New Belgium
Brewing
Developing a Brand
Personality
Group 3 - Members
My M987Z247
Eli M987Z254
Ocha M987Z212
Fernando M987Z257
Loan –
M987Z234
Joice M987Z224
Outline
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History
Company’s Values and Beliefs
The Products
Distribution
Employee’s Concern
Social Concern
Environmental Concern: NBB’s Eco Care
Principal Competitors
Promoting Responsible Drinking
Organizational Success
History’s Timeline
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1991: Jeff Lebesch founded his small brewery in his house’s basement. He was
inspired by his bicycle trip through Belgium from brewery to brewery . Their
mission was "to operate a profitable company which is socially, ethically and
environmentally responsible, that produces high quality beer true to Belgian brewing
styles."
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1992: New Belgium Brewing's operations move to renovated freight warehouse.
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1995: Company moves into a new $5 million brewery.
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1996: A Belgian brew master hired.
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1998: Production tops 100,000 barrels for the first time.
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1999: Firm begins to use wind-generated electricity.
2001: Expansion of plant to triple capacity begins.
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2004: Distribution is expanded to Southern California; New Belgium beer is
now sold in 15 states.
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2006: it produced approximately 436,000 barrels of its various labels.
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2008: Its beers were distributed to 19 different states.
Company’s Logo
The bicycle is based upon the founders (Jeff Lebesch) epiphanies voyage
through Europe by bike, drinking beer along the way. Shortly after that
trip he made an amber ale and named it Fat Tire in honor of his
trip. Besides, bikes remind people of how simple and fun it is to be
outside, with a smile on your face and a good beer in your hand. The
image of the bicycle really captures New Belgium on a whole, with the
whimsical approach to business, the history of the beginnings and the
emphasis to environmental care.
Company’s Values and Beliefs
“To operate a profitable brewery which makes our love and talent manifest”
 Remembering that we are incredibly lucky to create something fine
that enhances people's lives while surpassing our consumers'
expectations.
 Producing world-class beers.
 Promoting beer culture and the responsible enjoyment of beer.
 Kindling social, environmental and cultural change as a business
role model.
 Environmental stewardship: Honoring nature at every turn of the
business.
 Cultivating potential through learning, high involvement culture,
and the pursuit of opportunities.
 Balancing the myriad needs of the company, our coworkers and
their families.
 Trusting each other and committing to authentic relationships and
communications.
 Continuous, innovative quality and efficiency improvements.
 Having Fun.
Company’s Business Philosophies
“People, Profit and Planet”
• People.
New Belgium gives “permission to step outside the box”, the
company allowed employees and customers to experiments and to
think. In addition, there is “a policy of fiscal transparency” which
they practice in order to encourage “a community of trust and
mutual responsibility”.
• Profit.
New Belgium Brewery Company is a place where quality-of-life—
both for the environment and for humans—is central to its notion
of business success. By embracing new technologies, seeking out
alternative forms of energy and reducing its waste stream, New
Belgium strives to make smart business decisions and do well by
the environment each and every day.
• Planet.
New Belgium became the first brewer in the United States to get
100 percent of its electricity from wind power. As a leader in
sustainable building techniques, New Belgium has been willing to
http://aiacolorado.org/awards/northexperiment with innovative solutions.
awards/archive.php
The Products
Our Folly
Fat Tire
1554
Sunshine Wheat
Abbey
Mothership Wit
Trippel
Blue Paddle
Seasonal
Mighty Arrow
Skinny Dip
2° Below
Collabeeration
Trippel IPA
The Trip II
Trip II
Frambozen
Hoptober
Lips of Faith
Le Fleur Misseur
Biere de Mars
La Folie
Dunkelweiss 30°
Dandelion Ale Transatlantique Kriek
Dark Kriek
Abbey Grand Cru
Fall Wild Ale
Distribution
• Before 2006
Distributed in 15 states: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, California, Arizona,
New Mexico, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Colorado.
• Spring 2006
The brewery began to distribute some of their beers in other markets. Bottles of Fat Tire
distributed in Chicago claim "Chicago Inaugural: The 1st Fat Tire Ale served (legally) in the
second city."
• June 2007
Fat Tire, Skinny Dip, 1554 and Mothership Wit became available in Illinois.
• Summer of 2007
New Belgium expanded distribution again to include select areas of the Minneapolis
-St. Paul Minnesota metro area and Iowa.
• July 2008
Fat Tire, 1554, Mothership Wit, and seasonal brews are also served in Tennessee.
• March 2009
Fat Tire, 1554, Mothership Wit, and seasonal brews also available in North Carolina.
• April of 2009
Fat Tire became available in Indiana in response to huge demand.
• May of 2009
Fat Tire became available in Georgia, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Competitive Status
Craft Industry
Rank
Total US Beer
Industry Rank
2007
3
8
2006
3
9
2005
3
12
2004
3
12
2003
4
13
New Belgium is categorized as a “Regional Craft Brewery” as defined by the Brewers’
Association: An independent brewery with an annual beer production of between 15,000
and 2,000,000 barrels who has either an all malt flagship or has at least 50% of its
volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than
lighten flavor. Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent
economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a
craft brewer
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Breckinridge Brewery
Principal
Competitors
Rockies Brewing Co.
Boston Beer Co.
Odell Brewing Co.
Left Hand & Tabernash Brewing
Flying Dog Brewery
Developing Brand Manifesto
• Develop a “Cultural Branding”: a
philosophy of branding that tries to
speak to tension within society.
• In 2003 NBBs Holt was hired as a
consultant, he immerse himself in the
brewery’s unique culture in order to
create a BRAND MANIFESTO
Developing Brand Manifesto
• The brand Manifesto was a 70 page
document that described the brand’s
attributes, character, cultural relevancy
and potential.
• Thanks to this document NBB’s began a
relationship with Amalgamated Inc. a
young upstart advertising agency in NY.
• Together NBB’s creative team
collaborated with Amalgamed to develop
the brand’s cultural contributions and
what should be communicated.
Media Tools
• Radio shorts
• Television: low cost per viewer and
wide reach.
• Theatrical screenings
• Other media: which customers
expected to see interwoven with
entertainment.
Advertising objectives
• The advertising should be implementing
with moderate budget
• The ads film should bring timeless feel,
reflect the company’s Manifesto and
cultural tension of The mountain local
lifestyle, which can be seen as the
compromise between live the life one
person wants with balancing the
economic needs of existing within a
technology .
Implementing the Advertising
• Amalgamated had developed a
series of storyboards for the
commercials featuring the
“Tinkerer”.
• The campaign tagline: “Follow
the folly…ours is beer “ and
the spots on grittier 16millimeter film was offered.
Target Audience
• Target audience would be the
professional who follows the
traditional route of existing within a
capitalist economy but still has
artistic learning and desire, such as:
lawyers, accountants,….
• High-end beer drinkers, youthful
demographic, men ages 25 to 44
years old.
Message Development
• NBB understood at the inception that the power
of television could work to bolster or undermine
the brand with equal efficacy
• Holt unearthed a mind-set where a highly creative
activity of avocation is pursued for the intrinsic
value of doing it, as well as performed in a
balanced manner with nature: the cultural
counterpoint to the Urban Professional
• The audience for NBB’s commercials would likely
be the professional who follows the traditional
route of existing within a capitalist economy but
still has artistic leanings and desires
Message Development
• Amalgamated’s creative director, Jason Gaboriau,
developed a series of stories of storyaboards for the
commercials featuring the “Tinkerer”, a character
who discovers an old cruiser bike that has been
customized, modernized, and ultimately left for
scrap
• The NBB team reacted positively to the presentation
with the exception of Amalgamated’s suggested tag
line: “Follow Your Folly…Ours Is Beer”. After a
healthy volley of e-mail from nearly every NBB
department, the creative team won out and “Follow
Your Folly” became the campaign’s tagline
Message Development
• At this stage in the process, a search for the right
director for the commercials ensued: reviewing
dozens of highlight reels and passing the most
likely fits along to NBB.
• In September 2004, members of NBB,
Amalgamted, and the production company RSA
out of Los Angeles met in Hotchkiss and
commenced shooting over a three-day period.
This led to no fewer than nine potential spots
coming out of the three-day shoot
• Amalgamated returned to New York to begin
postproduction of the spots with NBB’s input by
choosing a musical bed quickly developed into the
next creative challenge.
Message Development
• Quick to embrace the latent talents of their own
crew, NBB allowed brewery employees to
compose a reggaelike score for one of the 15second spots-playful little film called “Joust”
• Even as NBB decided to speak to a wider audience
through a new medium, the roots-style marketing
that launched the company could not be
abandoned
• In the end, NBB’s first television-based advertising
campaign-approached with a great deal of inner
reflection-mirrored well the craft brewer’s
personality.
Promoting Responsible Drinking
• Promoting beer as a pairing with food and sponsor beer
dinners to educate palates and create that level of
appreciation.
• At all of the events, anyone pouring beer must be TIPS
(Training for Intervention ProcedureS) trained which is
a nationally accredited alcohol awareness program that
helps servers identify and prevent someone from being
over served. They canceled events that they deemed to be
too focused on drinking.
• The tasting room limits tasters to four short pours and
focuses on education over mass consumption.
• The price point precludes the kind of binge drinking
associated with suitcases of beer and handle bottles.
Organizational Success
• One of three winners of Business Ethics magazine’s
Business Ethics Awards for its “dedication to
environmental excellence in every part of its innovative
brewing process.”
• an honorable mention in the Better Business Bureau’s
2002 Torch Award for Outstanding Marketplace Ethics
competition.
• Best mid-sized brewing company of the year and best
mid-sized brewmaster at the Great American Beer
Festival.
• In 2004, New Belgium received the Environmental
Protection Agency's regional Environmental
Achievement Award.
Employee Concerns
• Health and dental insurance and retirement plans.
• Free lunch every other week as well as a free
massage once a year.
• Employees can bring their children and dogs to
work.
• Employees who stay with the company for five
years earn an all-expenses paid trip to Belgium to
“study beer culture.”
• Employees can also earn stock in the privately held
corporation, which grants them a vote in company
decisions.
• New Belgium’s employees now own one-third of
the growing brewery.
Social Concerns
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For every barrel of beer sold the prior year, NB donates $1 to philanthropic
causes within their distribution territory. The donations are divided between
states in proportion to their percentage of overall sales. This is their way of
staying local and giving back to the communities who support and purchase
NB products.
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NBB also sponsors a number of events, with a special focus on those that
involve “human-powered” sports that cause minimal damage to the natural
environment. Through event sponsorships, NBB supports various
environmental, social, and cycling nonprofit organizations.
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In the course of one year, New Belgium can be found at anywhere from 150 to
200 festivals and events, across all fifteen western states, such as the Tour de
Fat promotes the bicycle as a sustainable form of transportation with beer as
part of the medium and not the message; the MS 150 “Best Damn Bike Tour,”
a two-day, fully catered bike tour from which all proceeds went to benefit
more than five thousand local people with multiple sclerosis; and the Ride the
Rockies bike tour, which donated the proceeds from beer sales to local
nonprofit groups.
http://www.e-businessethics.com/NewBelgiumCases/NewBelgiumBrewingCase.pdf
Environmental Concerns
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New Belgium Brewing strives for cost-efficient energy-saving alternatives to
conducting its business and reducing its impact on the environment.
Investing in a wind turbine, making New Belgium the first fully wind-powered
brewery in the United States.
Using the solar electricity system (mixture wind and coal power) and reduce its
CO2 emissions by 1,800 metric tons per year.
Using “sun tubes,” which provide natural daytime lighting throughout the brew
house all year long.
Reducing waste through recycling and creative reuse strategies, including
cardboard boxes, keg caps, office materials, and the amber glass used in bottling.
Encourages the employees to reduce air pollution by using alternative
transportation. As an incentive, NBB gives its employees “cruiser bikes”— like the
one pictured on its Fat Tire Amber Ale label—after one year of employment and
encourages them to ride to work.
Participate in the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and
Environment Design for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) pilot program (2002). From
sun tubes and day lighting throughout the facility to reusing heat in the brew
house, they continue to search for new ways to close loops and conserve
resources.
NBB’s Eco Care Principles
“To be environmental stewards”
• Lovingly care for the planet that sustains us.
• Honor natural resources by closing the loops between waste and input.
• Minimize the environmental impact of shipping our beer.
• Reduce our dependence on coal-fired electricity.
• Protect our precious Rocky Mountain water resources.
• Focus our efforts on conservation and efficiency.
• Support innovative technology.
• Model joyful environmentalism through our commitment to
relationships, continuous improvement, and the camaraderie and
cheer of beer
NBB’s Eco Care Efforts
1. Increased efficiencies in the brewing process
Using Steinecker's Merlin brew kettle, which can store heat and boil very quickly,
allowing NBB to use very little primary energy.
2. Utilized green design throughout our building
Lighting (Using UV blocking windows, sun-tubes, and light shelves.),
HVAC (Using evaporative coolers, allowing condition its 55,000 square foot packaging
hall with no compressors, using much less energy),
Materials (Using beetle kill pine wood for interior which giving value added to those
fallen trees)
3. Implemented a process for treating our wastewater
Reducing the load on its municipal plant.
4. On-site energy production
The methane produced by process water treatment is used to fuel a combined heat
and power engine—or co-gen—which creates electricity and heat for the brewery.
When the co-gen is running full-time, it can supply 15% of our electrical needs.
5. Wind-powered electricity since 1999
In 1999, NBB became the largest private consumer of wind-power electricity at that
time and the first wind-powered brewery
NBB’s Eco Care Efforts
6. Employ a High Involvement Culture
An environment in which the full power of everyone’s hearts and minds are brought to bear on
creating positive change. HIC is a 3-legged stool which stands on opening the books, employee
ownership, and participative decision-making.
7. Sustainable Eventing
Such as: By philanthropic bike festival, Tour de Fat, celebrates bicycling as a viable form of
alternative transport; by a solar-powered stage that provides sound for the day; beer is served in
compostable cups; and its overall waste stream diversion rate is better than 85%.
8. Actionable Advocacy
Through donations and fund-raisers, 1% of NBB’s revenue goes to environmental non-profits,
through Team Wonder bike (bicycle commuter advocacy program) which have pledged to offset
more than eight million car miles by riding their bikes more over the next twelve months; public
speaking; and giving every employee a custom cruiser bike after one-year of employment .
9. Constant benchmarking
To figure out how to track non-financial results, especially environmental goals.
10. Partnering to support innovative technology
The company Oberon has installed a small treatment plant next to NBB’s own that will use our
process wastewater to harvest sludge to create a high protein fish food for aqua-farms.
NBB’s Eco Care Goals
• Reducing our carbon footprint by 25%*
• Reducing our water usage by 10%
• Reducing our landfill diversion rate from
89.5% to 95% (note: brewing by-products like
spent grain and yeast are NOT included in
these figures. If they were included, it would
be 99%).
*As methods of carbon accounting are currently evolving, it is possible that these goals will
be amended in the future
NBB’s Eco Care Facts:
1. Reduction in water use ratio during 2008
NBB’s Eco Care Facts:
2. Waste Management 2008
Answering The Questions
Question # 1
Rather Than testing its television spots using
focus groups , NBB instead tested these spots
using insiders in the bike community and
brewery friends who had a personal history and
knowledge of the brand. Evaluate NBB’s decision
not to use focus group.
• Using the bike community and brewery
friends who had a personal history and
knowledge of the brand can help NBB test
whether these spots reflect the brand core
values, history and the natural sense about
the mountain local lifestyle.
• Help to make sure the spots does ring true
to the NBB character.
• Saving money and time.
Answering The Questions
Question # 2
How does the use of 16 mm film and Freak
Folk music relate to NBB’s advertising
objectives.
 The 16-mm camera was used because it gave
an effect that reflected the companies
message “it is the cultural counterpoint to
the Urban Professional”
 This 16-mm camera will give us a more
natural and classic look than compared to
the 70-mm.
 And together with the “Freak Folk” song
viewers can connect to a more personal level
and it brings out a nostalgic atmosphere.
 The simple takes of the ad emphasizes the
message they would like to portray in a way
that would capture the audience.
Question 3: what are some of the benefits of NBB’s
decision to redouble its roots-based, personal touch
marketing effort aimed at its mature markets?
• The roots-style marketing make a friendly
connection to customer
• It is a wise choice to re-approach the market by
insiders who have the closed relation with
customers and deep understanding about the
NBB’s products.
• This type of marketing also helps NBB reduce the
expenses.
• NBB build a good image in customers’ mind.
Question 4: What roles did the advertising agency,
NBB’s leadership, and NBB’s employees play in the
development of the advertising campaign?
• Advertising agency: spread the brand out and
represent NBB’s product before the customers
in such a way that a positive images is created
in their minds.
• NBB leadership: orient the strategy to develop
the advertising plan.
Question 4: What roles did the advertising agency,
NBB’s leadership, and NBB’s employees play in the
development of the advertising campaign?
• NBB’s employees: are the decisive factor in
the development of the advertising
campaign. They are the ones who have direct
connection between NBB and customers;
furthermore, they immediately influence on
customers’ perception.
Answering The Questions #5
FOLLY
(definition courtesy Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary)
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English folie, from Old
French, from fol fool
1. lack of good sense or normal prudence and
foresight
2. a. criminally or tragically foolish actions or
conduct
b. obsolete : evil, wickedness;
c .especially: lewd behavior
3. a foolish act or idea
4. an excessively costly or unprofitable
undertaking
5. an often extravagant picturesque building
erected to suit a fanciful taste
Answering The Questions #5
• Follow Your Folly. But isn't Folly a
lack of good sense; a foolish act or
idea? Au contraire (instead) we say at
New Belgium. Folly is freeing. Folly
laughs at the status quo, protests
mediocrity, sings in the blind alley
and celebrates the wild hare. It's
relevant irreverence. It’s living like
there is a tomorrow.
• Our Folly is Beer. Really good beer. Our folly is also a near-constant tinker ring with
the company practices to make them more sustainable. Employee- owned since
1996 and wind powered since 1998- striving to honor nature at every turn of the
brewery, tastes great, and less land filling.
• As well, a folly takes inspiration, you will meet a few friends who inspire New
Belgium. They’re making more from less and living large at the same time. Rebels
with a cause. The company think they have a folly worth following.
Answering The Questions #5
In our opinion, the company can struggle
because they know how to change the
common opinion about “folly” into different
meaning with unique ways. From “lack of good
sense; a foolish act or idea”, become “freeing,
It’s living like there is a tomorrow”.
Consequently, “folly” becoming a main point
and specific characteristic for New Belgium
Brewing. So, our group think that is the right
decision to use “folly” for their advertising and
indirectly increasing brand awareness. “Folly “
becomes one of the greatest unplanned
successes for this brewery.