Small Batch Marketing Helps Brands Steal Share and Increase Efficiency
How Craft Beers are Using Local Charm and Quality to Dominate the Big Brewers
How Small Batch Succeeds:
1. It allows companies to be nimble. With fewer layers of work flow, there’s a faster deliverable turnaround, lower overhead and overall cost and time efficient process.
2. It allows companies to be courageous. Small batch brands live by the process of experimentation. Little fear of failure means trial and error can produce effective, powerful, fresh ideas.
3. It allows companies to be innovative and dynamic, thus capitalizing quickly on market place opportunities.
4. It creates a direct line between the client and the small batch team. Elevated trust levels due to both parties’ investment in the projects and a more personal client – agency relationship creates a fondue pot filled with clever campaigns.
How Craft Beer Owns the Small Batch Game:
Over the last 6 years the piece of the beer market claimed by craft breweries has doubled, and it’s not showing signs of slowing down. With well over 5,000 breweries (and growing) across the country, small batch style is giving ‘big beer’ a run for its money. The two market segments have made their positions very clear in terms of how they are marketing their products, from social campaigns to TV spots, jabs are being thrown left and right. If the current trends continue, America could be a country powered by local, craft brews, while the big boys are forced to focus their attention on exports. Could Ex Novo be the new Bud Light?
What Small Batch Marketing Means for the Future:
More project based work.
The chance to work with a variety of companies across a range of industries. Essentially, taking advantage of working with a number of brands on different kinds of projects the same way we date around before settling down to the perfect marriage. Experience is everything.
Less complacency.
There’s no time to slow down. If projects are at a resting point, the new business hunt is on. In small batch, there is always something to work on. Always.
Fewer deadlines missed.
With such a close relationship to the clients, the small batch mindset means that work gets delivered on time, and even better, earlier than expected. Clients need to feel like their business is the most important thing to the agency, because it is.
More passion and intensity.
Each member of the team has their own reasons for working in the small batch world. These reasons bubble up as passions with which teams can pursue avenues of business that they personally connect with. This adds an extra level of drive to small batch brands because employees are encouraged to move the company forward in whatever way they are inspired to do so.
New performance measures.
Instead of just looking at the bottom line, small batch brands are also focused on a variety of updated performance measures. For example, internal marketing success and how each project impacts it, how each project changes the view of the small batch brand within its local industry, requests for new projects based on case studies/success stories, and beyond.
Sources: Brewers Association