There's A Beer For That: Roundtable debate

The roundtable kicked-off with David Cunningham, programme director of the new campaign, presenting more detail on the new £10m marketing push for beer, before opening up the discussion to the table.

“Beer has been perceived as homogenous. Our research among consumers found there was a narrowness in beer’s appeal that was holding it back,” he said.

Cunningham went on to explain that the new campaign, funded by the big five global brewers, was a significant shift in strategy from its previous incarnation — Let There Be Beer​ — last year. The new direction aims to reignite Britain’s love of beer and bring new drinkers into the category by focusing on three pillars; quality, diversity and versatility — with the result of opening up new volume growth opportunities to the beer market.

Watch video interviews with participants​

Food​

Central to this message is food. Beer and food pairing is not commonplace in the UK despite being widely used in other countries across Europe and in the US.

This is something the new campaign aims to change, Cunningham said.

Trade support is crucial to this agenda because TV advertising and social media activity “can only set up the idea” of food and beer matching.

Making the case​

Jonny Forsyth from industry analysts Mintel said the marketing case for beer and food had been backed up by studies. “Our research has shown that 54% of consumers think beer is as good to accompany food as wine, across all age ranges.

"It is also seen as more accessible than wine.” Cunningham agreed, but, drawing on his background in the wine industry, said beer had some catching up to do. "The one thing wine does well is that the industry has managed to find a way to talk about styles to the consumer — this is one of the objectives for beer.”

Martin Hilton of Pure Craft Bars agreed, claiming the challenge was about “engaging customers” on the appeal of beer.

“We spend a lot of time trying to educate the customer in beer choice and styles. The overriding benefits of this campaign will only be sustained if quality of the product is good enough. Resource allocation should be on improving quality rather than merely promotional activity,” he said.

Culture change​

This brought the discussion on to training. Annabel Smith, training manager at Cask Marque,said the industry was reaching a point “where the consumer walking into a pub knows more than bar staff about beer”.

She warned that was a dangerous position for the trade to be in. “It’s not just the quality of the liquid in the glass we need to worry about; it’s the quality of the person selling that liquid.”

She added: “We need something that brings about a change in retail culture. I want to see licensees and retailers become excited about this campaign and recognise how it can work for them. I think there needs to be a training programme that supports this.”

The group then argued for the case for a national training roadshow from the There’s A Beer For That​ campaign, which would “translate the issue back to the pub”.

Another concern flagged up was ensuring the consistency of messages put across. Richard Yarnell, category manager at managed pubco Mitchells and Butlers said this was a “real battle”. He added that there should be a focus on training front-of-house staff.

The group agreed that web-based training could be the best avenue in this regard.

Matt Scriven, owner of Bitters ’n’ Twisted bars, said the campaign’s new Twitter-based Beer Match tool would also help because it was an instant aid to bar staff. “If you have this social media tool, it is a hell of a lot more than currently exists in the market”.

Lack of knowledge​

Referring to the issue of customer knowledge of beer, current Beer Writer of the Year, Will Hawkes, said that although there were a growing number of enthusiasts and beer fans, it was “stunning” how lacking the general public’s beer knowledge was.

“Britain has given the world these styles, but people know so little about them. The basic task is to bring those who know little about beer into the discussion,” he said.

PMA​ deputy editor Mike Berry then brought the discussion back full-circle to the idea central to the campaign — beer and food matching.

He quoted figures from this year’s Cask Report that revealed 28% of pubgoers would like to see foodmatching suggestions on menus, while only 10% of licensees actually do it. The trade can learn from other countries where “the tradition of food and beer matching has been in place for long time”.

Show of support​

Graham Smith, owner of Urban Art Bar Group — which runs pubs in Birmingham — asked how independent operators could get involved with the campaign.

“To join Britain’s Beer Alliance there is no cost. At the moment, we’re asking people to use social media and follow us on Twitter and Facebook,” replied Cunningham.

“If you have a company logo and want to be a supporter then it can be added to our website. We’re asking for contact and dialogue with you, so you can share with us the things that you’re doing to promote beer.”

Paul Halsey, managing director of independent brewer Purity admitted he was “suspicious” of the big brewers’ campaign, even though he endorsed the messages behind it.

But Cunningham set out to assuage his concerns, saying the big brewers had bought into the campaign’s industry-wide approach and strategy.

He added: “Is there tension? Sometimes — but if the whole category grows and benefits, it is good for everyone.”

Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) managing director Mike Benner agreed, stating: “Why wouldn’t you want to get involved? It’s about quality and diversity — this is what small brewers are talking about every day.”

He went on to argue that the campaign was “a once-in-a-generation moment in terms of investment”.

Benner also suggested the creation of an ‘alliance’ was important to ensure the campaign had credibility and meant that brewers and retailers of all sizes could get involved. But he also argued pubs “need to do more to explain why beer should be at the heart of their offer”.

Signs of change​

Acknowledging that it took ‘five to 10 years’ to turn round the fortunes of the beer category in Spain, Cunningham said he was sure the campaign backers were in it for the long haul in the UK and that those associated with Britain’s Beer Alliance “would be looking for signs of change” during this period.

“The lesson from other European countries is that you have to be committed for the long term for it to work,” he said.

Cunningham added that the initial response to the campaign had been very positive, especially among women: “We’ve had a large number contacting us saying how delighted they are in seeing women drinking beer normally.”

The majority around the table agreed with this assessment and praised the campaign for being wide-ranging and presenting beer in a more positive light. However, all agreed there was much work to do with the campaign in its early stages. And with that the discussion was brought to a close with a tutored beer tasting, proving there was indeed a beer for that.

The campaign​

The new There’s A Beer For That​ campaign is funded by a coalition of global brewers and backed by Britain’s Beer Alliance, a group of brewers, industry bodies and associations.

It is designed to show consumers that there is a style of beer that suits a wide variety of people and occasions.

The name also conveys the wide variety of beers now available in the UK, highlighting their versatility and it for a much broader range of occasions than many people currently think.

Beer match​

A Twitter service called #BeerMatch aims to find consumers the ‘beer for that’ in quick time. The campaign has worked with top beer sommeliers, writers and industry experts to come up with a growing list of hundreds of beer and food matches.

Users tweet the name of a dish to @BeerForThat with the hashtag #BeerMatch, and get an instant reply with a suggested beer.

More details visit the There's A Beer for That website​​.