The strategy behind Beavertown Brewery's success

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INTRODUCTION

Want to know what Brits really love? Beer. It is the reason we drink over 42,000 million pints a year. It is also the reason the craft brewery business has boomed over the last ten years, with 1,000s of new brands being crafted (see what I did there). But in this increasingly competitive category, how do you not just not survive, but thrive? Well, let me show you the strategy behind one of the coolest brands in Britain right now…Beavertown Brewery.

#1 BE STICKY

To say that the craft beer category has boomed in recent years is an understatement. Sales volume has doubled over the last ten years and 1,000s of new brands have appeared on the scene. While Beavertown does many brilliant things to stand out in this increasingly competitive category…they have mastered one thing better than most. They are ‘sticky’. No, the beer isn’t sticky, I’m talking about there marketing!

The best brands understand that consumers think ‘category first and brand second’. When it comes to beer, for example, they think “I fancy a beer’ and only then do a list of brands come to mind (e.g. Beavertown, Brewdog, Heinken). The best brands understand this and the fact that if you want to win, you need to be sticky. You need to stick in people’s minds and become top of mind, when people are ready to buy. If you want to know more about this topic I highly recommend reading a short & very popular LinkedIn post I wrote on this topic.

Beavertown has mastered the art of being ‘sticky’ in two ways. First, their name is a bit ‘weird’ and therefore more memorable than most other beer brands. In a similar way to Google & Etsy, their name is somewhat confusing when first heard…but this confusion & weirdness enables the brand to be more easily remembered. Why? Well, its uniqueness & the extra effort needed for the brain to process it makes it more likely to stick in our brains.

The second thing Beavertown does, and is perhaps most famous for, is its iconic brand identity. Today quirky craft brewery brands are fairly common but back when Beavertown launched their approach was bold, different and distinctive. This helped them stand out on shelf and in people’s minds.

#2 BUILD WORLDS, NOT GUIDELINES

Having worked with many types of brands, from some of the world’s biggest to punchy challenger brands, I see one mistake come up time & time again. Too often they become held back (ironically) by their brand identity. They become so beholden to their brand guidelines that they prevent themselves from creating the most impactful brand world. Beavertown, however, opts for a more effective consistent & flexible to their brand world.

This approach has allowed them to create a bold, distinctive and amazingly creative brand world. Just spend a few seconds looking at the example of their cans below. You can see that whilst each can is flexible in design they still share consistent elements (i.e. skull character, font & orange brand colour).

This flexible brand world also enables Beavertown to approach partnerships in a more effective manner. Any marketer who works for a scaleup or challenger brand will know that partnerships with bigger brands present both an opportunity & a challenge. On the other hand, they enable the smaller brand to ‘borrow’ reach & fame from the bigger brand. However, at the same time, there is always the threat that the bigger brand might ‘drown out’ your smaller brand. Beavertown’s flexible brand world enables them to avoid such problems. How? Well every time they partner with a bigger brand, such as Tottenham Football Club or London Symphony Orchestra, they are able to bring the brand into their own world. A world filled with Beavertown’s distinctive characters, colours and fonts. This helps to prevent them from being drowned out & ensures there maximize on the bigger brands reach and fame.

COMMUNITY SHOUT OUT

The final section of this week’s edition will focus on building fans…but before I do that I want to give a shout-out to a fan of this newsletter. This week’s shout goes to the brilliant James Phillips. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this you total legend 🙏.

Want to get a shout-out to thousands of CEOs, CMOs & founders? Simply reshare this week’s newsletter on Linkedin & Twitter and tag me. I know many readers of this newsletter work for other agencies and so might be reluctant to do so, but please don’t let that hold you back.

#3 BUILD FANS, NOT CONSUMERS

The truth is consumer loyalty doesn’t really exist. In truth, there is a limit to how many toilet rolls we need to buy a month. Or how many beers we want or can safely drink in a week. Yet whilst ‘behavioural’ loyalty might not exist, ‘attitudinal’ loyalty or advocacy certainly does. And when it comes to challenger brands or scale-ups the idea of advocacy can be hugely powerful.

Beavertown understands the power of advocacy and they do many brilliant things to build an army of loyal fans. Fans will go on to talk about the brand. Fans that will share the brands. Fans who, sometimes, even get tattoos about the brand.

Beavertown has a number of clever levers they pull to fuel this fandom. First, they create merch fans are proud to wear…from stickers to arguably the most stolen beer pint glass in England. Second, the brand is inclusive and invites fans in to interact with the brand - whether it be through events or social content that enables fans to draw their favourite Beavertown characters.

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CONCLUSION

No matter whether you are in the alcohol category or not, Beavertown can teach any brand three important lessons. First, always aim to be sticky and memorable in your consumer’s minds. Second, don’t be held back by your goddamn playbook!… adopt a more consistent AND flexible approach. Third, think about how you can unleash advocacy and get people to share your brand.

Will Poskett,
Founder of Defiant