This document summarizes several beer brand activations done by Joseph Rivers across various accounts. It recaps demographics, pros and cons, takeaways, and success stories for Goose Island, Bud Light, Rolling Rock, Shock Top, and Stella Artois activations. Key accounts engaged include Coles, Blue Monk, and The Library. Promotions included sampling, education, and giveaways to introduce consumers to new brands and increase trial. Younger audiences and events correlated best to activation success.

1. Try-It Distributing/AB Recap
Joseph Rivers
4/15/14

2. BRAND: Goose Island
Accounts: Coles, Crazy Jakes, Buffalo
Tap Room, Acropolis, Blue Monk, The
Steer, Macgregors, Hutch’s,
Mitchell’s, Tralf, Gordon’s, Tap
House, Brickyard Pub, Mezza, Colter
Bay

3. Goose Island Recap
Demographics:
Male: 55%
Female: 45%
Age: 21 - 40

4. Goose Island Pros and Cons
• Pro’s:
▫ Most of my accounts are Goose Island specific, and many of them are
in the market that cater to craft beer drinkers, as well as the younger
21 – 30 year olds. Because of this, they were very willing to learn
about this beer, where it is brewed, the many different variations as
well as eager to try some more.
▫ The relatively low presence of Goose Island in this market was a
helpful way to persuade consumers to try and sample this beer.
Many patrons asked for another as they thoroughly enjoyed it.
▫ I can say that many of the consumers I interacted with and provided
samples for either told there friends or said they would buy more.
▫ My activations consisted of educating consumers, attracting people to
try and sample, sign-ups on Splash, and provide giveaways.

5. Goose Island Pros and Cons
• Con’s:
▫ Many older consumers to stick to there loyal brand
have a hard time trying a beer, especially when they
see it coming from a young man just handing it out,
they sense some suspicion even after I describe my
reason of being there
▫ People that did try Goose Island, which were plenty, I
asked which they prefer and what they did like or did
not, the consensus was: Matilda and 312 was a
favorite, and Honker Ale was the least

6. Goose Island Take-Away
Goose Island is a new and upcoming product,
one that I personally enjoy immensely. It would
be a great idea to get some more accounts to try
the different styles. Most of my accounts are
Honker Ale or 312. If we can provide variations
of Goose Island and have a larger supply of
giveaways to the accounts, the promos can be on
a much higher level of execution and
effectiveness.

7. Goose Island Success Story
• Both instances of Success Stories would have to
be at Coles and Blue Monk. Both accounts had a
couple different styles of Goose Island and
people were giving positive feedback in both
wanting to try samples and spreading it word of
mouth. It became a topic of discussion among
the bars and the activation went very smoothly.
If we had more giveaways, that would have been
a an additional perk.

8. Photos from Goose Island Events

9. BRAND: Bud Light
Accounts: Thirsty Buffalo,
Goodbar, Coles

10. Bud Light Recap
Demographics:
Male: 50%
Female: 50%
Age: 21 - 30

11. Bud Light Pros and Cons
Pro’s:
 Super Bowl "Unlock the Box" giveaway – This one went extremely
well. The entire bar was filled with Bud Light giveaways and
people were expressing a sense of interaction with what could be
in the box, as well as the opportunity to have a well known
commonly drank beer.
 I managed to give away some really great prizes which in turn
helped with the activations. It got peoples attention, sparked
there interest and inevitably to drink Bud Light and enter the
contest.
 My activations consisted of educating consumers, attracting
people to try and sample, sign-ups on Splash, and provide
giveaways.

12. Bud Light Pros and Cons
• Con’s:
▫ At one account, it was hard to go against
competitor specials considering it was super bowl
Sunday and they were everywhere.
▫ Brand loyalty with some consumers is hard to
overcome, and there is also the factor that it such
a mainstream beer that many people in the
younger demographic do not always want it.

13. Bud Light Take-Away
I have only had a few Bud Light activations but I
noticed that the hardest part was getting people
to switch over from there loyal brand as well as
people who did not want to support such a large
beer. Possible do a big giveaway to get people
involved or some type of promo that coincides
with a special holiday or event.

14. Bud Light Success Story
My Bud Light activation at Coles could not have
gone better. Since it was on a Tuesday night
which is ladies night, the bar was packed up. It
was an easy giveaway with shirts, coozies, and
other various trinkets. I am pretty familiar with
many that go into Coles so everyone was getting
other people to come and try Bud Light, even
people who don’t normally drink it. It was a
great turnout for a beer that is so common.

15. Photos from Bud Light Events

16. BRAND: Rolling Rock
Accounts: Lewiston Event Center,
Papa Jakes

17. Rolling Rock Recap
Demographics:
Male: 70%
Female: 30%
Age: 35-60

18. Rolling Rock Pros and Cons
Pro’s:
Unfortunately I only have had a couple activations with
Rolling Rock, however they both went reasonably well.
It is a less expensive beer, so pitchers and buckets were
easier to hand out and get a majority of the bar consuming
Rolling Rock
Giving out the mason jars really was an ice breaker as
people tend to see something they can drink out of and give
it a go.
My activations consisted of educating consumers, attracting
people to try and sample, sign-ups on Splash, and provide
giveaways

19. Rolling Rock Pros and Cons
• Con’s:
▫ I did not have many games to go with these
activations, it can sometimes be hard to get people
invested in the Rolling Rock promo
▫ Brand loyalty with some consumers is hard to
overcome, and there is also the factor that it such
a mainstream beer that many people in the
younger demographic do not always want it.

20. Rolling Rock Take-Away
Due to the nature of Rolling Rock and its presence,
it tends to be a cheaper beer for big events or special
promos. Thursdays at Goodbar have pitchers of
Rolling Rock for less which get people to grab them
for large groups. There might be other significant
times where we can utilize an offer with a bar to gain
attention of the consumers to want to come and
sample Rolling Rock. Many consumers at Papa
Jakes very much enjoyed the mason jars so
glassware played a role in what they wanted to
drink.

21. Rolling Rock Success Story
The Lewiston Event Center had a huge crowd since there
was bowling there that night with a league playing as
well. This enabled many to come right up to the bar
before I could even announce I was doing a Rolling Rock
activation. I educated people and and had some
giveaways for people. The activation was executed in a
fine manner since Rolling Rock pitchers were
inexpensive and there was a large number of consumers.

22. BRAND: Shock Top
Accounts: Noir, Say Cheese,
Average Joes, Falafel Bar, Adams
Mark Hotel

23. Shock Top Recap
• Demographics:
▫ Male: 50%
▫ Female: 50%
▫ Age: 21-35

24. Shock Top Pros and Cons
Pro’s:
 With Shock Top, the majority of consumers already know of its
presence, and puts the mentality of a summer beer into
consumers minds.
 With the different flavors and variations, consumers are being
introduced and exposed to them which in turn have made them
realize to keep an eye out for the beer at other bars and stores.
 There is a large amount of giveaways to the accounts that pertain
to Shock Top that consumers are excited about, with glassware,
visors, shirts, coolers, etc.
 My activations consisted of educating consumers, attracting
people to try and sample, sign-ups on Splash, and provide
giveaways

25. Shock Top Pros and Cons
Con’s:
 Consumers who do not want a fruity beer tend to distance
themselves from my activations or having a sample
 Some people prefer the Blue Moon instead, so possible events or
games may suffice to get them to steer toward Shock Top

26. Shock Top Take-Away
I have had some great turnouts at my Shock Top
activations. Whether it be giving out samples of
the different flavors at a a bar with a dart league
or poker playing which enables many people to
try it in a small condensed group. I had one
promo at a nightclub, which if there were some
bigger prize giveaways, then that may have
enabled a better sampling, but of course due to
the nature of the account it can be more difficult.

27. Shock Top Success Story
I had an activation recently at Average Joes,
which happened to be a beach theme party. This
correlated well with the drinkability of Shock
Top. Consumers were drinking mixed drinks at
first, but with the implementation and execution
of the giveaways I had and the Shock Top
flavors, it enabled me to switch many people
over and still have that theme of a beach going
throughout the bar.

28. BRAND: Stella Artois
Accounts: The Library, Blue Monk,
Coles

29. Stella Artois Recap
Demographics:
Male: 55%
Female: 45%
Age: 20 - 60

30. Stella Artois Pros and Cons
Pro’s:
Stella Artois and the Cidre had positive feedback and
was well received by many consumers for its
drinkability and high quality.
Consumers have knowledge of its presence, enjoy the
exclusive glassware, and were fond of the Cidre over
the other competitors in that area
There was hard reason for people to say no to
sampling, many were open to having a Stella or at least
giving the Cidre a taste.
My activations consisted of educating consumers,
attracting people to try and sample, sign-ups on
Splash, and provide giveaways.

31. Stella Artois Pros and Cons
Con’s:
I do not have many giveaways for Stella. With
that being said, some accounts were at a displease
because they thought there would be handouts to
consumers for coming in and trying it.
The demographic was sometimes hard to
persuade, ranging from what people prefer in a
cider to the age group and what they prefer to
drink at certain accounts

32. Stella Artois Take-Away
Stella Artois is popular, but with the lack of
giveaways and appropriate audience it can be
difficult to execute. The Library had an older
crowd which were turned off on trying the Cider
so a possible event or game may have sufficed.
Blue Monk had a better turnout for the Cidre as
people were eager to try a different cider.

33. Stella Artois Success Story
Blue Monk was my best account and activation
for Stella Artois. Even though it was just the
Cidre that was on tap, consumers both friends
and strangers alike had a better profound taste
and willingness to try Stella. It could have been
that it was a younger crowd and the atmosphere
of the account, but many consumers said it was
there favorite. Even with the lack of giveaways, I
was thoroughly impressed by the turnout.