The Biggest Small Beer Ever Made
Brewers Association
Issue 41 | December 2016
Agency
Victors & Spoils
Creative Team
Executive Creative Director Sesh Moodley Chief Marketing Officer Andy Nathan Chief Client Officer Danielle Fuller Creative Directors Kate Kayne Pat Horn Associate Creative Director Rob Lewis Senior Art Director Travis Brown Copywriters Andrew Bridgers Arthur Tanimoto Designer / Studio Director Brent Erb
Production Team
Agency Producer Jenny Stefanov Production Company More Media Production Studio Buck Ross Productions Production Studio Can Source Post Production PostModern Account Director Alex Kayne
Date
May – July 2016
Background
The Brewers Association of America turned to Victors & Spoils to help put the spotlight on craft beer, the true symbol of American idealism, ingenuity and entrepreneurship, to combat big beer. The challenge was to develop a brand and voice for the trade association representing small American craft brewers. With the American Craft Beer Week rapidly approaching, there couldn't have been a better time to unite small breweries across America for a common mission.
Idea
The big brewing companies had been squeezing out the craft brewing industry through mergers and acquisitions. As a result, big beer had gotten so big it was hardly American.
So the idea was to steal a page from the big beer playbook and create a merger of craft beers and announce to the world that 4,490 craft breweries across the country would undergo a major merger in a nation-wide act of solidarity and support for craft beer.
The first thing this massive new brewery opted to do? Brew a beer showing America just how big small beer had become. The Biggest Small Beer Ever was brewed by breweries in all 50 states and based on a common recipe. Each hosted a toast during National Craft Beer Week in honor and celebration of craft beer's importance to the culture. Six cans were designed that featured the names of all 4,490 craft breweries across the country. The can served as a beacon of unity and a reminder of what it means to be truly American. Social media was used to drive awareness about the beer in anticipation of American Craft Beer Week.
Results
Over 166 million media and social impressions were generated.
#makesmallbeerbig garnered 875 unique social posts.
Website traffic for the Brewers Association and American Craft Beer Week increased by over 82%.
The Biggest Small Beer Ever Made was featured in over 150 media publications and articles.
Our Thoughts
A number of marketers forget that the most important medium that they own is their packaging. By starting with the cans themselves, every six-pack would begin a conversation with the people the Brewers Association most want to talk to – craft beer drinkers. These are not likely to be people who would be silent about the slow asphyxiation of an industry that represents their lifestyle. No wonder the campaign developed such momentum in social media.