EXPLORE TUALATIN VALLEY’S
TAP SEASON MARKETING & PR RECAP
FEBRUARY 1 - 28, 2025
2025 CRAFT BEER MONTH
During February’s Oregon Craft Beer Month, we celebrated our breweries, cideries and taprooms through our Tap Season Promotion. Supported by a robust advertising and PR investment totaling over $154,000 we focused on storytelling about the makers and businesses that bring the craft brewing culture to life in Tualatin Valley. With the Ale Trail Mobile Passport, the introduction of Dale the Ale-paca, and a special collab beer brewed by Tualatin Valley brewers - we truly raised a glass to this community of makers.
DALE THE “ALE-PACA”
Dale the “Ale-paca” debuted this Tap Season as our new spokesanimal. With his friendly face and quirky charm, Dale made appearances throughout the month at events and locations across Tualatin Valley.
Dale helped bring the Tap Season campaign to life, giving it a fun and memorable identity that resonates with locals and visitors alike. Having a recognizable mascot helped create an instant connection, making the campaign more engaging and shareable while reinforcing brand awareness. Whether posing for photos or popping up at breweries, Dale ensured Tap Season left a lasting impression— one pint and picture at a time!
T APSEASON
TAP SEASON COLLAB BEER
Tap Season 2025 also marked the launch of our first collab beer, which was created by multiple Tualatin Valley brewers - and was another amazing addition to the campaign!
Headed by Binary Brewing’s Josh Johnson, Cooper Mountain Ale Work’s Chris Sjolin and Golden Valley Brewery and Restaurant’s Alex Kircher - this amazing Brew Crew extended the invite to any brewery, taproom, or cidery partners who wanted to be involved. Over a dozen brewers joined in to brew the beer, the Alepaca IPA, which was served at over twenty breweries and taprooms across Tualatin Valley. Cheers!
Tasting Notes: background of mango behind the more predominant citrus on the tongue. Good solid bitterness. Not too dry.
ALE TRAIL PASSPORT
The Ale Trail Mobile Passport drove consumers to participating breweries, cideries and taprooms via gamification and prizes, and encouraged visitors to check-in and earn entries towards a Tap Season Grand Prize Giveaway at the end of the month.
Integrating the digital passport added an interactive and engaging element to Tap Season, making it easy for participants to discover new spots while tracking their visits in one convenient place. By leveraging gamification and rewards, the passport helped boost foot traffic, extended visitor stays, and increased customer spending at participating locations. Plus, the data insights from check-ins provided valuable metrics to measure the campaign’s success and inform future promotions.
ALE TRAIL PASSPORT (CONT.)
GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAYS
Offering exclusive prizes and experiences from participating breweries added excitement and incentive to the Tap Season campaign, encouraging deeper engagement from visitors. From VIP brewery tours to private tastings and custom swag, these unique rewards showcased the best of Tualatin Valley’s craft beverage scene while driving traffic to local businesses.
By tying the campaign to tangible, oneof-a-kind experiences, Tap Season created lasting memories and strengthened connections between visitors and the region’s thriving craft community.
THE ALE ENTHUSIAST’S GOLD EXPERIENCE
• Two tickets to the exclusive Brewer’s Dinner at Golden Valley Brewery and Restaurant on March 8th – where every course is perfectly paired, and the pints are as golden as the memories you’ll make.
• A one-night hotel stay – because the best beer adventures deserve a cozy night’s rest (no need to “tap out” early!).
BREWS, BITES, & TERIYAKI DELIGHTS EXPERIENCE
• A Behind-the-Scenes Brewery Tour and Tasting at Binary Brewing with Craft Beer Wizard Joshua Johnson – dive into the world of brewing and enjoy a teriyakithemed feast expertly paired with Binary’s top-notch beers.
• A one-night hotel stay – because after brews and bites, you deserve a cozy retreat and some time to explore downtown Beaverton and all it has to offer.
MASTER THE CRAFT: THE BREW SCHOOL EXPERIENCE
• A private Brew School session and Brewery Tour with Brewfessor, Chris Sjolin of Cooper Mountain Ale Works – dive into the art and science of brewing with hands-on lessons, insider tips, and plenty of beer knowledge to take home.
• A delicious meal for 4, paired with signature beers – perfectly crafted to enhance the flavors and elevate your brewing education.
CUSTOM CONTENT AND STORYTELLING
Custom, social-first content plays a vital role in storytelling, making a campaign like Tap Season feel dynamic, engaging, and shareable. By creating authentic, visually compelling content—from behind-the-scenes brewery spotlights to craft beer deep dives and Tap Season details — we sought to bring the personality and craft of Tualatin Valley’s beverage scene to life.
To capture this spirit, we partnered with a local videographer to film brewers across Tualatin Valley, showcasing them in action and highlighting the passion, skill, and creativity that make this region’s craft beer scene so special.
Our series of short-form videos kept the campaign fresh and engaging, while reinforcing key messages across multiple touchpoints. By prioritizing storytelling on social platforms, we created an immersive experience that inspired audiences to explore, sip, and discover the heart of Tap Season.
WATCH THE SEGMENTS
TAP SEASON OVERVIEW
COLLAB BEER
PELAGIC BREWING
PAID ADVERTISING PAID
Explore Tualatin Valley supported Tap Season with a robust advertising campaign that included digital, broadcast, social media, and out-of-home advertising. Advertisements ran from February 1 - 28.
DIGITAL ADVERTISING
Digital display advertising played a key role in expanding the reach of the Tap Season campaign by targeting craft beverage enthusiasts both locally and in key drive markets. Eyecatching visuals and strategic placements helped generate awareness, drive traffic to the Ale Trail Mobile Passport, and ultimately increase brewery visits. By leveraging digital ads, Tap Season maximized exposure across multiple platforms, ensuring a wider audience discovered and engaged with the campaign. Key placements for the digital ads included Oregon Business, Northwest Travel + Life, as well as Here is Oregon / OregonLive, where Tap Season had a homepage takeover at the launch of the campaign, along with a sponsored article.
Here is Oregon / Oregon Live content generated over 2.4 million impressions and 520 clicks!
SEARCH
Paid search advertising was crucial for the Tap Season campaign because it captured high-intent audiences actively searching for breweries, cideries and craft beverage experiences in the region. By appearing at the top of search results, Tap Season remained highly visible to potential visitors looking for things to do, increasing website traffic and passport sign-ups. This strategy ensured we reached the right audience at the right time, converting interest into real brewery visits.
Google Ads
• 1 Regional Video Ads
• 38,561 Video Views
• 1,684 Conversions (2.09% Conversion Rate/$1.89 Cost per Conversion
OUT-OF-HOME ADVERTISING (OOH)
Out-of-home (OOH) advertising was a key component of the Tap Season campaign, providing high-visibility placements that reached both locals and visitors in real-world settings. Billboards, transit ads, and other signage helped build brand awareness and reinforced the campaign’s presence beyond digital channels. By strategically placing ads in high-traffic areas, OOH advertising kept Tap Season top of mind, encouraging spontaneous participation and brewery visits.
• 9 Digital billboards in Portland Metro Region - 3,311,612 Impressions!
• 45 Bus tails in the Portland Metro Region - 1,136,795 Impressions in one month!
• Washington Square Backlit KioskTap Season - 94 QR code scans!
PAID ADVERTISING (CONT.)
BROADCAST ADVERTISING
For Tap Season, we leveraged our partnership with KOIN 6 to bring Tualatin Valley’s craft beverage scene to a wider audience through a dynamic broadcast and digital campaign. KOIN 6 produced a special Tap Season ad, which aired throughout the campaign, showcasing the region’s vibrant breweries and taprooms.
Additionally, each week in February, a different Tualatin Valley brewery was featured in a live on-air segment on EverydayNW (brought to you by Explore Tualatin Valley), highlighting their unique offerings and encouraging viewers to explore the Ale Trail. This partnership provided invaluable exposure, driving awareness, engagement, and visits to participating locations from the wider Portland market, as well as southwest Washington.
WATCH THE SEGMENTS
GOLDEN VALLEY BREWERY
BREAKSIDE BEAVERTON
LAZY DAYS BREWING
LOYAL LEGION
PUBLIC RELATIONS MEDIA RESULTS
Explore Tualatin Valley’s public relations and media outreach efforts included pitching stories to local news and media outlets about Tap Season and how to experience it in the Tualatin Valley.
As a result, Tap Season earned more than 7 earned media placements with a total circulation over 204,500including articles and mentions in the following outlets:
• Forest Grove News Times
• Beaverton Valley Times
• Hillsboro New Times
• Beaverton Resource Guide
• Brewpublic
• New School Beer
• Sip Magazine
Click the publication name to read the article.
OWNED MEDIA AND WEBSITE
In addition to the paid and earned media efforts outlined, Explore Tualatin Valley also used its own channels (or “owned media”) — Facebook, Instagram, and tualatinvalley.org — to promote Tap Season.
SOCIAL MEDIA PERFORMANCE
Tap Season content performed exceptionally well across Explore Tualatin Valley’s social channels, including Pinterest, Meta, and TikTok. A total of 10 paid and organic posts generated over 1.5 million impressions, 1.18 million video plays, and 8,368 clicks, showcasing strong interest and engagement with the campaign. These results highlight the power of visually engaging, social-first storytelling in driving awareness and action.
Tap Season Landing Page Performance
• 18,230 Visitors
• 424 Conversions
ALE-PACA POP-UPS
In-person engagement is a powerful tool for building awareness and fostering authentic connections, which made it an integral component of Tap Season’s success. By bringing the campaign directly to potential visitors at high-traffic events and popular venues, we introduced Tualatin Valley’s craft beverage scene to new audiences in an engaging and memorable way.
During Tap Season, eight different “Ale-paca Pop-ups” provided opportunities for face-to-face interactions, allowing people to sample local flavors, hear brewery stories firsthand, and learn how to participate in the Ale Trail Mobile Passport.
Events like the Portland Winter Light Festival and Portland Night Market drew thousands of attendees, creating a unique platform to expand the campaign’s reach beyond digital marketing. Additionally, activations at beer-centric locations like Uptown Beer Co. and the Tualatin Winter Beer Fest ensured we connected with craft beverage enthusiasts who are likely to visit Tualatin Valley’s breweries, taprooms and cideries. By immersing Tap Season into the community, we turned awareness into action—driving interest, conversations, and ultimately, brewery visits.
ACTIVATION LOCATIONS INCLUDED:
Tualatin Winter Beer Fest (Jan. 25th)
Reser Center for the Arts (Jan. 30th)
Spirit of ‘77 (Feb. 1st)
Uptown Beer Co. (Feb. 6th)
Portland Night Market (Feb. 7th)
Portland Winter Light Festival (Feb. 8th)
Cooper Mountain Ale Works (Feb. 22nd)
Portland Winterhawks Game (Feb. 23rd)
PARTNERSHIPS
Tap Season wrapped up with an exciting Portland Winterhawks game night, bringing the spirit of Tualatin Valley’s craft beverage scene to the ice at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. As a season-long partner of the Winterhawks, Explore Tualatin Valley has been engaging with Portland fans all year, and this event was the perfect opportunity to deliver the Tap Season message to a wider audience.
Through in-arena promotions, digital signage, and fan engagement, we encouraged attendees to explore the breweries, cideries and taprooms that make our region so special. We were also thrilled to welcome our brewery partners to the game, giving them a front-row seat to see how we’ve been promoting them—and the destination overall—throughout the campaign.
And, the night wouldn’t have been complete without the Ale-pacas, who greeted fans coming into the arena. And - the game night “Lucky Row” also received their plushie alpacas to take home.
