GABF Rebuttals
I just returned home from my second Great American Beer Festival, which went off without a hitch as brewery members and supporters descended upon Denver for a three day celebration. During craft beer’s euphoric rise from 2013-2015, nobody questioned the validity of the cost involved with bringing a team to the biggest showcase of the year. Breweries were selling everything they could make and a feeling of invincibility blanketed the industry. The record has since scratched, from a short term growth perspective, which has many understandably asking themselves “what’s the point?” when it comes to squeezing GABF into their shrinking budgets. I have a rebuttal of each of them...
“I Don’t Distribute in Colorado. Pouring at the Festival is Pointless.”
If you’re counting how many additional cases you’ll deplete or pints you’ll sling in the months following your presence at GABF booth, then I agree. You are not going to break even on that investment anytime soon. But think about the human beings you employ who bust their ass all year at festivals and events, building relationships with customers. Whether that’s Sales, Marketing, or the Brewers themselves, they’re grinding out there and what better way to say thank you than to allow them the opportunity to leave town, be surrounded by peers from around the country, and work their craft on the biggest stage.
Every sampling interaction with a beer customer has the chance to make you better at your job, if you put the effort in. Tasting out beers to a wide range of palates comes with a complex set of “if-then” scenarios as you size up their sophistication and adjust to ensure your explanation and choice of words resonates. Listening to what beer fans have to say, regardless of whether you agree or not, helps build a better algorithm in your brain as you learn how to improvise and help them make sense of what they’re tasting. Cracking the code is a great feeling, seeing the light bulb go off above their head, leaving them with an impression that they’re sure to remember because you took the time. There’s no short cuts to developing this skillset, it’s all about repetition, and GABF is the Super Bowl for those who do it for a living.
“Winning a Medal Doesn’t Translate To Sales”
Hearing your brewery’s named called on stage at GABF is a moment of pride that encapsulates not just that individual brew, but a year or more of hard work for the entire crew who plays any role in making the business happen. Medals provide a shot in the arm, much needed confidence, and camaraderie for a team battling the challenges of running a brewery. But we can’t all win, and for those in the right mindset, losing can provide the motivation and chip on one’s shoulder to level up their game. When that happens, the results can be felt well beyond the accolade itself.
For breweries who succeed in navigating the gauntlet of different judges and rounds to win a GABF medal, the impact on sales comes down to what they do next. Let’s be honest, most don’t follow the beer news, and only 10-20% of social media followers are going to see a celebratory post. So what would I do? I’d send a press release to all the local writers and news stations, then put paid promotion behind an Instagram/Facebook post sharing not only the news, but that the beer is on tap in the Taproom with a special pricing. Winning is not going to drive business all by itself, but with a little fuel behind the news to bust through the algorithms, a nice bump could be seen that carries a long lasting respect and pride among your local fanbase.
“It’s Not Worth the Travel Cost”
After factoring in flights, hotel, and other expenses, the total can easily start at $1,500 for each team member sent to GABF and that Return on Investment is tough to see on the POS register. There’s another way to think about and rationalize these travel expenses though, which I recommend at least considering among the bigger picture.
What if each team member were challenged to identify like-minded industry peers with similar roles and invite them to explore breweries around Denver on Friday afternoon. While team bonding is a huge opportunity of the trip, combining teams from different parts of the country to talk shop can lead to exciting conversations and newfound inspiration. Many are so busy leading up to the trip that they’re not able to make these connections in advance, but wondering the floor on Day 1 (Thursdday) and visiting some booths of breweries you admire can easily lead to conversations and welcomed new connections that last well beyond the days of the festival. E-mail, text, or social media group chats can follow with a new sounding board to share what’s working, what’s not, and best practices.
What if each brewer carved out some time to explore the festival floor and taste through examples of a style they’re looking to get into or perfect their approach, while networking with the breweries who created any standouts. It’s hard to imagine a more efficient place to taste through a wide range of examples of just about any style, with the ability to converse with the creators right there on the spot. What if these conversations spilled over into a new friendship that lead to the opportunity to collaborate on a beer project. In brewing, there’s no better training than on the job while working with new minds who are willing to share their learnings and hear about your own techniques.
What if a participating brewery reached out to each member of the beer media, including writers and content creators, explaining what they would be pouring at the booth, why these beers were chosen, and inviting them to stop by and talk shop. I know as someone who writes and makes videos, it’s overwhelming to know where to start and when you receive a personalized invite from a brewery who would love to talk to you, you’re likely to stop by. That interaction could leave to an inclusion in an article or social post shared out to a craft beer centric audience, all because you had the foresight to reach out.
Book It
Like most craft beer marketing efforts, a direct and immediate ROI is not the only way to look at participating in the Great American Beer Festival. While some may absolutely be in a financial position where they should abstain, the travel, booth, and competition costs are an investment back into the team who helps make the brewery run and keep beer fans engaged. When you look at the investment from the lens of the humans returning from GABF, more motivated than when they left, it’s all of a sudden money well spent. That’s the point.
This is not only a great argument for brewers to attend GABF, but a great argument for businesses to attend industry shows in general. There is always value beyond immediate revenue, leads, etc.
Love this! I started following your Instagram account because of a New Mexico brewery re-share at GABF. As a startup brewery owner in Southwest NM, I hope we can get to GABF one year!