Case 5 Lecture Notes
New Belgium Brewing (B): Developing a Brand Personality
growing brand as whimsical, thoughtful, and reflective. In addition to the ad campaign, the
company maintained its strategy of promotion through event sponsorships.
Today, New Belgium uses new forms of media to promote its brand while still maintaining its
overall branding philosophy. Although the company has not ruled out new television
advertisements, NBB has focused on other forms of “new media” such as social networking sites
in order to attract new consumers to the brand. NBB abandoned its newsletter in exchange for a
blog, to which viewers can subscribe and receive news articles and feeds. It also created a digital
marketing campaign incorporating its own microsite and Facebook to encourage the information
to go viral. Digital videos have also been an important part of NBB’s marketing strategy to reach
consumers from various parts of the nation. Many of its videos can be viewed on the company’s
YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/nbbfilms).
Although New Belgium may vary the types of media it utilizes, the company’s goals to be a truly
sustainable brand have remained the same. Its message is, and always has been, that consumers
can be environmentally conscious and still have fun. Some people scoff at the idea that a
company that sells alcohol can be a socially responsible brand, but with each new social and
environmental initiative, New Belgium seeks to prove its critics wrong.
Teaching Overview
The New Belgium Brewing B case gives students an excellent example of a small company
entering into the world of mass media marketing. It follows the company through the process
from building a brand manifesto, to producing advertisements, to shifting toward more social
forms of communication.
Problem/Decision Statement
How can New Belgium expand market share and improve brand management through a new
promotional program—all while maintaining the customer intimacy and beer culture that have
made it so successful?
Strategy Alternatives
1. Continue to reinforce the brand image through advertising in major target markets, and
Case 5 Lecture Notes
New Belgium Brewing (B): Developing a Brand Personality
Strategy Recommendations
Based on the success of NBB’s advertising to date, it appears that the most profitable course of
Implementation Issues
Developing the right promotional strategy to reach new markets is a strategic issue. The key
Teaching Questions
1. New Belgium has effectively used integrated marketing communications over the last 20
years. Evaluate the use of one major advertising campaign to fortify and enhance the
company’s brand image.
2. NBB seemed to agonize over the use of the word “folly” in its advertising campaign.
What do you make of the company’s struggle with this decision? Also, how do you
personally feel their use of the word?
3. New Belgium’s focus on sustainability, whimsy, and fun is clearly rooted in its Colorado-
based culture and the ethos of its founders and employees. As New Belgium’s
distribution continues to expand away from that locale, how can the company make its
branding and messaging resonate with consumers in different parts of the country?
Case 5 Lecture Notes
New Belgium Brewing (B): Developing a Brand Personality
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Adams and other brands. Some students will suggest that the only thing that matters is
the quality of the product—a test that NBB has passed over and over. [Author note: Fat
Tire has recently become available in the Southeast, and the word-of-mouth buzz is
exceptionally strong. Many Tallahassee residents, for example, will drive into South
Georgia to purchase Fat Tire.]
4. Currently, New Belgium has been much more successful using social media than
competitors Boston Brewing Co. and Sierra Nevada. Evaluate how social media has
contributed to the firm’s marketing strategy, and make suggestions for the use of social
media in the future.