Marketers Take Note: Millennials Crave Craft Beer

When you envision craft beer, you don’t immediately think of Millennials. After all, this demographic, which consists of people born between the early 1980s and early 2000s, are known to be a bit frugal and tend to go for the convenience and price of store-bought options. 

Recently, however, there has been a shift towards Millennials going for craft beverages that offer a little more kick. You may be asking yourself, why the sudden switch? Well, Millennials are looking for high quality ingredients and flavor, something that conventional beer doesn’t offer.

If you’re in the craft beverage industry, it’s time to give this group a second look. According to Pew Research Center, Millennials are projected to surpass Baby Boomers, reaching 75.3 million by the end of 2015. Unlike Baby Boomers and Generation X, Millennials are not loyal to brands and heavily rely on technology. So what does this mean in terms of marketing your brand? And most importantly, what can you do to capture their attention? Here are a few tips to help get you started!

Make a Personal Connection

What do Millennials want most from their favorite brands? Authenticity! Instead of creating a short-lived hype around your product, showcase personal stories about your brand that allow drinkers to feel connected to what’s in their glass. Share high quality visuals and videos that offer a behind the scenes look at how your beverages are made, the ingredients they are crafted with, and the people that work at your company. 

Create a Digital Community

Millennials are digital natives, and if you’re looking to reach them, you have to make your brand stand out online. But don’t just sell, sell, sell. Actively engage with them on social media throughout the day, share content that you know they’ll love, and create a mobile-friendly website that allows them to easily access your content on the go.

Treat Them Like Royalty

Millennials love to be rewarded. Creating a customer loyalty program and inviting them to taste test new flavors before they hit the market is a great way to show them that you value their opinion, and best of all you can get great feedback. Inviting your top customers on a private tour of your facility, and hosting a pairing party is another great way to reward them.

Source: Pew Research Center, 2015 http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/16/this-year-millennials-will-overtake-baby-boomers/