Just a few years ago, Genesee Brewing Company, New York State's oldest brewery established in 1878, was on the brink of bankruptcy. That was before North American Breweries, and its parent, the Triple Bottom Line (economic, social, environmental) company Florida Ice & Farm Co. invested $70 million in the Genesee site over the past few years. It is now investing another $40, which is matched by the State of New York's $9.5 million investment. This includes a new 130,000 square foot production building and expands the brewery by 18,000 square feet and adds 128 jobs. It is becoming a state-of-the art eco-brewery in an emerging eco-district that includes Rochester's High Falls on the Genesee River. It also features a new brew pub, museum and meeting and education center.
But that is not my story. My story is about the company's approach to marketing. A decade ago, its marketing consisted mostly of advertising focusing on sexy women, a very traditional, outdated and sexist approach. Today, its product offering and marketing have evolved in many ways. But the example I want to focus on today is the company's recent announcement that it will be floating twelve giant fermentation tanks from Albany, NY to Rochester, NY via the historic Erie Canal, passing through the Upstate cities of Utica (home of Saranac Brewery) and Syracuse (and many smaller towns) along the way. It is a functional decision because each 20 foot by 60 foot tank is too large to ship via truck or train. But Genesee Brewing Company has turned this into a publicity and social media event informing people in each place along the canal about the dates on which the tanks will pass through their towns.
I am a big fan of proactive publicity and this is a great example of that. It will be a significant branding photo opportunity, but it also links an historic brewery with one of New York State's most historic developments, the Erie Canal. It links the nostalgia of Upstate New York's heyday with its more recent resurgence to the same for Genesee Brewing Company.
Back in the 1980s, when I was responsible for new product development at Hallmark, I recall reading an SRI International report that pointed to the emergence of experiences as something increasingly salable even over tangible products. Based on that report and other research, I developed a new business proposal for Hallmark that focused on providing and enhancing gift certificates for "experiences as gifts." These included massages, dinners at nice restaurants, balloon rides, wine tastings, movie tickets, etc. We even included services such as housecleaning and yard clean-up.
While there is still a need for tangible products as we all still have functional needs, experiences are becoming an increasingly important part of our portfolio of purchases, especially for people with disposable income.
When I think of my own spending, a significant portion of it is on leisure travel, adventure travel, dinners out, skiing, sailing, scuba diving, massages and similar experiences. Even my tangible purchases include a large element of experience - traveling to Napa Valley, touring wineries and tasting wines before I purchase them and visiting public and commercial art galleries before I purchase art.
And while charitable giving should be altruistic, we often attend galas in which we have a chance to wear our formalwear, dance to live bands, enjoy nice food and drink, socialize with old and new friends and bid on silent auctions, which I particularly enjoy. Clearly, galas are experiences.
Even our local brewery (Genessee Brewing Company) has added tours, tastings, restaurants, bars, a beer museum and views of a 95 foot waterfall in downtown Rochester -- all clearly part of an experience. And, thanks to a local not-for-profit organization, an adjacent bridge across the Genesee River gorge from the brewery will soon be the home of a horizontal garden akin to New York City's High Line or Shelburne Falls, MA's Bridge of Flowers.
So, I would have you consider what sort of experience your brand is creating. When you consider how much we enjoy sensory stimulation - sight, taste, scent, touch and sound - it is important for brands to create experiences that play to these senses.
I wish you great success in creating your brand's sensory experience.
Baby boomers and other older cohort groups have witnessed many changes in their lifetimes and have many fond memories, some going all the way back to their childhood. I remember summers on Black Lake with friends motoring around the lake, exploring new tributaries and claiming uninhabited islands as our own. I remember the smell of homemade bread rising in my childhood kitchen. I remember playing with my Heathkit fifty-in-one electronics kit, my chemistry set, my microscope and my magic kit. I also remember all of the pranks I used to purchase and use - fly in the ice cube, whoopee cushion, disappearing ink, fake dog poop, fake vomit, hand buzzers, exhaust pipe noisemakers and gum that turns a person's mouth black. Remember playing Monopoly or Life or Twister? Or how about Pac-Man?
Brands can tap into heritage, fond memories and nostalgia. They can trigger memories or feelings of carefree childhood, life in simpler times and the good ol' days. Coca-Cola's bottle shape harkens back to its original bottle shape. Many old fashioned candies are in great demand by some consumers - Necco Wafers, Mary Jane, candy bead necklaces, wax candy (colored syrup in a wax bottle) and PEZ. Genesee Brewery recently introduced product names and packaging that harken back to its original beer brands.
Are there ways for your brand to tap into its heritage to create a strong sense of nostalgia?
