Thursday, March 17, 2016

Event Planning and Taste Testing



The opportunity to view presentations from various beverage companies as they pitch their products for various events is exciting and very fun. Seeing what new products are coming on the market, how their pair new beverages with different promotions from taste testers to venue decorations and signage or social media promotion codes is very interesting as different markets will respond to different methods or communication and encouragement.

Whilst a singular representative may pitch for several drinks for a singular venue or event the different beverages will all come with different promotion angles.  Beverages that need to replace a common standard of a bar will often be provided in greater numbers so many can be given away as samples on popular nights this method is particularly popular with competition for the standard light beer in most bars which is cascade premium light. By offering samples of products patrons are encouraged to try something new and to not simply name the first light beer or non-full strength option they think of if this is their preference or they are driving.

Beverages targeted at a younger market are often promoted through social media with competitions or passwords posted on social media that can then be entered in house once a drink is purchased or an image with the new beverage is posted and tagged with the suitable hashtag. These images then spread awareness of new drinks and act as promotional images for a product. The upside of this kind of promotion is that friends of entrants will see images and fee like the product recommendation is coming from a reliable and trusted source.

Company representatives present sales histories and market research based off of various taste tests and promotions in other markets in order to sway businesses into featuring new drinks at bars and events. The best aspect of these presentations is often the taste-testing portion in which small samples of new drinks are provided for potential clientele to experience and judge on appropriateness for their venue or event.

Ash







1 comment:

Unknown said...

I found this blog post really interesting, Ash. I'd never really thought about it, but it's definitely true that brand recognition plays a big part in alcohol sales.

I remember on an episode of Gruen Transfer (it's an ABC show on advertising if you haven't seen it) they were discussing how Bundaberg rum used the "Bundy Bear" character in their advertisements because the bear appealed to kids. It was thought that when these kids were then old enough to drink, they'd choose Bundaberg rum because of their positive childhood memories of the Bundy Bear ads.

What do you think about this, having worked in a related industry? Is it ethical to target alcohol PR and advertising at future-drinkers? Do you think this happens more than we realise?