The majority of people pick their beer based on ads???

[mtnagel]

Link.

Surprisingly, a very small percentage used cost as the deciding factor for what beer they love most. What did they base their favorite brand on? Who has the best ads (32 percent), where the beer is brewed (29 percent) and what style of beer the brand makes (22 percent).

That is just unfathomable to me. I'm even more surprised that people admit that. Bizarre.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Personally when I buy beer, which is about 30% of my beer consumption, it goes like this:
1) what styles are available that I prefer, porter,stout/brown?
2) Have I had any of 1 results before and enjoyed? If not, do they have decent Beer advocate scores?
3)If no to both, then are there any non-preferred styles that I still enjoy, red, amber, summer wheat or the ever elusive Belgian dark?
4)Repeat 2.

5) If still nothing, I'll just get a water,cola, rootbeer.

location isn't important to me, neither is their ad although I may chuckle over a particular label. I try to stay away from dog fish atm because of their labels and their beers tend to be hop forward which I don't really enjoy.

 

[whoaru99]

Link.



That is just unfathomable to me. I'm even more surprised that people admit that. Bizarre.

I often pick beers based on some form of advertising. That doesn't mean, however, that I end up liking it or sticking with it.

 

[mtnagel]

Personally when I buy beer, which is about 30% of my beer consumption, it goes like this:
1) what styles are available that I prefer, porter,stout/brown?
2) Have I had any of 1 results before and enjoyed? If not, do they have decent Beer advocate scores?
3)If no to both, then are there any non-preferred styles that I still enjoy, red, amber, summer wheat or the ever elusive Belgian dark?
4)Repeat 2.

5) If still nothing, I'll just get a water,cola, rootbeer.

location isn't important to me, neither is their ad although I may chuckle over a particular label. I try to stay away from dog fish atm because of their labels and their beers tend to be hop forward which I don't really enjoy.

Yeah, for me, it comes down to style, whether I've had it before (I like to try new stuff or drink stuff I know I like) and then location. I'd rather have a beer that I've never had before, but if I've had everything, then I may pick a local beer over another beer. But picking based on ads? I never see ads, except for the Super Bowl and I'm not buying any beer that can afford to advertise then

 

[mtnagel]

I often pick beers based on some form of advertising. That doesn't mean, however, that I end up liking it or sticking with it.

Where are you seeing these ads? TV?

 

[max384]

How was taste not the biggest factor???

 

[PRE66_6TART]

How was taste not the biggest factor???

If taste were the biggest factor, beer consumption in this country would look very different.

 

[mtnagel]

How was taste not the biggest factor???

Exactly. I work for a company that advertises a lot. I know we have data that say advertising works, but I think if you asked most people they wouldn't say they bought our products because of the ad. That's why I shocked people would even say that.

"I think the Clydesdales are cute, so I'm going to buy Budweiser." Really?

If taste were the biggest factor, beer consumption in this country would look very different.

True.

 

[whoaru99]

Where are you seeing these ads? TV?

TV, word of mouth, beer displays in the stores, etc.

Word of mouth may not be the type of ad you're thinking about but it is an influence that likely came from some higher level at some point.

 

[bajaedition]

Exactly. I work for a company that advertises a lot. I know we have data that say advertising works, but I think if you asked most people they wouldn't say they bought our products because of the ad. That's why I shocked people would even say that.

"I think the Clydesdales are cute, so I'm going to buy Budweiser." Really?

True.

Marketing was my major

I can say that most guys buy what they see marketed to them

in the 70s, when I was in school, Schiltz was a major beer brand and very respected, every night we were pounded with adds that claimed "when your out of schlitz, your our of beer" now days, that Schiltz stopped advertising when Strozs bought them out, Schtltz is considered second rate beer that only winos drink.
why, well no one advertises it any more and it dropped from popularity
Miller high Life was huge, then Miller shifted to advertise MGD
now days guys drink MGD and will not touch a High Life claiming it is not good beer. Ask Miller the only difference in those 2 beers is the way they are filtered.

Coors regular beer was a beer that everyone sought after when they were a regional brewer, they went national and soon started advertising Coors Light, and now how much of a cooler in a store is coors light and can you even find regular coors?

Kind of like fast food, Mickey Dees is number one, ever sit down and taste a Mickey Dees hamburger? but they advertise every night on national TV so they have to be good right?

 

[RM-MN]

And your wife/girlfriend sees an ad with a cute couple having a great time so she goes to the store and buys Calvin Klein. You thought beer would be different?

 

[ktblunden]

Who has the best ads (32 percent)
The majority of beer I buy doesn't have traditional ads, though I admit packaging has at least some bearing on the decision process, which is a form of marketing.

where the beer is brewed (29 percent)
This influences my decisions quite a bit. Local generally equals fresher, plus I like to support breweries close to me; the better they do, the more likely more will open.

and what style of beer the brand makes (22 percent)
This is huge. Sometimes I feel like IPA, sometimes porter, sometimes sours.

 

[Jayhem]

The majority of people pick who they vote for based on marketing as well. The majority of people are sheep that go whichever direction the other sheep are heading no matter where that leads. It's the sad state of society today.

Of course we homebrewers don't go for beer based on adds. We are not like most consumers.

 

[whoaru99]

Kind of like fast food, Mickey Dees is number one, ever sit down and taste a Mickey Dees hamburger? but they advertise every night on national TV so they have to be good right?

Yes, I do sit down and taste a McD burger. I like them on occasion, they have a place, but I recognize them for what they are. I'm not expecting ground Kobe beef, flame grilled to a perfect medium, gourmet fare. Same with most beer that's commercially advertised.

Matter of fact, I'm probably getting my lunch today from BK, only because we don't have McD in town

 

[mtnagel]

Marketing was my major

I can say that most guys buy what they see marketed to them

in the 70s, when I was in school, Schiltz was a major beer brand and very respected, every night we were pounded with adds that claimed "when your out of schlitz, your our of beer" now days, that Schiltz stopped advertising when Strozs bought them out, Schtltz is considered second rate beer that only winos drink.
why, well no one advertises it any more and it dropped from popularity
Miller high Life was huge, then Miller shifted to advertise MGD
now days guys drink MGD and will not touch a High Life claiming it is not good beer. Ask Miller the only difference in those 2 beers is the way they are filtered.

Coors regular beer was a beer that everyone sought after when they were a regional brewer, they went national and soon started advertising Coors Light, and now how much of a cooler in a store is coors light and can you even find regular coors?

Kind of like fast food, Mickey Dees is number one, ever sit down and taste a Mickey Dees hamburger? but they advertise every night on national TV so they have to be good right?

But if you asked people, would they say they buy those beers because of the ads?

And your wife/girlfriend sees an ad with a cute couple having a great time so she goes to the store and buys Calvin Klein. You thought beer would be different?

Of course not, but would your wife/gf say she bought them because of the ad? No, she'd say, I like they way they look or something like that.

Who has the best ads (32 percent)
The majority of beer I buy doesn't have traditional ads, though I admit packaging has at least some bearing on the decision process, which is a form of marketing.

I would too, but again, I'd never say that was my primary reason for buying a beer.

 

[bajaedition]

Yes, I do sit down and taste a McD burger. I like them on occasion, they have a place, but I recognize them for what they are. I'm not expecting ground Kobe beef, flame grilled to a perfect medium, gourmet fare. Same with most beer that's commercially advertised.

Matter of fact, I'm probably getting my lunch today from BK, only because we don't have McD in town

but that place down the street, Deweys Burger, who does not advertise nationally, and hand selects his meat, uses produce delvered and sliced by him, not mass produced and presliced, and toasts the buns on the grill
What about him, think he gets the business in a day that 1 Micky Dees gets? I think you will admit his product is better.
Just saying, it has been proven we all are effected by advertising, in a huge way, that is why there is so much of it. Put a cute puppy, a funny twist or a killer song in that ad, and just watch the doors swing the next day.
:rockin::rockin::rockin:

 

[Psycotte]

I'll admit it. I'm a sucker at this point since I don't know enough about all the beer available. I know better now but 4 months ago if you put a Zombie Dust and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in front of me I would have taken the Zombie Dust based on the kick ass packaging alone. In that case I would have been a winner but it is not always the way it goes. If you put Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Heady Topper in front of me the same 4 months ago I would have went for the bottle because I don't like cans. In that case I would have lost. So packaging plays a big part when knowledge is lacking I would say IMHO.

 

[bajaedition]

I remember there was this little chemical company in Mississippi that released a hard surface cleaner in the 70s and it flopped, so they recalled it all and started to advertise it nationally. they had a campaign going on for a month with several spots on each network every night.
they showed women cleaning up the counter tops, the fridge, just about anything in the kitchen with a spray and a swipe of a sponge.
At the end of a month they released the product, distributors bought out the entire supply because the phones were ringing off the hooks. Every grocery store in the nation wanted this product that all the customers were demanding they sell because it worked so good. All records of sales of simular products were smashed by the end of the 3rd month

Fantastic you say

Yes it was

Fantastic, it was a national name brand before it was even on the shelves

the power of advertising

 

[GrumpySquirrel]

I'm a market research professional of 8 years and this reeks of poor quality. I'd like to see how they asked the question, because you cannot simply ask "How did you decide..." and expect a proper answer.

Plus, I'm curious how location sampling biased the question about which state was the best beer state. Not to mention that the majority of the respondents are females, which I would imagine are roughly 33% of the beer consumers (but I do know that females are more prevalent in online research, so the data should have been weighted to take that into consideration).

 

[whoaru99]

but that place down the street, Deweys Burger, who does not advertise nationally, and hand selects his meat, uses produce delvered and sliced by him, not mass produced and presliced, and toasts the buns on the grill
What about him, think he gets the business in a day that 1 Micky Dees gets? I think you will admit his product is better.

His product may certainly be better and the locals know it, but until he can hand me something out a little window in just a few minutes when I'm in a hurry he's losing out on some portion of my business.

That is not too unlike the reason I sometimes buy "fast food" beer. Not everybody has a big beer superstore just down the street. Some of us have decisions essentially amounting to BK, McDs, or Hardee's. Sure there is a Dewey's Burger, but it's 35 miles one way. I'm not driving 70 miles just to pick up a couple 6-packs of beer.

That said, I don't want to totally bash the local beer store. They have gotten better about having a couple things other than straight BMC.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Fantastic, it was a national name brand before it was even on the shelves

Must'a not worked all too good after all these years... As it's actually spelled "Fantastik"

MC

 

[myelo]

You mean most people don't pick their beer based on the type of cap on the bottle and how easily the label comes off?

 

[max384]

If taste were the biggest factor, beer consumption in this country would look very different.

Maybe... But honestly, most (I would guess) people don't like the types of beers that most home brewers enjoy. Although the craft market is growing, if you look at what is sold, the vast, vast majority is yellow fizzy beer. Of course, this has a lot to do with advertising, as has been discussed, but I really think a lot of people don't like stronger flavored beer. I have a few good friends that only like pilsners and light ales and such. They've tried many of my different home brews and never like them... Except my cream ale and a light pilsner. When we go out, they'll try different beers, even craft beers, but they only go for light ales and pilsners. They just don't care for the stronger flavors. I really think most Americans are the same way.

 

[snowtires]

I buy the odd bottle of craft beer single bombers. mostly to try ones I have never tried before. Other then that I enjoy a nice clean lager and I buy cheapest ones in the store which here is "BC traditional lager" and "cariboo" I prefer caribou because a percentage from every case sold goes towards reforestation projects wherever caribou is sold. It just happens to be the cheapest and best tasting and the largest independent brewery I think in Canada or even north america.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[Rhumbline]

I'm a market research professional of 8 years and this reeks of poor quality. I'd like to see how they asked the question, because you cannot simply ask "How did you decide..." and expect a proper answer.

Plus, I'm curious how location sampling biased the question about which state was the best beer state. Not to mention that the majority of the respondents are females, which I would imagine are roughly 33% of the beer consumers (but I do know that females are more prevalent in online research, so the data should have been weighted to take that into consideration).

All good points. I'd guess that quite a few people don't even realize that they bought the beer they did because of advertising.

 

[thecad]

I live in the land beer laws forgot (known to some as Pennsylvania) and have to admit that when I buy beer and have money for the good stuff. I am mostly influenced by style and then packaging. I have bought much more Wyerbacher since they redid thier packaging then ever before. From there it goes to name, sorry Long Trail your beer has wimpy names, I want something with a tough name. Location plays a small role as I like to visit local breweries, mostly for the free samples and swag. That's just me.

your pal,
THE CAD

 

[danielofthedale]

I think a vast majority of the beer drinking populace settled on a favorite beer brand befor the craft beer boom and most of them probably made that choice in high school or college. I can see how advertising would effect those choices and price to bigger extent than people realize. I mean when my friends and I were younger we would choose a cheep beer, Natty Light, or one that was advertised on tv, usually a Bud or Miller. People probably like Bud or Miller better than the other in large part to the commercials they liked best.

Even today most of friends favorite beer now is Sam Adams, Blue Moon or Yengling. And those beers spend a good deal on advertising and position themselves as higher quality alternatives to BMC.

 

[JPrather]

Well, Survey Analytics hasn't posted the full text of the survey as far as I can see. But, I think if it was possible to analyze the full survey data this would be less surprising to you.

In the official press release, the same thing is worded as "Advertising for beer brands is more important than ever. 33% of consumers say they associate their favorite beer brand with captivating advertising."

I suspect, based on the wording from this article, and from the "official press release" and other articles, that the question involved something like "which of the following do you associate with your favorite beer brand (check all that apply)".

Obviously, lots of people's favorite beer brands include the big three, Corona, etc., companies that have lots of television advertising. Even if you don't directly think about the ads when making your beer selection, if someone asks you a question like that you're going to say "yeah I see ads for bud light all the time" and then check the box.

That's much, much different than "WHAT DO YOU MAKE YOUR BEER CHOICE BASED ON" as it's worded in that particular article.

At any rate, this is probably another a case of a survey having data posted incompletely, having assumptions being made and conclusions being drawn based on poor critical thinking, information being taken out of context, etc.

 

[Zuljin]

Well, Survey Analytics hasn't posted the full text of the survey as far as I can see. But, I think if it was possible to analyze the full survey data this would be less surprising to you.

In the official press release, the same thing is worded as "Advertising for beer brands is more important than ever. 33% of consumers say they associate their favorite beer brand with captivating advertising."

I suspect, based on the wording from this article, and from the "official press release" and other articles, that the question involved something like "which of the following do you associate with your favorite beer brand (check all that apply)".

Obviously, lots of people's favorite beer brands include the big three, Corona, etc., companies that have lots of television advertising. Even if you don't directly think about the ads when making your beer selection, if someone asks you a question like that you're going to say "yeah I see ads for bud light all the time" and then check the box.

That's much, much different than "WHAT DO YOU MAKE YOUR BEER CHOICE BASED ON" as it's worded in that particular article.

At any rate, this is probably another a case of a survey having data posted incompletely, having assumptions being made and conclusions being drawn based on poor critical thinking, information being taken out of context, etc.

I was wondering, how many of that 32% meant that advertising advises them of what beer is available and then they buy what they feel they have at least some information on? For some of them, it may be about knowing what's available more than picking what had that cool dog in the ad. Advertising can actually be about advisement- getting the word out.

Myself, I use a complex formula where B equals beer and is divided by the cosine of the number of letters in the name of the store, cubed, times the radius of a circle drawn inside an isosceles triangle with an area twice the dividend of two bottle caps, flattened, added to B and subtracted from the number of tail fethers on a Grackle in the parking lot across the street.

 

[max384]

I'd like to see the survey they used, and what questions were actually asked.

 

[bajaedition]

What I find funny is when you are away from your own beer and need to buy a sixer how many of us homebrewers can revert back to a BMC product.
I will lots of times
I am at the lake and need to get a sixer, I jump in the truck, go to the local bait and tackle and buy a sixer of Miller High Life. WHY Well it is an easy decision, I grew up drinking the stuff in high school and I am so used to the taste that it goes down good.
Now if I was in any other position I would look for a continental style Lager first, and a good pale ale or ESB second.
I think it is all in the way we also think of how we are going to drink, I am grabbing the sixer because I am at the lake and just want a light brew
look at all the Coors light drank by guys not wanting to get bloated or drunk real easy
It is kind of a situational decision sometimes.
Plus a lot of women do not want the calories of a bigger beer so they drink those Ultras or 64s, BLECH

 

[Calichusetts]

99% of my beer buying decisions are based on one question:

Have I had it before?
If I haven't, I buy it

Granted, me and my buddies talk beer a lot so I have a pretty good idea of most local beers and whether they are worth it.

At the same time, I'm in the boat of a few other people: packaging means a lot. I like simple, clean, "wine-like" labels. Maine Brewing Company is my ideal label.

I'll search around to try and find something that fits what I'm after. And sometimes there are beers that have been priced wrong that I snag before they can fix it. Just got an Achel 8 for $1.50 yesterday