Pabst embraces alternative marketing

It’s been more than 20 years since hipsters in Portland, Oregon embraced Pabst Blue Ribbon as a favorite beer brand. Ironic or not, it fed an association with alternative culture and the arts that the venerable beer brand has continued to embrace today. This summer, Pabst is reviving Project Pabst, a two-day, two-stage music festival in Portland featuring era-spanning alternative artists including Big Thief, Denzel Curry, the Violent Femmes and T-Pain. It’s a lineup made to match the wide demographic and independent mindset of today’s Pabst drinker, said Rachel Keeton, marketing director of Pabst Brewing, speaking on the latest episode of Ad Age’s Marketer’s Brief podcast. The hipster association “really ties back to the brand itself, it’s always kind of stood up for this independent, do-it-yourself attitude and spirit,” Keeton said. “And whether that’s our consumers, or the partners or bands that we work with, they all kind of have that same mindset and attitude. And so we just try to stay true to that and continue leaning into it, and showing up in culture in those ways.” More news: Bud Light unveils its summer marketing strategy Lots of beer brands are sponsoring music festivals and artists these days, and for good reason, Keeton noted. “Music is something that brings people together, and beer brings people together, and so I think it makes a lot of sense,” Keeton said. “But for us, we don’t think of it as forcing the brand into the music space. We really try to connect authentically and to celebrate the music that our drinkers are passionate about.” Possessing only a fraction of the marketing budget of larger beers, Pabst is a scrappy marketer that relies heavily on social, earned media, partnerships and events. One of its most effective channels is social, where the brand leverages the passion of its fans. Read about Ad Age’s 2024 Leading Women here “I’m very biased with this, but I think PBR just has the best fans—they’re super-engaged with the brand,” Keeton said. “Social is a really great tool for us to be able to connect with them and build on that. But I think the passion that they have for PBR is infectious. And that energy is really contagious, and I think is a way that helps us reach new consumers.” Also: 8 trends that will drive summer alcohol marketing Returning to growth Marketing scrappiness is supported by solid execution in distribution and pack sizes, putting Pabst “in a healthy position,” Keeton said, with the brand returning to growth last year (sales were up by 12.8%, according to Nielsen figures reported by Beer Business Daily). PBR is outpacing industry trends so far this year, Keeton added. Pabst Brewing’s regional brands (including Stroh’s, Old Style, National Bohemian, Lone Star and Old Milwaukee) also had a strong year behind local promotions, such as the “Chicago handshake” boilermaker consisting of a shot of Malort (a liqueur that might be described as an acquired taste) and an Old Style beer. “I think it’s less of a handshake and more of a middle finger based on the taste of Malort,” Keeton allows, “but the brand manager there, he’s done an incredible job of bringing this program to life, amplifying it with consumers [and] incorporating bartenders in the service industry.” Only one-third of Pabst Brewing’s 2023 growth was attributable to the Bud Light meltdown, Keeton said, noting the brands compete in different categories and at different price points. Pabst didn’t make any moves to capitalize, sticking instead with plans to run an odd summer promo built around the resemblance of baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs to Cool Blue, a PBR cartoon mascot used in the 1970s and ’80s. The Bud Light fiasco should remind marketers to approach social media with strategy and rigor, Keeton said. (Pabst endured its own social media mini-scandal in 2022). “I think consumers, at the end of the day, have a lot more control over how marketing messages are amplified than the brands themselves,” Keeton said.

Behind Pabst’s embrace of alternative marketing

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