What's brand got to do with it?

by Myles Pinfold, founder and strategic director at WPA Pinfold.

Let’s face it, in blind tastings consumers are not going to recognise your beer and they would probably struggle to even properly recognise the beer style. And simply identifying your product as beer doesn’t cut it in today’s market either - unless your name is Homer (Simpson) and even he has his favourite brand.

So, branding serves two functions; on a basic level, it identifies your product and helps the drinker navigate the bar or shelf. However, as we all know, it’s much more than that – beyond your brewing kit, it is probably the most significant investment you will make. And, let’s face it, you don’t even need to own your own brewery nowadays to brew your own beer, as several well-established brands will attest to.

There were approximately 13,000 beers listed in the last Good Beer Guide, with over 500 new beers being launched annually pre-2020, and with over 100 different beer styles to choose from. No wonder drinkers have become both more discerning and more confused...

In the incredibly competitive beer sector branding really does have to function on a higher level, knowing your place on bar and on shelf is critical to ensure you have the right positioning – the landscape is constantly changing too, both on-trade and off-trade. Whilst having a compelling and differentiating value proposition will help win both the hearts and minds of loyal drinkers. Bear in mind that quality is a given in this sector and not a differentiator (unless you happen to be called Carlsberg) and drinkers need a reason to believe in you and your brand. Most important of all you need to believe in yourself and be able to walk the talk – there are already too many great pretenders out there.

All the indicators suggest that the hospitality sector will experience a bounce back when it is finally released from its shackles and it is worth giving your brand that extra TLC, that it deserves, to ensure that it hits the ground running as market demand increases.

For further information: wpa-pinfold.co.uk