On the coast

Adnams' award-winning advertising campaign has scored the brewer points with licensees. Adam Withrington reports on its 'poster to pub' wisdom.

Suffolk family brewer Adnams has enjoyed much success in the last few years. Under the stewardship of maverick chairman Simon Loftus it has seen an improved pub estate, growing beer volumes and the growth of an impressive wine wholesale business.

Simon has attracted a whole range of people from the retail world to the business, such as sales director Andy Wood (who will take over as managing director next year) and marketing director Steve Curzon. It is something which they believe has really given them an edge over the competition.

A recent example of this edge has been the Southwold brewer's "Beer from the Coast" advertising campaign.

Launched in September 2003, it has won several awards, including two at Campaign magazine's Poster Advertising Awards. However, more important than any award has been its success in driving volume through its estate and in the free-trade.

This is of course the desired effect of any advertising campaign by a brand owner but what is interesting is how licensee-focused the campaign is. From the inception of "Beer from the Coast" Adnams has had the licensee in mind. While it is common for brand owners to have marketing campaigns directly targeted at licensees, it is very rare for top line advertising to be so directly linked with licensees' businesses. The target for Adnams from the beginning was for the campaign to "add value to the tenant" and the mantra of the campaign has always been to drive traffic "from poster to pub".

It is a refreshing change to hear about such a pro-pub advertising campaign because one thing that is really upsetting licensees at the moment is the very obvious and growing shift of adult drinkers from the pub to the home.

There is a real onus on drinks brands owners to attract people back to the pub market. Yet what we are actually seeing is a growing number of TV advertising campaigns that are set in the domestic environment. Both Carling and WKD have recently released adverts showing that the place to enjoy their product is in the home.

Karen Salters, marketing director of WKD owners Beverage Brands, says the company has no strategy to target the take-home market. "The apparent focus on the off-trade is not intentional," she says. "We've done 22 creatives over recent years and 16 of them have no scenario at all."

Liam Newton, brands director at Interbrew UK, owner of Stella Artois, doesn't believe that setting is of any importance. "I'm not a big fan of ads that are set in either the on or off-trade. The focus has to be the consumer and not the location," he argues. "Otherwise it's just wallpaper and gets missed by the consumer. Look at other categories - like Walkers' crisps adverts. They are not targeted at either the on or off-trade. I think where the advert is set is a bit of a red herring."

Despite what they say, the fact is that brand owners who set advertisements in the home are just asking for trouble in the on-trade. They may protest that the drinking environment depicted on TV is of no relevance, but who are they kidding? They say it has no effect on pub sales, but why are more and more of them doing it while the shift from pub to home gets greater?

Why is Carling, the best selling lager brand in the country, being advertised as a product that is worth running home for and best enjoyed in a comfy armchair at home in front of the football? Rupert Murdoch couldn't have dreamt up a better scenario himself.

So this is why the "Beer from the Coast" campaign is refreshing. True, the posters are not depicting the on-trade but they do show an environment that is attractive and will appeal to the pub-goer. And it is easy for the Adnams marketing team to make the connection to pubs and help drive sales. How can licensees use the recent Carling or WKD ads to drive sales in their pubs - have pictures on Carling branded beer mats of two guys watching the football on TV at home?

What the pub trade needs to see are more examples of the Adnams variety - of a brand owner that shows faith in the on-trade by using positive, pro-pub marketing. It is a success story which points the way for others to follow.

Steve Curzon, marketing director, Adnams, on the campaign​

• The strategy​

"The campaign started in September 2003. The aim all the way along has been to create an engaging brand story. In it we are looking back at the character of the Adnams brand and at a business that is very proud of its roots and provenance. The campaign was also based around everyday escapism. So when we started the campaign, posters went up on the London Underground.

"In September we are going to have another burst of activity putting up ads in London taxis. Essentially what we are doing is targeting the busy hassled cask ale consumer who wants to escape - in this case to the coast.

"We originally commissioned 10 illustrations - all landscape. We have used all of them once and have produced four new ones. They are portraits and work better in smaller format magazines and on bus shelters. In supplements the posters are positioned next to food and wine articles."

Business building​

"The whole campaign was quite deliberately developed to add value to the tenant. We previously received complaints from licensees that the point-of-sale material they received from us was gaudy and ugly. We now get through more beer mats than ever before.

"We get very positive feedback from tenants saying they want more of the same and they want them updated. They told us they would rather have something interesting to look at in their bars than a sales pitch. It's about making the brand work for the tenant. Our mantra is 'from poster to pub'."

Value for licensees​

"We have directly targeted tenants through point-of-sale material such as beer mats, tent cards and rubberised bar runners (rather than towels).

"Plus we use postcards with pictures of the campaign and on the back is a competition called 'Talk your way into an Adnams shirt'. It encourages drinkers to describe the taste of the beer they are drinking - the ones that match the head brewer's descriptions most closely win T-shirts. We have been getting really positive feedback from licensees."

Examples of through-the-line work by other brand owners​

There are other brand owners who also believe in the importance of "poster to pub". Sue Thomas-Taylor, marketing director for Greene King, says there are several examples of Greene King brand advertising working at outlet level.

"If you take Old Speckled Hen, our drip mats, in-pub posters and pub promotions carry visuals of the fox, who is also the core advertising spokesman," she says. "You can also see this with Abbot Ale, where the advertising builds on the perfection of the beer, and we carry this below the line in activity such as The Perfect Pub, where we aim to find high quality pubs to go with our high quality ale."

Interbrew also launched its Stella Artois Live Film campaign (pictured)​, which runs in pubs from next month, and connects a press advertising campaign for the brand with pub-goers by offering drinkers the opportunity to see a series of classic films in iconic locations.