Agents of change An investigation of how craft breweries educate their consumers..pdf

This is an early draft version of a paper which eventually appears as: Watne, T. (2012). Agents of change: An investigation
of how craft breweries educate their consumers. Proceedings accepted to the Australia and New Zealand Marketing
Academy (ANZMAC) conference, Adelaide, 3-5 December.
Agents of change:
An investigation into how craft brewers educate their consumers
Torgeir Watne. Victoria University Australia. Torgeir.Watne@vu.edu.au
Keywords: Consumer socialisation, craft beer, alcohol, socialisation agency, consumer
learning, consumer education
Abstract
Within the last 20 years, the number of breweries in Australia has grown from 11 to almost
150. The new entrants to this market are ‘craft breweries’: small, independent and traditional
breweries, which differentiate their products on taste and ingredients. The products they offer
are often not ‘standard’ commercial lagers (e.g. VB, Fosters, Budweiser, Heineken,
Carlsberg), and many consumers have little knowledge of, and experience with, speciality
ales. From a consumer socialisation perspective, this study investigates how craft brewers
educate their consumers about their products in the state of Victoria, Australia. Based on in-
depth interviews with the business owners, we examine craft brewers as sources of influence
– or socialisation agents – within a boutique industry. The results indicate that the craft
brewers position themselves as experts and as such may be an important socialisation agent.
Background
The basis for all kinds of socialisation is to live in society, a situation entailing conformity to
social requirements or norms. An individual can be said to be socialised when he or she has
learnt to think and feel according to society’s expectations (Moschis, 1987). In marketing, to
live in society – the base for all socialisation – implies to function in the marketplace
(Moschis, 1987; Ward, 1974). However, socialisation is not an isolated childhood process; it
continues throughout a person’s lifetime (Ekström, 2006; Moschis, 1987). Consumers learn
new consumption trends from significant others through social interaction (Watne and
Brennan, 2011). For example, in a family context, adolescents, to a large extent, educate their
parents as consumers as long as the parents and child agree that the child’s knowledge in the
product category is superior to the parents’ knowledge (Watne, Lobo, and Brennan, 2011).
This indicates that consumers trust a source of socialisation agency based on perceptions of
expertise. Craft brewers may be perceived as experts by consumers since they offer beer
products that many consumers are unfamiliar with.
With regard to alcohol, the norms of living in society (the base of all socialisation) may relate
to how to match good drinks with good food as well as trying/tasting new things/flavours.
Further, enhancing friendships, meeting new people and being part of positive drinking
occasions are regarded as important attributes of consumers’ community pub experiences
(Muir, 2012). All these factors may be prominent features of consumer socialisation relating
to alcohol. An investigation of craft beer consumption as ‘boutique consumption’ is
especially a good context to study consumer socialisation and alcohol due to the unique
'customs' it has for describing what a good product comprises. As a new consumption trend,
consumers may need to unlearn and relearn consumption patterns in order to appreciate the
product attributes of such boutique products.

Craft breweries are most often in opposition to the national and international ‘mass brewery’
brands (Carroll and Swaminathan, 2000). Craft breweries, or small, independent and
traditional breweries (www.brewersassociation.org), are burgeoning in the United Kingdom,
United States of America, Northern Europe, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Asia. In
Australia, the number of breweries has grown from 11 in 1990 to almost 150 in 2012
(Kingham, 2012). The sales of craft beers are increasing even when beer consumption as such
is decreasing in some markets (Esterl, 2011). Still, very little research has focused on the craft
beer industry and how the industry approaches consumers in the marketplace. From a
consumer socialisation perspective, this study seeks to investigate how craft brewers function
as socialisation agents for consumers in a young but rapidly growing industry.
Literature review: Consumer Socialisation Agency
Agents of socialisation are people and groups that influence a change in the learners’ self-
concepts, emotions, attitudes, and behaviour (Bandura, 1969, 1977). From a consumer
socialisation perspective, families, peers as well as the media are said to be the most
significant socialisation agents, and also the most researched (see for example Carlson,
Laczniak, and Wertley, 2011; Moschis, 1985; Moschis and Churchill, 1978). Much research
in consumer socialisation has focused on mass media as a socialisation agent, especially
when it comes to how children learn from television advertising (John, 1999). Some more
recent studies have focused on new media such as the internet as a socialisation agent (Lee
and Conroy, 2005; Moscardelli and Liston-Heyes, 2005). However, with the interactive
landscape of Web 2.0, the nature of what comprises a socialisation agent is blurred. For
example, when consumers are socialised through interaction in social media, the socialisation
agent could be said to be the internet, their peers or perhaps a business they communicate
with. This study contests the traditional view of ‘media’ as a socialisation agent.
We argue that the media is merely the platform of socialisation agency and that the real agent
is the source behind the media – that be family, peers or business owners (and by extension
businesses) – not the media. When it comes to consumers’ likelihood to receive consumer
socialisation agency from family members and peers, perceived level of expertness moderates
the relationship (Watne et al., 2011). As such, it seems that consumers would be more likely
to see a business owner positioned as an expert in the field as an important socialisation
agent. As opposed to mainstream brewers who differentiate their products based on
advertising, craft breweries seek to differentiate their products primarily with raw materials
and taste (Adams, 2006). From this perspective, craft brewers may hold expert power over
consumers and this expertise is the base for consumer socialisation agency.
Socialisation agents and power
Consumption patterns are learned through social interaction with external sources or
‘socialisation agents’ (Chan and McNeal, 2006; John, 1999; Taeho, 2005). An agent of
socialisation will have some control over rewards and punishments for the learner (Brim,
1966; Moschis, 1987). This means that the learner adjusts behaviour, knowledge and attitude
with accordance to the agent, based on rewards and punishments. However, a consumer is
more likely to cede socialisation agency to someone who has some form of social power over
them. Social power is when a person’s ability to persuade is based on attributes such as
knowledge, expertise or social standing (Cialdini, 1993). Power that comes from expertise
and knowledge is referred to as social expert power (French and Raven, 1959). The strength
of the expert power varies with the extent of the perception of knowledge which the learner

attributes to the expert within a given area. Learners – at least in a family setting – evaluate
the ‘expertness’ in relation to their own knowledge (Watne et al., 2011).
Agents of change
In the beer industry, the large players can be regarded as ‘generalists’, and small players enter
the market as ‘specialists’ (Carroll, 2011). Most generalist beers have become generic
products, and consumers are incapable of discriminating between them or even identifying
their ‘favourite’ brand (Jacoby, Olson, and Haddock, 1971). Carroll and Swaminathan (2000)
argued that the craft beer movement was partly fuelled by consumers’ shift from beer as a
generic product to craft beer differentiated by flavour. Schnell and Reese (2003) further argue
that one of the main reasons for the craft beer expansion, at least in the United States, was
consumers wanting to break away from the smothering homogeneity of popular, national
culture. Craft brewers may be an important agent of change for consumers of beer; their
boutique positioning and product-based focus may lend them to be a powerful socialisation
agent for consumers seeking product variation.
It seems likely that consumers will trust the advice of someone with knowledge in the
product category as a food item (a connoisseur). Indeed, Flack (1997) recognised a growing
beer connoisseur subculture in USA. With craft beer being a relatively new trend in Australia,
a lack of beer connoisseurs amongst consumers may leave the staff and brewers at the craft
breweries as one of the most important socialisation agents when it comes to beer education
and the development of an interest in the product category.
Outcomes of craft beer socialisation agency
Consumers tend to view alcohol in different ways: it could be seen as a food product and
food companion (Olsen, Thach, and Nowak, 2007), a socialising component (Muir, 2012), or
as a means of intoxication (Pedersen, LaBrie, and Kilmer, 2009). Bruwer and Li (2007)
recognised that people drink for different reasons, and that consumers have different attitudes
towards alcohol. As such, alcohol is consumed for different reasons. Some consumers may,
for example, have an interest in alcohol as a product. Others may be interested in the social
occasion in which it is consumed or in the effect that alcohol have on them. An important
reasons for initial trial of wine is food pairing and tasting (similar to any food item), and not
the effect of alcohol (Olsen et al., 2007). If an interest in the product category is developed
after the initial trial, it seems likely that consumption for the same reasons will prevail;
consumers want to learn more about flavours or how to match drinks with food. As such,
educating and socialising consumers about craft beer may have a positive societal effect
because the focus is on ‘tasting’ beer rather than ‘swilling’ beer.
Method
The fundamental premise of this study is to bring the consumer socialisation framework out
of its comfort zone as a narrow theory of how children learn to become consumers from their
parents, peers and the media. Here, we propose that consumer socialisation (like all
socialisation) is a lifelong process and that consumers of all ages are socialised into new
consumption situations and environments. Further, we suggest that a focus on the media
(mainly mass media and TV in particular) as a socialisation agent is outdated in an
interconnected world, and that the real socialisation agent is the business owner (and by
extension the business) behind the message in the media. To investigate this, we look at craft
breweries – a boutique industry focused on producing premium quality products. As a

relatively young but rapidly growing industry in Australia, the craft brewers need to socialise
adult consumers (above legal drinking age) into this new consumption trend.
Due to the lack of prior research on consumer socialisation from this perspective, this study
takes a qualitative approach. We combined craft brewing industry data from the state of
Victoria with primary data from in-depth interviews of five craft brewery owners. We
purposely targeted the owners of the businesses because the owner would have a good
knowledge of the business plan, and thus potentially have some clear ideas about whether the
business sees it as important to educate the consumers. In each interview, we asked the five
owners to describe their business, how they perceive the growing craft beer sector, how they
position themselves as a business, who their consumers were and what the barriers to
expanding the business were. To reduce interviewer bias, we did not want to ask them
directly about the extent to which they educate their consumers. The interviews were set up
so that the owners would start talking about their customers in general. As such, we could
analyse the data later to see whether craft brewers would perceive themselves as having
expert power over the consumers and thus function as socialisation agents.
We focused on studying the craft beer industry in Victoria. A preliminary review of websites
in relation to craft brewing in Australia indicates that the state of Victoria has the highest
concentration of craft breweries in the country with about 50 operational craft breweries.
Thus, Victorian business owners may have more refined business plans and a clearer idea
about who their consumers are, why they buy the products and what their needs are with
regard to product education. Based on information available on the companies’ websites and
information collected from the media, we selected breweries that seemed to operate different
business models. In our sample, we included: one brewer that sold products in kegs and
bottles to restaurants, bars and bottle shops but did not operate a bar/restaurant themselves;
one brewer that did not have their own premises but operated via a contract brewery; and
three breweries/brewpubs that sold their products mainly via the venue but also to other bars,
restaurants and bottle shops. In addition, we sample came from two central/urban as well as
three regional/rural locations. As such, our sample contained data from breweries’ with direct
(e.g. serving/sampling beer over the counter) as well as indirect (e.g. advertising on the
company website) contact with consumers. This allowed us to look at differences and
similarities when it came to how the business seeks to educate the consumers.
Results
From our interviews, it appears that craft brewers perceive themselves as producers of
artisan, craft products. Some of them participated in farmers markets and/or donated beer to
various art activities and festivals. All interviewees expressed a strong passion for their trade,
and it seemed very important for them to tell us the difference between craft and mainstream
beer, and what real craft beer is. It was clear from all interviews that craft beers are produced
for the sake of the flavour, and by careful selection of ingredients. All five respondents
indicated that they produce their craft beers for the sake of its distinctive flavour and that they
carefully selected the ingredients that distinguish their beer from other beers on the market.
As such, the consumer socialisation process started already during the interviews, as the
brewers attempted to educate us about beer. The craft brewery owners are proud to be
brewers: when asked about where they see their business in 10 years they had a tendency to
start talking about recipes rather than business growth. It was clear from all the interviews
that regardless of the nature of the business, craft brewers seem themselves as crafts men and

women, who focused first and foremost on the ‘art of brewing’ and running a business was
secondary. The brewers’ passion for their craft may be important for consumers. If brewers
can communicate this passion to consumers, consumers may then perceive craft brewers as
experts. In turn, this may lead to consumers’ perception that craft brewers hold expert power
and thus that craft brewers can act as socialisation agents.
A core marketing element for the three regionally located breweries was the ‘brewery
experience’. Common features of the ‘brewery experience’ mentioned by the brewers during
the interviews included: brewery tours, a restaurant, live music and entertainment, beer
served in various glass sizes including small tasting glasses and extensive tasting notes and
food matching suggestions accompanying each beer. All of the above are elements of
consumer socialisation: by creating a unique experience around the brewery, the brewer aims
to expand consumers’ expectations towards pubs and breweries. Further, a strong focus on
beer tasting rather than swilling was evident in all the interviews. All three breweries said for
example that they were family friendly businesses and one specifically made a point out of
saying that we do not cater for drunks. The brewers focus on special glassware, beer in small
tasting glasses as well as tasting notes are an indication of the brewery seeking to encourage
their consumers to taste rather than swill the beer and attempting to educate their consumers
about the product they make. The findings indicate that the craft brewery owners we spoke
with tend to consider it vitally important to educate the consumer: they want consumers to
understand how beer is made and how different ingredients make different flavours. As such,
consumer socialisation (beer education) seems to be an important focus in this industry.
In contrast, the two brewers we interviewed that did not sell beer directly to consumers were
less concerned about education. It seemed that these businesses left the education and
socialisation process to others since they had little means to let consumers sample their
products. One of them mentioned that giving away free beer was costly, but sometimes
necessary in order for key people to sample the products. Also, making sure that known craft
beer venues had their beers on tap was also something they found important. Clearly, they
wanted to be present at venues where they knew the staff was knowledgeable and as such
cold function as consumer socialisation agents on their behalf.
From the craft brewers’ perspective, ‘educating the consumer’ was one of the key challenges
mentioned by the business owners. Four of them offered a wide range of beers, in hope that
they have something for everyone’s palate. In terms of education and socialisation, the craft
brewers would suggest that unexperienced consumers start with an ‘entry-level’ beer, and
then work their way through some of the more complex flavours. Not unlike wine tasting,
beer tasting as recommended by craft brewers has very clear guidelines of the order in which
consumers should sample the beer. Active taste education seems to be an important function
of the craft beer industry. The interviewees indicated that it was very important to try to
assess the knowledge level of the consumer when the consumer arrived in order to serve them
the right beer and give them the right level of ‘beer education’, both with regard to how beer
is made and how it is supposed to taste.
Conclusion and agenda for future research
It was evident from our in-depth interviews of Victorian craft brewers that these business
owners actively socialise consumers with regard to beer tasting. Through a strong focus on
craftsmanship, they position themselves as experts and as such are likely to have social expert

power over their customers. Craft brewers see themselves as gourmet producers; they make a
product for the sake of its flavour. From this industry’s point of view, there is a need to
educate beer drinkers in Australia about beer styles and flavours and how to pair beer with
food. Craft brewers perceive their products as sophisticated boutique products. It seems that
in this boutique industry, the focus is on socialisation rather than sales. For craft breweries as
well as other boutique businesses (such as cheese, chocolate, coffee, speciality meat and any
other category focused on producing superior product quality) it may therefore be valuable to
focus on “socialisation agents” rather than “sales agents”. To retain consumers’ perception of
their expert knowledge, craft brewers need to ensure that their knowledge is shared among
brewery staff as well as distributors who have the capacity to educate the consumers about
the product they buy. This may be particularly important for craft brewers what does not sell
directly to the consumer.
The rapid growth in the sector reflects that consumers are learning about boutique products,
and are being socialised into new consumption trends. This study extends the consumer
socialisation framework by demonstrating that consumer socialisation is not just a childhood
process. New consumption patterns such as the appreciation for craft beer or other boutique
products are learnt in adulthood and this may change a consumer’s perception about what
constitutes a premium product. Further, this study suggests that adult consumers learn from
business owners (and by extension businesses) when they perceive the business owners to be
experts. As such, we challenge the established framework of family, peers and the media as
the main agents of consumer socialisation. Although business owners can use the media as a
platform of socialisation, it may be their position as experts that prompt consumers to learn
new things and change their consumption patterns.
Future research should focus on consumers’ perception of craft beer and other boutique
products, and investigate how consumers learn about new product category and develop new
consumption trends. This study suggests that consumer socialisation theory is a sound
platform to investigate this. A further extension of the consumer socialisation framework
would provide new insight into the agents of consumer socialisation for adult consumers. The
relative importance consumers place on family, peers and experts as agents of consumer
socialisation would assist in understanding how adult consumers learn new consumption
trends.
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