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Side Launch Brewing Company Continuing Case

Looks Matter

"We used to joke," begins Dave Sands, VP Operations, "that marketing sells the first beer, and brewing sells every one after that." What goes through the mind of a craft beer consumer is starkly different from the decision process of a macro beer consumer. For one, the need is convenience. For the other, the need is adventure. And for those seeking adventure-the craft beer enthusiasts-the purchase decision often starts with the attention a brand can attract from the shelf of the liquor store. "You're going to get consumers that go into the craft section and make their decision based on the shelf space presence," reveals Chuck Galea, VP Sales and Marketing, proudly demonstrating the perforations of a Mountain Lager box, which, when "zipped" open, conveniently provide both a practicality and attractiveness retailers and consumers like.

"I think the branding is really important," remarks founding brewer Michael Hancock, somewhat surprisingly after passionately describing every intricate taste nuance that separates each of the four beers Side Launch produces year-round. Clearly driven by producing the highest quality and most flavourful beers, he appreciates that good looks are also important. "I had a very traditional label," he recalls of Denison's, one of Canada's first wheat beers he produced independently from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. "I could only produce so much-I was highly constrained by production. But this branding," he says, with a confident nod to the four bold and colourful cans stacked impressively in the company's front desk refrigerator, "is really good. It stands out from a mile and consumers love it."

However, because of craft beer's rapid growth as a category, cool, eye-catching brands are appearing all the time, so eventually other influencers must penetrate the decision process of the craft beer drinker. "It's amazing, but RateBeer," begins Chuck, referring to the online platform where craft enthusiasts provide numerical values of the beers they taste, "has become so influential in both the growth in popularity of craft, but also the decisions people make when buying craft." Side Launch, which enjoys extraordinarily high reviews across not only its four core brands but every limited release that has ever left the brewery, certainly benefits from sites like this that nudge would-be consumers in their direction. "If someone's in the Beer Store or LCBO and they see a beer on the shelf they know nothing about, they might take out their phone and look up the score," claims Chuck. "Same at a bar," adds founder Garnet Pratt. "If you're at a place that has 50 beers on tap and you're about to tuck into a pint, you don't want to take two sips and say 'blah,' so again you might look up the rating online ... So in that respect these sites can hurt you as much as help you, but if your rating is above a certain threshold, people will usually give you a try."

Every consumer wants to make the right purchase decision, but arriving at what is "right" can be a deeply complicated and psychological process. Craft brewers, as much as any other consumer category, must seize upon every possible detail that might tip the scale in their favour. Side Launch, bolstered by an uncompromising commitment to quality and an eye-catching look, swizzled with the forces of social media and beer consuming trends, has evidently hit its stride, in parallel with craft beer consumer behaviour.

1. What is the "problem" a craft beer drinker has recognized by the time he or she arrives at a retailer to purchase beer?

2. When craft beer consumers use sources like Ratebeer, what stage(s) in the purchase decision process are they encountering?

3. Much of what is said in this case emphasizes the importance of labelling in the purchase decision process for a craft beer drinker. Discuss some of the ways in which this plays into individual, social, psychological, and even cultural influencers of the purchase decision process.