The Beer Marketing Awards exist to celebrate excellence in, and facilitate the continual improvement of, beer marketing at all levels.
Why?
Because we love beer, and recognise the importance of marketing to its success.
Whether you’re a mainstream lager brand creating a large scale TV campaign or a microbrewer pouring your creativity into social media, in the modern market it’s not enough to simply brew a great beer – it needs to be communicated and presented to the drinker in the most compelling and attractive way possible.
And we don’t feel the need to apologise for marketing. We don’t believe it’s a dirty word, or that it compromises the integrity of a beer.
Beer ads pioneered creativity and humour in British advertising. Beer sponsorship of sports has shown how sponsors can add value rather than simply plastering an event with logos. Brewers have put the ‘social’ into social media, and created events that remind us that the most important part of drinking beer is having a great time with friends.
All these aspects are vital to beer’s ongoing prosperity as it faces challenges from all corners.
And there’s never been a better time to celebrate beer marketing. Obviously bigger brands have bigger budgets, but that’s no longer the only thing that matters. The categories in these awards reflect the truth that creativity is more important than budget, that digital media and growing consumer interest in microbreweries have levelled the playing field, that a Twitter campaign can create as much noise as a cinema ad or music festival sponsorship.
These awards seek to celebrate all the above, to champion both traditional and new advertising, to inspire all brewers, from the world’s largest corporation to the smallest rural microbrewer.
Because whatever the differences between brewers, the things that unite us are more important. These awards are an opportunity for brewers to meet and compare campaigns – and also to enjoy a beer and meet new people in the industry.
The Beer Marketing Awards are a celebration of beer, because beer deserves it.