IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: Lighthouse Beer and Wine

  • Hopping Into Fall

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    With beers like Belgian Triples, Indian Pale Ales, Oatmeal Stouts- one can get lost in the logistical nightmare of creating an individual brand. Dogfish Head and Flying Dog breweries created slogans, “off-centered ales for off-centered people since 1995” and “good people drink good beer”. Fortunately for local Lighthouse Beer and Wine, the hard part is no longer the beer, but bringing individuals together.

    This year’s 14th Annual Lighthouse Beer and Wine Festival will continue uniting breweries with beer-loving consumers- overlooking beautiful Downtown Wilmington. According to NC Beer Guys, more than 120 breweries will be present on October 24. The festival runs from 1pm-5pm, with the option to purchase VIP tickets, allowing for early entry. Paired with craft beer and wine, the event will host local food trucks and live music, featuring Greensboro natives, Holy Ghost Tent. The festival does not stop there! A portion of proceeds are donated to The Carousel Center, “a non-profit organization committed to assisting victims of child abuse, providing critical care services throughout Southeastern North Carolina”. The combined thirteen Beer and Wine Festivals, donated $150,000 to the cause.

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    Lighthouse takes to social media, outreaching to communities and consumers, past Wrightsville Beach. Promoting the 14th Annual Festival through the normal social media contenders:Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram– as well as a website. Each outlet allows Lighthouse to reach their consumer base and audience- with obvious overlap. The seamless flow from platform to platform, and from consumer to provider, bolsters the brand immensely. The identity that Lighthouse Beer and Wine has developed, is the result of careful social media management- and dedication to a specific brand image.

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    Lighthouse Beer and Wine Festival has been at the top of every beer-lover’s fall to-do list for nearly a decade and a half, it has done a great job at remaining relevant with the new ways of integrated marketing. When one explores their social media accounts along with its website and blog, their identity is consistent and tailored to their audience. Lighthouse beer and Wine is very active on social media, especially so on their Instagram account. They share regular updates about:

    • New craft beers, wine, and sake
    • Information about the festival
    • Friendly reminders to purchase festival ticket(s).

    Lighthouse promotes the festival within the store itself. It provides the opportunity to walk into the store, purchase a case of beer or bottle of wine and grab a ticket to the festival. How easy is that! 

    “The traditional marketing plan can do no more than give us a snapshot of a point in time. It doesn’t help us make the right decisions as we move forward in a complex and constantly changing marketplace” (Shiffman, 2008). The Engagement Theory discusses the importance of moving away from the traditional marketing approach, which only focused on profit of the business, and on toward the bigger picture: building the brand and engaging with your publics. As long as Lighthouse Beer and Wine Festival continues to keep this outlook at the forefront of their marketing strategy, they will remain a trademark of fall in Wilmington! 

    Now that you have heard what we have to say, what do you think? Does Lighthouse Beer and Wine reach their fullest potential with their approach to social media and customer interactions? Or does it leave something to be desired?

    -Jonathan Callahan, Erin Fouhy, Julia George, Joseph Hines, and Sarah Suggs

  • Beer Fest 2011

    Today’s consumer market has been dominated by large mergers in the corporate world that have taken over the competition at the height of what capitalism has created. However, we can look at one industry that has been resisting change in this area.

    Beer.  It is a commodity that Americans have relied on forever.  Anheuser-Busch, Miller and Coors are the three corporate heads that have dominated the American beer industry since the end of Prohibition.  It has only been in the past decade or so that there has been a new component to the industry.  The phenomenon of the microbrewery has taken off nationwide.  People love the variety of taste that light beer clearly does not offer.  Back in the 70s and 80s there was no variety other than the imports we get and now the business has swung a totally different direction than most industries.  Instead of the industry fusing together, which we see more and more of today, independent brewing companies are at an all time high with over 1400 breweries in the country. 

    This past weekend marked the 10th annual Beer Fest in Wilmington, NC.  Lighthouse Beer & Wine has always been the host of the event since 2001.  Lighthouse is located on Wrightsville beach and has been opened only since 1998. The success of Beer Fest is a prime example of the fulfillment of a fast growing trend in craft and microbrews.  These new brands of beers are not exactly comparable in taste.  They are all unique, something that the American public has found very appealing.  Beer has risen to a new level of connoisseurship, one that rivals wine.

    The Beer market has clearly shifted and continues to change.  Honing in on what now defines the niche market of beer is something that marketers have had to really start to invest time into.  Building brand awareness has shown success through simply having a quality product.  The three corporate heads of the industry have had to scramble in the last few years as they have seen a decrease in sales.  People don’t necessarily want one light beer that tastes exactly like the other.  They want variety in what they drink and knowing the effort and thoroughness that goes into the beer at an independent brewery is a good target buying incentive for customers that are looking for a new beers to purchase.  Anheuser –Busch, Coors, and Miller have started to catch on to this trend and have basically bought into various independent breweries without putting their name on the beer.  Their way into the microbrew trend that has risen is almost to conceal their brand name and emphasize the microbrewery in order to maintain their credibility.  This sub branding of breweries seems to be the future for the corporate beer industry where people authenticate it on a personal level based on quality of the product rather than basing their choices on the traditional mass media advertising campaigns that we are used to seeing on television.

    Beer Fest was a great way to advertise small breweries because sampling the product is one of the most effective way give incentive to customers and gain brand loyalty.

    By: Oliver Evans, Sally Shupe, Jared Sales