From the beer blogs: Where are the big guys?
Beer and a good conversation are terrific complements. And as we know, blogs are great ways for beer aficionados to carry on conversations with one another and with some of the companies making our favorite beverages. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Hugh Sisson's informative (if infrequently updated) Clipper City blog. There's also a link in our blogroll to the Flying Dog blog, which I'll look at in detail in a future post.
I decided to see if any of the major breweries were blogging and if so, what they had to offer. So, I checked the Budweiser site. No blog. Then I went to Miller. Nothing. Coors, Corona, Rolling Rock. Nope, nil, nada. I even went to the Samuel Adams site thinking that maybe the beer that boasts it started the craft brewing movement might have some sort of blog. Blogless.
As I worked my way through the list of commodity brews, I finally came across a blog when I got to the Pabst Blue Ribbon site. The PBR Blog isn't great, but it's there and it has a hip attitude. It's almost exclusively dedicated to Pabst-sponsored events around the country (some of the posters illustrating the events are very funny - see if you can find Wing Kong), and art created using a PBR theme. If you're looking for intelligent insight into the art of brewing, this ain't gonna do it. But at least this blog alerts its community of Blue Ribbon drinkers about upcoming events and gives them an outlet for sharing their creative visions.
A good blog, like a good beer requires a little TLC. And a good conversation allows for more than just a one-way stream of marketing noise. I suppose if you're dealing in the quanitities the big boys work with, you can afford to ignore the interaction and community-building that a blog can bring to your product.
For at least making an effort with their blog, this week's parting beer commercial gives a tip of the bottle cap to Pabst.
Comments
My guess? They're all Twittering by now. But seriously, go look at all the beer blogs out there, not all of which are about craft beer. Why expend the effort when there are frat houses, Beer Pong leagues, and other swill drinkers eager to do the marketing job on your behalf?
(Good point. Even looking at the PBR Blog, that pretty much sums up their customer base, too. - Steve)
Posted by: Alexander D. Mitchell IV | April 7, 2009 7:16 AM
Not a beer blog, but I regularly check Boing Boing for neat stuff. Here's a cool Schaefer commercial that they posted recently. Dig that Moog, man!
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/04/03/beer-tv-commercial-f.html
PS not to mention a slogan that would not fly as easily today - the one beer to have when you have more than one? Har!
(Thanks for the link. That Moog has more wires than the space shuttle! - Steve)
Posted by: Volker | April 7, 2009 9:35 AM
Wow, they're really missing a good opportunity here.
I've always enjoyed the aesthetics of Bud Light bottles. You'd think a blog would be a good way to get some consumer feedback, since they redesign them every six months.
I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for a bottle with built-in rubber grippies on the side.
Posted by: Evan | April 7, 2009 2:21 PM
Michelob has a twitter feed at www.twitter/michelob
(Thanks. To be fair, many of these brewers do have some sort of Twitter feed or Facebook page, but if you're looking for something a little meatier, good luck. - Steve)
Posted by: Stan Hieronymus | April 7, 2009 4:23 PM
It isn't surprising really. Big traditional companies are usually last in to adopt new marketing strategies, or when they do the end up falling on their faces.
AB tried with Bud.TV, remember? The action was/is on You Tube, but they missed the point entirely. Instead of embracing and leveraging You Tube, they tried to reinvent the wheel by creating their own 'thing', and it was a giant flop.
Posted by: Scott-TheBrewClub | April 8, 2009 11:32 AM
Miller did sponsor the "Brew Blog" for a couple of years, but it never developed a voice of it's own. The author was a good writer, but his personality never came through, perhaps why it eventually got killed off.
I did a review of it in 2006
http://geistbear.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2006/6/27/2058806.html
and a followup review in April 2008
http://geistbear.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2008/4/29/3667399.html
(Thanks for the info. - Steve)
Posted by: Thomas | April 9, 2009 9:24 AM