Visiting craft brewery tasting rooms is a vital style of tourism today. According to the United States Brewers Association, the number of craft breweries in our nation grew to more that 4140 by the end of 2015. While western states such as California, Washington and Colorado have boasted hundreds of craft breweries for more than a decade, the number of craft brewery start-ups with tasting room openings in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions has been expanding significantly. For example, in New Jersey alone, the number has recently grown to 45 craft breweries, with Magnify in Fairfield, Dark City Brewing in Asbury Park, and Departed Soles Brewing in Jersey City just celebrating their first year anniversaries in mid-2016. Three northeastern powerhouses, Dogfish Head Brewing in Delaware, Brooklyn Beer in New York, and Samuel Adams in Massachusetts, all launched in the 1980s. Using newer communication methods, all three built regional-based marketing initiatives based on Internet messaging strategies and tasting room/tasting events before social media marketing was even common terminology.
This presentation will examine 2016 tasting room and social marketing media strategies of Brooklyn Beer, Sam Adams, and Dogfish Head, along with a dozen newer craft breweries from northeastern US states including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts. Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head, coined the phrase the “360-degree experience” in his 2011 book Brewing Up a Business. The 360-degree experience refers to bringing visitors to the brewery itself to understand a craft brewer’s unique ingredients, techniques,personality, and attention to local community. Weekly social media posts, especially via Instagram, are critical and creative communication tools in craft beer marketing and tourism.
About the presenterNancy VanArsdale
Nancy VanArsdale is Professor of English at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, where she has taught since 1990. She earned her PhD at New York University and a graduate business certificate from the NYU College of Business. Formerly a public relations writer at Time Magazine, her research interests range from advertising, p.r. and social media communication to 20th century American literature.