The New Belgium Brewing B case gives students an excellent example of a small company entering into the world of mass media marketing. It follows the company through the process from building a brand manifesto, to producing advertisements, to shifting toward more social forms of communication.
1. New Belgium has effectively used integrated marketing communications over the last 20 years. Evaluate the use of one major advertising campaign to fortify and enhance the company’s brand image.
2. NBB seemed to agonize over the use of the word “folly” in its advertising campaign. What do you make of the company’s struggle with this decision? Also, how do you personally feel their use of the word?
3. New Belgium’s focus on sustainability, whimsy, and fun is clearly rooted in its Colorado-based culture and the ethos of its founders and employees. As New Belgium’s distribution continues to expand away from that locale, how can the company make its branding and messaging resonate with consumers in different parts of the country?
4. Currently, New Belgium has been much more successful using social media than competitors Boston Brewing Co. and Sierra Nevada. Evaluate how social media has contributed to the firm’s marketing strategy, and make suggestions for the use of social media in the future.