Alexander Lambrecht on marketing beer

A MARKETING MIND

Drinks Trade had the opportunity to delve into the mind of Alexander Lambrecht, CUB’s recently appointed Vice President of Marketing, Australia. A tuned in marketer with an enviable campaign record for the midas touch, Lambrecht talks on his unwavering devotion to beer, the next big opportunities, and the difference global experience can make.

Drinks Trade: You were born and bred in Belgium, the land of beer. How did that influence your career choice?

Alexander Lambrecht: It was ultimately my destiny to end up at ABI and CUB because I am a beer guy. I went to university in Leuven. I worked in a Stella Artois bar for three years. I met my wife drinking Jupiler in a small pub. At our wedding beer won the share of throat. (laughs) When I go back to Belgium the only thing I want to do with my friend is have a beer and catch up.

I love what beer does in society. I am in the business of celebrating life. That’s what I love about the mission of the company – the dream of bringing people together for a better world. I truly believe beer can have an impact on society because the WHO states the biggest disease for the next decade to come is social isolation and depression.

I say to people who are going to Belgium, if you are looking for a bar, look for a church, because next to the church you will always find at least one bar. In the Middle Ages that’s what people would do, they would go to church and then come together over a beer after service. That’s how beer became the original social networker, and I believe that is the reality today. Having a passion for beer and marketing and being energized by the dream and culture of the company speaks a lot to my personality.

DT: What was the most successful marketing campaign you have worked on and why was it successful?

AL: The most successful campaign I worked on was a Budweiser campaign in China. Budweiser is a premium brand in China. It was the leader in the premium segment. One of the key celebration moments for premium brands is Chinese New Year. For the Year of the Horse in 2013 we decided to mount a big campaign. For the Chinese the horse is a very aspirational animal because it means strength and success. The icon of Budweiser is the Clydesdale, the biggest horse. Understanding that red and gold are the premium lucky colours for the Chinese, we created limited edition packaging with the Budweiser red and the gold Clydesdale. We organized one million dinner parties across Chinese restaurants so they could buy Budweiser on the night of Chinese New Year. We broadcast live on Chinese TV the Clydesdales walking out of the Great Wall on red carpet to bring good fortune to the Chinese people. I’m getting goose bumps thinking about it. So why was it successful? Because it was based on real consumer truths and insights. It started off like everything successful, with a true and really good understanding of consumers. It was authentic, because we allowed people to celebrate New Year with friends and family and it also had a disruptive component with the arrival of the Clydesdales. Leading up to New Year we took the Clydesdales on a tour across China to all of the key Budweiser markets and it was very aspirational. People would queue up for three hours to have a meet and greet with the horses, that’s how meaningful it was with consumers. We had three gentlemen proposing to their girlfriends in front of the Clydesdales because they represented success. Back then we achieved record market share and since it has doubled in China. It was my most successful campaign, and I am very proud of it.

DT: What skills do you need to market in different cultures?

AL: At the end of the day being a marketer is the same all around the world. It is about understanding consumers, to figure out what I can do to win their hearts, and minds, and, let’s be honest, wallets. One of the most important skills for a marketer is empathy. It is empathy in terms of understanding consumers and local cultural nuances and how they are being expressed. Values are the same all over the world but how they are expressed locally is very different. When I went to China I did not speak Mandarin but I spent my first week understanding the culture - what are the values around status and ambition, the two core values of Budweiser, being expressed in the Chinese market? As long as you truly understand that you can be successful in a marketing role, irrespective of where you are. That has proven to be the key to success for me.

DT: Is there anything unique about the Australian culture that is different from other markets you have worked in?

AL: Australians are very friendly and when you are a marketer you want to get to the truth - don’t just tell me you like it because you are a nice person. Unlocking the truth and the needs of the consumer is critical. There are still some trends that can hit the market here. Digital transformation and how that is going to come to life in Australia will be fascinating. It’s a mature market so consumer needs are evolving rapidly.

DT: What is the current focus for CUB?

AL: The most important thing is we have a very strong portfolio. The strength of our portfolio, including outside beer, is one of our competitive advantages. More than ever consumer needs have evolved. We need to tap into new consumer trends such as for health and wellbeing with Pure Blonde and our other mid-strength propositions. Within the beer framework there are still a lot of opportunities to unlock new occasions. Consumers enjoy beer very much. It is very anchored in the Australian way of living, that social relaxation moment at the end of the day, not only in summer but all year, which is great. That is the centre of gravity of beer and always will be, however, there are other opportunities where beer can play a meaningful role. We are going to try and unlock that. Secondly, there are consumer needs that we cannot answer with beer. That’s where we look at what we call adjacencies - ventures within non-alcoholic, draft cocktails and cider. They are very relevant because beer cannot go there. In both areas we are trying to disrupt and to positively surprise consumers. In today’s world I don’t know how many thousand of stimulus consumers are hit with on a daily basis. If you are not grabbing their attention you cannot talk to them. We want to disrupt; we want to earn their trust; we want to earn the conversation with them. It’s a journey of maximizing the portfolio of beer and outside of beer and continuously trying to grab and disrupt consumer attention.