to put themselves back on the socially "in" column, you can bet that major brands will continue to see a drop in sales.
Though overall, craft beer sales still only make up about 4.3% of U.S. beer sales by volume.
I'll leave you with some fun beer drinking factoids pulled from a recent Advertising Age study:
• Craft beer drinkers spend more time thinking about beer than work
• Fans of Budweiser are 42 percent more likely to drive a truck than the average person
• Bud Light drinkers are 34 percent more likely to shun organic products
• Michelob Ultra drinkers are conceited, while those who drink Heineken are posers
• Blue Moon consumers are 77 percent more likely to own Macs and a whopping 105 percent more likely than the average person to drive a hybrid
• Corona drinkers are 38 percent more likely to own three or more flat screen TVs
Now, I'm in the mood for a cold one. Give me a Michelob Ultra...(heh), I mean a Dirty Dan's Mean Ale, please!
