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MKT. 151 Integrated Marketing Communications – Lydia Boyko IMC Campaign Project – Due: April 16, 2013 Sadie Weinstein, Kendra Hui, Javan Keels, Paige Grasby and Silvi Stermasi

Blushing Blonde Lager For centuries, beer has been created, produced, and marketed by and to men. Ironically, in ancient and medieval

times, it was the women who brewed beer. In some cultures, it was considered such an honour that only beautiful or

noble women could do it.

Independently women-owned and brewed in Guelph, Ontario, Blushing Blonde Lager is the first Canadian beer created

by women for women. It is a craft-brewed light beer that doesn’t taste like a light beer. The flavour – fragrant roses,

strawberries and peaches – is soft, smooth and full-bodied and is designed to tantalize any beer-loving taste buds.

Entering a quickly emerging and growing market for women’s beverages as a brand new product, Blushing Blonde

Lager is here to celebrate women: independent, smart, fun-loving and self-assured women who love life and embrace

all the possibilities that it has to offer.

Brand Essence Tantalizing, crisp, bold, exquisite, quenching, effervescent. Background Goal: Our goal for Blushing Blonde Lager is to establish and advance our unique and innovative product in the women’s

beverage market; and to position it as a leading women’s beer brand, while generating much buzz and excitement.

Objective: Our objective for Blushing Blonde Lager is to increase our initial sales, brand awareness and loyalty in Canada by 30 per

cent by September 2013.


Strategies: In order to achieve our goal and objective, we will be implementing the use of traditional and social media to facilitate

an increase in brand awareness, brand loyalty and product sales.

Tactics: We will execute a number of tactics in order to achieve our goal and objective.

1. Facebook: We will use Facebook as a way to interact with our target market by posting photos, videos,

announcements, anecdotes, as well as to answer any questions and to engage in conversation. The Facebook

page will be integrated with the Twitter page as a way to engage and inform potential customers. This tactic is

an integral part of our brand new product in its lifecycle stage because it is a great way to promote our brand,

and to establish brand awareness and eventual loyalty.

2. Twitter: We will also use Twitter as a way to engage with our prospective customers, vendors (restaurants and

bars), retailers (select beer retailers across Canada) and use it to promote our brand and raise awareness of any

upcoming partnerships. Just like Facebook, Twitter is important to our product lifecycle stage, as it is a current,

engaging and involved way to establish awareness of Blushing Blonde Lager.

3. Website: Our website will contain all information related to our product, including: our story, nutritional

information, a blog detailing upcoming events we will be participating in, where you can find our product for

purchase, as well as links to both the Twitter and Facebook pages. Visitors to the page will be invited to sign up

for brewery tours and a monthly newsletter. This tactic is vital to our product lifecycle stage because we must

provide all necessary information to the public in a clear, accessible and informative manner.

4. Coupons: We will be handing out coupons to potential customers that can be used toward purchases at select

beer retailers across Canada, our brewery and for brewery tour discounts. Additionally, by signing up on our

website for our monthly newsletter, customers will be e-mailed a coupon for 30 per cent off their next


purchase of a Blushing Blonde Lager six-bottle pack at select beer retailers across Canada. This tactic is

important to our product lifecycle stage, as it promotes sales and ultimate growth of our company.

5. Exhibitor at Toronto’s Festival of Beer: By setting up a brand experience area at Toronto’s Festival of Beer

in July 2013, we will be able to customize a booth to attract our target audience, convey our brand image and

offer product sampling and coupons to patrons of the festival. Additionally, by participating in the festival, our

brand logo will be included on the festival’s “I Tried ‘Em All” t-shirt, which is an easy way to have our brand

walk around Canada on human billboards for the rest of the summer. We will also put an ad in the festival’s

“Beer Pocket Guide,” distributed to all patrons of Toronto’s Festival of Beer. This tactic is essential to our product

lifecycle stage because it is one of the most effective ways to reach thousands of consumers while increasing

brand awareness.

6. Taste-testing at beer retailers and bars: By setting up temporary stands at select beer retailers and bars

across Canada, we will be able to effectively approach our target market and encourage Canadian women to

purchase our product by giving out free samples. As with the beer festival, this tactic is important to our

product lifecycle stage since it will reach the right consumers and increase brand awareness.

7. Contest: We will have a label design contest where customers will be asked to send in their own creative

designs via Facebook for a chance to win one per cent of sales for 15 years, or a single cash prize of $15,000.

Participants will post their photos to our Facebook page and the public will vote by ‘liking’ their favourite

designs. This contest will generate excitement and creative energy surrounding Blushing Blonde Lager, and

will build brand awareness and lasting loyalty, which is imperative to our product lifecycle stage.

8. Partnership with Milestones’ Girls’ Night Out: We will be partnering with Milestones to join its “Girls’

Night Out” menu, available every Monday at Milestones restaurants across Canada. Currently, Milestones

offers a health-conscious, feminine menu, called “Girls’ Night Out,” which includes four Bellinis and four

appetizers for $40. As part of our partnership, Blushing Blonde Lager will be introduced as a permanent

alternative to the Bellini cocktail, with hopes of including Blushing Blonde-infused recipes in the future.

Because Blushing Blonde Lager has hints of peach, it will complement the peachy Bellini cocktail perfectly. The


partnership will be promoted via our website, Twitter and Facebook pages, as well as on Milestones’ website

and social media. This partnership is key to our product lifecycle stage because it is an unparalleled way to

introduce our product to our target market as the Canadian women’s beverage of choice, as well as to raise

brand awareness and to generate buzz.

9. News release: On top of our other tactics, we will be distributing a news release to various news outlets across

Canada through the use of media relations. The release will outline who we are, what we do, what is special

and unique about our product and where it can be found for purchase. All information given in the news

release will also be available on our website, Facebook and Twitter pages. Giving journalists the opportunity

and tools necessary to write about us in the press will inevitably increase brand awareness and in turn,

increase our sales to meet our goal and objective. Ultimately, having a news release as one of our tactics is

elemental to our success in our product lifecycle stage.

Research Target Market Segmentation According to our research, women between the ages of 21 to 30 drink beer more frequently than other age brackets.

Women account for 40 per cent of beer sales in Canada (Sorensen, 2011). The largest Canadian breweries are foreign-

owned, and most are marketed with men in mind, despite the fact that throughout history, women have been heavily

involved with the creation of beer (Walsh, 2010). Beer is a large part of Canadian culture and is consumed at sporting

events, concerts, restaurants, bars, and in homes across the country.

This beverage offers an alternative for consumers who prefer a flavoured beverage. Our product is for middle and upper

class women between the ages of 25 and 35 years old. They are career driven, family oriented and living in suburban-

urban regions. This includes women from any job level or sector whose religion and health permit alcohol

consumption.


Our product is available nationally. Since there are very few beer brands that cater to the needs of women who

consume alcohol, this product has a viable chance of succeeding. Most women who like beer say it is the bitter taste

that can be unappealing (Johnson, 2011). The University of Saskatchewan conducted a study that indicated Canadian

women consume high levels of sugar-sweetened beverages (University of Saskatchewan, 2012). Blushing Blonde

Lager’s fruity taste and fragrance makes it a beverage a lot of women will enjoy.

We know that women are health and body conscious; thus, our product is appealing because beer has properties that

can lower LDL cholesterol, cells that build up and cause health issues and improve HDL cholesterol, which are good for

the body, and help to prevent heart attacks (Sass, 2013).

Ethical Aspects Distributed exclusively within Canada, we are proud to declare that Blushing Blonde Lager is a highly ethical brewing

company that produces a truly guilt-free beer. The brewery is located in Guelph, Ontario, and we strive to support local

production by using local, organic ingredients from nearby farms. By running all of our operations locally and using

local ingredients, this enables us to significantly lower our carbon footprint. Given that beer is a very water intensive

product, we are also working hard on lowering our water footprint – the total volume of fresh water consumed, directly

and indirectly, to produce a product.

Blushing Blonde Lager participates in the UN’s CEO Water Mandate, which is a unique public-private initiative designed

to assist companies in the development, implementation and disclosure of water sustainability policies and practices,

and we report annually on our implementation practices (Power, 2011). Blushing Blonde Lager’s facilities obtain 100

per cent of its energy from wind from a nearby wind farm.

Our commitment to clean energy saves the atmosphere from 335,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, 1,500 pounds of

sulfur dioxide, and 500 pounds of nitrogen oxide that would otherwise be emitted (Quilty, 2010). We pay local farmers

to pick up our spent grain, the husks that are left over after brewing, that they can feed to their livestock (Quilty, 2010).

We also encourage all our customers to recycle used bottles at their local beer retailer.


At Blushing Blonde Lager, we make an extraordinary effort to go above to respect our workers’ human rights. All

employees are part of a union and receive fair wages, health benefits, and work in a suitably safe environment.

Blushing Blonde Lager targets mature, professional, female consumers between the ages of 25 and 35, and in no way

engages in marketing that encourages excessive or irresponsible drinking. We actively help in countrywide efforts to

reduce drinking and driving by collaborating with the Ontario government and non-governmental organizations, such

as MADD, to educate about the dangers, and enforce existing laws.

Blushing Blonde Lager is more than just another beer on the shelf. From our inception, our company’s idea has been

about creating a brand for women that both suits their tastes and creates a culture that support them. That is why we

believe it is very important for Blushing Blonde Lager to share its successes with women.

To that end, we have become a strong supporter of the Canadian Women’s Foundation (CWF), and we have pledged to

donate five cents of our net profits to this foundation. CWF raises money to research, fund and share the best

approaches to ending violence against women, moving low-income women out of poverty and building strong,

resilient girls. We hope to build strong relationships with more charities that empower women in the future, both

nationally and locally in the communities where Blushing Blonde Lager is sold.


References

Garriguet, D. (2008). Beverage consumption of Canadian adults. Retrieved April 10 2013 from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2008004/article/6500821-eng.pdf

Johnson, G. (2011). Why women don't enjoy beer. Retrieved April 10th 2013 from http://womenenjoyingbeer.com/2011/11/15/why-women-dont-enjoy-beer/

Power, Gavin. (2011). The CEO Water Mandate. Retrieved April 10 2013 from

http://www.unglobalcompact.org/Issues/Environment/CEO_Water_Mandate/ Quilty, David. (2010). Five Eco-Friendly Craft Breweries Doing The Right Thing.

Retrieved April 10 2013 from http://thegoodhuman.com/2010/08/17/5-eco-friendly-craft-breweries-doing-the-right-thing/

Saskachewan, U. (2012). U of S researchers find beer a favourite fluid among

Canadian adults. Retrieved April 10 2013 from http://www.usask.ca/pharmacy-nutrition/news/u-of-s-researchers-find-beer-favourite-fluid-among-canadian-adults.php

Sass, C. (2013). Four Health Benefits of Drinking Beer. Retrieved April 10 2013 from http://www.shape.com/latest-news-trends/4-reasons-reach-beer

Sorensen, C. (2011). The next frontier for beer: women. Retrieved April 10 2013

from http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/08/26/tapping-a-new-market/ Walsh, C. (2010). How beer is(n't) marketed to women. Retrieved April 10

2013 from http://www.beerwestmag.com/the-magazine/feature-have-you-really-come-a-long-way-baby/


Blushing Blonde Lager 30 York Road, Unit 50

Guelph, Ontario N1H 3P7

NEWS RELEASE April 16, 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hold on to your beers, boys – Blushing Blonde Lager is here Guelph, Ont.: There’s no denying it’s a man’s world, but a group of women are out to change that. The first of it’s kind in

Canada; Blushing Blonde Lager is a unique, light beer that’s made for women by women. Offering a one-of-a-kind

experience for consumers, this lager showcases the duality of fragrant and clean flavours, and a rich complexity of malts

and smooth character.

Blushing Blonde Lager uses a combination of malts that give the beer its soft palate and a smooth, full-bodied taste.

The craft-brewed light beer – that doesn’t taste like light beer – has a distinct blend of flavours consisting of fragrant

roses, strawberries and peaches. Its sweet, fruity flavour hides any hint of bitter hops, and its brewing process promotes

it away from wine coolers and into a more elevated company.

“Our tantalizing, bold flavours and a non-gender stereotype marketing campaign offer women a lady-inspired, new and

enriched beer experience,” said Michelle Brown, president and CEO of Blushing Blonde Lager. “We’re providing female

beer lovers with a refreshing taste and an exceptionally smooth finish.”

(More)


Blushing Blonde Lager contains 4.6 per cent alcohol by volume and uses a vast, complex mixture of malts to create a

distinct, refined taste. The design of the bottle is sleek and edgy: the label is black and gold, shying away from a

feminine appearance, but providing a refreshing, feminine taste.

“We launched Blushing Blonde Lager three months ago and we’re already receiving excellent feedback from

customers,” said Michelle Brown. “We’re happy to provide women with a great-tasting beer that they can drink while

watching a hockey game or hanging out with the girls.”

Blushing Blonde Lager is now available at select bars and restaurants, and $12.95 per six-bottle pack at select beer

retailers across Canada.

Founded in 2012, Blushing Blonde Lager is independently owned and brewed in Guelph, Ontario, and produces a

premium, all-natural craft beer. Innovative and experimental both in the brewhouse and through advances in

sustainability, Blushing Blonde Lager is sold in ten provinces and three territories in Canada. For further details, please

visit www.blushingblondelager.ca.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Kendra Hui Public Relations Manager Blushing Blonde Lager 416-888-1881 [email protected]


Website

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