ABSTRACT
The chapter discusses the findings of research into how craft breweries in the USA and the UK have harnessed events to build product awareness and demand for their beers. The research used in-depth interviews with craft brewers to explore how craft breweries bring their beer and consumers together. The US beer market has been tightly controlled by the two US brewing conglomerates formerly known as Anheuser-Busch and Miller-Coors. The mega-brewers dominated beer distribution and spent enormous sums on advertising. The crowding out of the market caused difficulties for emerging craft brewers as they tried to get their products known and sold. Lack of access to distribution networks encouraged craft brewers to devise innovative strategies to bring consumers and their craft products together. The three main strategies used by craft brewers have been firstly to invite consumers to taste the beer at the brewery, secondly, to build a social media profile for craft beer and thirdly to take their beer to festivals and events including dedicated beer festivals, food festivals and local celebrations. The chapter will discuss how craft breweries have used events in both the USA and the UK to build product awareness and sell their products and will investigate whether a distribution strategy incorporating events is part of a long-term business strategy or a stop-gap measure to use before traditional methods of distribution open up.
