March 2014
Issue: #53

The Simple Beer Necessities

There’s a little secret I discovered on my first trip to Ireland some 18 years ago.

It’s that nothing beats sitting inside a neighborhood pub in front of a crackling peat fire on a rainy evening sipping a freshly-pulled pint of stout or ale while listening to local musicians play their hearts out.

Luckily it’s a pleasure I’ve experienced many times since.

One of brews I latched onto during those early days is a red ale called Smithwick’s. It’s since become widely available in the U.S., so I usually make sure I have a few bottles on hand at home.

But something happened a couple of weeks ago that got me wondering whether the folks at Ireland’s oldest brewery have
been sampling a wee too much of their own medicine.

Standing in front of the display case at the beer store, I scanned back and forth looking for the familiar green, gold and red label. Nothing.

Then it caught my eye – a nondescript red box with the Smithwick’s name barely visible.

At first I thought they had introduced a new style of beer. But it turned out that it was the old stuff in a new wrapper.

Not that there’s nothing wrong with that. Brands periodically update their logos and packaging designs.

But this new design just didn’t seem right… 

• The box’s solid red color doesn’t stand out among the eye-catching designs of other imported and craft beers.

• The Smithwick’s name, now written in smaller white block letters, gets lost in that sea of red.

• The iconic abbey tower – apparently redrawn by Salvador Dali – dominates the label, making the name even harder to recognize.

Here’s the kicker: When I took a bottle out of the box, I saw that the serving size is now 11.2 ounces instead of the usual 12.

The nerve. I felt betrayed by their hiding the smaller serving size behind a brand remake!

But then I realized that there was a bigger communication lesson to be had. Namely, the importance of considering the customer’s point of view when creating communications.

Here are a few example trends that show what I mean…

• Messing with the brand. Consumers find comfort in the stability of their favorite brands – like me and Smithwick’s. It’s a lesson that others, such as Tropicana and Gap, learned the hard way. They updated their brands only to revert to the originals in response to customer blowback.
  
  Emotional attachment is less significant in B2B. Still, brand changes are more meaningful to the marketplace if made in response to real customer needs rather than for cosmetic reasons.

• The new website. Companies frequently redesign their sites. But too many do so simply to make the site look glitzy or because the boss said so.
  
  The best redesigns have business goals behind them. Like to improve user experience, provide easier access to the right content, increase conversions, strengthen customer service or integrate the site more closely with other digital assets.

• The thought leadership bandwagon. Too often what passes for thought leadership is neither thoughtful nor leading. But ask yourself, “Are my customers and buyers even looking for that kind of stuff?”
  
  Because the truth is you may be better off creating content that addresses the day-to-day problems, concerns and challenges that they face – in an insightful, entertaining and non-promotional way.

• Camouflage. Whether intended or not, Smithwick’s decision to change their brand and reduce the serving size seems more than coincidence.
  
  Better to deal with product, service or price changes separately and directly. It’s a more considerate approach that gives customers time to absorb the rationale without feeling like they’ve been blindsided.

The bottom line: Whether you’re a creating a content plan, designing a new marketing campaign, or updating your brand, things go smoother if you start with this simple, basic question, “How will this change better serve our customers and buyers?”

Because you don’t want to end up crying in your beer.