Craft beer connoisseurs in Nevada and New York now have a one-stop resource for the latest information on regional brews, brewery tours and related events through easy-to-use mobile apps created by Brewers Marketing in partnership with the Nevada Craft Brewers Association and its 40+ brewery members and the New York State Brewers Association with more than 190 brewery members. Seekers of fine craft beer in Ohio will soon have an app of their own since the Ohio Craft Brewers Association, with over 170 brewer members, has signed up with Brewers Marketing as well.
Three apps with custom presentations
The three apps, which are individually branded and customized to represent each state’s craft brewing association and its members, are built on a platform designed around the interests and needs of craft beer aficionados.
“Serious beer lovers want to try everything and are always looking for the next best thing,” explained Susan Erickson of Brewers Marketing. “So we designed the app to make it as easy as possible for them to find the information they want — now they can access up-to-date news about all 42 craft breweries in Nevada or all 196 in New York State in one place.”
How they will work
To meet the needs of thirsty users, the apps use smartphones’ locational data to point users to the closest craft breweries for their favorite brews. App users can also see calendars of upcoming events at breweries in their state, get contact information and directions and curate their own personal lists of favorite brews (as well as wish lists of new beers to try). Truly passionate craft beer connoisseurs can even use the app to design and plan their own statewide progressive brewery tours.
Because craft beer lovers know that the best sources of reliable information about great beers are other beer lovers, the apps also leverage the power of crowd sourcing. Users can create profiles and post ratings, comments and photos of individual beers. Their photos and recommendations not only become part of their individual profiles, but are used by the app to generate a ranked list of the user communities’ favorite brews.
Why it’s cool for breweries
The apps not only make it easy for fans of craft beer to discover new brews, they also give the associations and their member breweries a simple, low-cost way to engage and educate new and existing customers and build brand awareness.
“Brewers can update their information on the app as easily as they send e-mails,” Erickson said. “All they have to do is log into their secure portal from any device and upload or type in the information they want — links to upcoming tastings, info on new or limited releases, events they will be featured at around town, what have you. And users provide the rest — their photos, comments and ratings also become part of their info on the app. Best of all, because all these updates are right on people’s phones, the breweries always stay top of mind.”
In addition, the apps’ social media integration allows users to post their photos and ratings to their Facebook accounts, providing brewers with another avenue for building brand awareness, Erickson added.
Brewers Marketing is a privately held software design firm based in the FAU Research Park in Boca Raton, Fla. Its mission is to support the fast-growing craft beer market by providing craft brewers with branded customer engagement applications incorporating both cutting-edge technology and designs focused on the unique logistical and human needs of each client.
