Saturday, March 24, 2012

Marketing Beer to Women Article

I forgot to attach the article about marketing beer to women. Here it is:

http://www.lfpress.com/life/eat/2012/03/23/19541401.html

In Response to Evan Woolcott's Post

If you saw a bunch of people wearing "Blue Moon" shirts, and you were intoxicated, would you be encouraged to buy that beer?

I personally enjoy drinking different types of beer instead of drinking the same cheap Keystone or Bud Light all the time. So if I were to see someone with a Blue Moon t-shirt on and I was going to get beer, then that might influence my decision making because it would make me think about how much I enjoy Blue Moon.

On the other hand, I know many people that do not care much for other kinds of beers or just flat out don't want to spend the money to get a nicer beer. In the end, I believe it really depends on the person and they way they like to enjoy a few drinks. Its more of a lifestyle thing.

Marketing Beer to Women

I recently read something about the beer industry and how they market to customers. Primarily, beer is marketed to men. Advertisement for beer has a very masculine feeling to it whether its Keystone's "Keith Stone" or Dos Equis' "Most Interesting Man in the World". Beer has never been directed towards women and I myself am under the impression that the majority of women don't enjoy beer as much.

An article in the London Free Press writes about the demographic and lifestyle assumptions that go into marketing beer to women. One type of beer they mention is called Uptown Girl. This beer is a light beer that comes in a slightly smaller bottle and contains minimal calories. First of all, this beer directly refers to women in the name. This makes it look specifically for women. The slightly smaller bottle is there to make the beer less filling. This refers to an assumption made by beer companies that women cannot drink as much beer as men. Also, this beer only has about fifty calories, which is a very low amount for beer. This assumes that many women are conscious of the calories they intake.

If this marketing strategy works then its great for beer companies. After reading these changes made to beer based off these three assumptions I wonder, do these changes made assume to much of women and could these stereotypes be seen as offensive to women?