BMTC20: Opening Keynote – Collaborating to Compete: Working Together to Enhance Beer Tourism

Dr. Neil Reid (The Beer Professor) will take us through current research on beer tourism, including who is traveling for beer and what their motivations area. He will use this research to provide suggested ideas you can employ at home to grow beer tourism at your own business or region. Finally, Dr. Reid will discuss an example from outside the beer industry in how various competing entities can cooperate to grow tourism. Dr. Reid is a Professor of Geography and Planning at the University of Toledo, with a specialty in local economic development. Since 2014, Professor Reid has been researching the growth of the craft brewing industry in the United States and its potential role in helping to revitalize neighborhood economies. To date he has published over a dozen journal articles and book chapters on the economic geography of craft brewing. Professor Reid authors a blog about the beer industry (www.thebeerprofessor.com).

Transcript

1. Collaborating to Compete: Working Together to Enhance Beer Tourism Neil Reid University of Toledo 1 Heist Brewery, Charlotte, NC
2. Outline 2 Demographics and Behaviors of Beer Tourists Who are the beer tourists? Attracting Beer Tourists Getting beer tourists to visit (and revisit) your community Collaborating to Compete Working together to enhance beer tourism
4. Who are the Beer Tourists? Heist Brewery, Charlotte, NC 4
5. Craft Beer Tourists – General Profile 5 Male (60-66% are male) Under age of 50 (75%-84%) Have at least a Bachelor’s degree (60%- 80%) Have average household income of $80,000 or higher (45%-49%) Desire to taste local beer, taste new beer, visit new breweries, and increase their beer knowledge Source: Plummer at al. 2005, Kraftchick et al. 2014, Murray and Kline 2015, Giedeman et al. 2105, Slocum 2018
6. Beer Tourists Have Money ~45% have household incomes >$80,000 (Grand Rapids Study) 6
7. They take Short Trips • Average length of stay • 1.6 nights (GR) • 1.8 nights (PTY-2019) • 95% of trips are 2 nights or less (GR) • 26% day trips • 35% - 1 night • 34% - 2 nights 7
8. Beer Tourists Come From Nearby 8 Source: Anderson Economic Group, 2019
9. Grand Rapids Beer Tourist Origins • 75% came from Michigan • 10% came from Kent and Ottawa Counties • 65% from elsewhere in Michigan • 25% came from outside of Michigan 9
10. Pliny the Younger Release • 83% were from California (PTY 2016) 10
11. They travel in small groups • Most travel in groups of 2 or 4 (GR) • Average party size 3 (PTY - 2019) Hair of the Dog Brewery, Portland, OR
12. The Craft Beer Drinker 12 Source: Carpenter at al. 2013 Explorer • Not interested in educating themselves on craft beer • Wants to try new styles and flavors • Makes an effort to visit many breweries • Experience of going to the brewery is second only to the quality of the beer Enthusiast • Strong appreciation for the brewing process and its history • Strives to educate themselves on all aspects of the industry • Wants to try new styles and flavors • Makes an effort to visit many breweries Loyalist • Loyal to certain beers or brands • Know what they like • Does not strive to try new styles and flavors • Convenience important – local retailers Novice • New to the craft beer scene • Learning about craft beer • Influenced by friends
13. Beer Tourist Motivations • Experience North Carolina craft beer • Taste new beer • Increase my beer knowledge • Enjoy the entertainment • Get away for the weekend/day • Relieve stress • Food tasting • Be with friends & family • Meet people with similar interest • Buy beer • Get drunk The Craft Brewery Experience (27.1%) Socializing (9.8%) Relaxation (15.4%) Beer Consumption (9.7%) Source: Kraftchick et al. 2014 Protagonist Brewing, Charlotte, NC 13
14. The Prize is Big • Grand Rapids • Total Economic Impact $38.5 million • $9.9 million in earnings in Grand Rapids • Beer Tourist spending supported 378 jobs 14
15. To Summarize • Beer Tourists • Have money to spend • Are well educated • Take short trips • Travel in small groups • Are excited about tasting YOUR beer in YOUR breweries 15 Twin Oast Brewing, Port Clinton, OH
16. Getting Beer Tourists to Visit (and Revisit) Your Community Twin Oast Brewery, Port Clinton, OH 16
17. Market to the Local Region • Most beer tourists travel short distances • Focus your efforts on people living within say a 150 mile radius 17
18. Focus on Short Stay Visitors • Most beer tourists visit a location only for a few days • Emphasize your community as an ideal place for a “weekend getaway” 18
19. Emphasize Number & Diversity of Breweries • Craft beer tourists love to visit as many breweries as possible • Emphasize the number and diversity of breweries (and the ease of traveling between them) • Walking, Biking, Uber? • If you have a brewery district, market it 19
20. Market complementary activities 20 Iron Horse Winery, Sebastopol, CA Source: Sonoma County EDB Pliny The Younger Release, 2016
21. Focus on Getting Repeat Visitors • Last 12 months • 60% of beer tourists had visited Grand Rapids before • Of that 60% • 23% had visited once • 29% had visited twice • 15% had visited three times • 23% had visited 6 or more times 21
22. To Summarize • Market regionally • Emphasize short-stay (“weekend getaway”) trips • Emphasize the number and diversity of breweries • Market complementary activities • Think about ways to encourage repeat visits 22 Railroad City Brewing, Altoona, PA
23. Collaborating to Compete 23 Casual Animal Brewing, Kansas City, MO
24. Why Collaborate? • “Collaboration is the process of two or more people or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal” (Wikipedia) • Do things collectively that you could not do individually • We collaborate to • find creative solutions • to leverage our existing assets • attract more beer tourists • improve the quality of the beer tourist's experience 24
25. Why collaboration does not happen? • Not quite sure what it means • Do not see potential benefits • What’s in it for me? • Lack of • Time • Money • Expertise • Trust 25
26. Collaboration – A Core Value 26
27. Craft Brewing is Highly Collaborative 27
28. Northwest Ohio Greenhouse Industry (2003-2011) • To work with greenhouse industry to help them address competitive challenges • International competition • Stagnant market • Ageing infrastructure and technology • High energy costs • Organized the industry as an industrial cluster, with heavy emphasis on collaboration • Identify a common problem (and opportunity) • Identify a solution to problem • Implement the solution to problem • Measure the impact 28
29. Identify Common Problem and Opportunity • Problem • No identifiable market brand • Lack of strategic marketing • Opportunity • Latent market demand 29
30. Identify Solution • Establish a industry- wide brand identity • Develop an industry-wide marketing strategy based on brand identity 30
31. Implement the Solution 31
32. Measure the Impact • 70.3% of growers – collaborating had helped them attract new customers • 60% of the growers (2009) were optimistic about the future of their business as a result of collaborative efforts - Compares with 27% in 2004 • Growers developed a more nuanced understanding of their primary customers 32
33. Breweries – Have a Conversation 33
34. Strategic Doing • What could we do? • What are all the possible opportunities before us, based on the resources that we currently have • What should we do? • We can’t do everything • What will we do? • Low hanging fruit • Best ROI • What’s our 30/30? • What are we going to do before we meet again 30 days from now? 34 Source: Purdue University
35. Key Issues • What opportunities for collaboration exist? • Collaborations between breweries • Brewery trails • Festivals • Beer Week • Collaborations with non-breweries • Who else needs to be at the table? • Who are your potential partners? • What are the low hanging fruit? 35
36. Key Issues • Attraction & Retention (or return visitors) • How can we increase the number of beer tourists? • Reaching new markets • Geographically • Demographically • How can we enhance the experience of beer tourists? 36 Birdsong Brewing Company Charlotte, NC
37. Brand Identity is Critical 37 • A promise to the consumer • Quality, not cost, makes you more attractive What is a brand? • “Authentic and Adventurous” • “Sophisticated and Refined” Choose your messaging carefully
38. Non-brewery Collaborations? 38
39. Non-brewery Collaborations? 39 Source: Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance
40. You are a network, not an organization 40
41. To Summarize • Collaboration • Allows you to do new things • Think in terms of both brewery and non-brewery collaborations • Think broadly and then focus – could, should, will • Begin with an “easy win” • Having a strong brand identity is important • Requires effort and patience 41 Grizzly Peak Brewing Company Ann Arbor, MI
42. Thank you and Cheers (from a beer tourist) 42 Hong Kong Hawaii Amsterdam Ankara Palermo Vienna Tokyo Auckland Berlin Dublin ⼲杯 Cheers Proost Şerefe Cheers Salute! Prost Prost 乾杯 Sláinte