Victoria Bitter (VB) is stepping outside traditional advertising in a bid to remain relevant to younger consumers, moving into e-commerce with a range of merchandise.
In October, VB launched a new e-commerce website which will act as a platform for fans of the brand, who must be over the age of 18, to purchase the branded merchandise.
Since launching the site already had over 40,000 visits and more than 1,200 orders, with multiple designs and products selling out within weeks.
Carlton United Breweries (CUB), the company that owns VB, national partnerships manager Hugh Jellie told AdNews merchandise aligns with the brand's ambition to connect with consumers in unexpected ways.
"Traditional advertising doesn’t do enough for us nowadays. While there will always be a place for TV ads and sports sponsorship, we are starting to explore more contemporary forms of media," Jellie said.
"VB is the most socially engaged brand within the CUB business at this point. We keep that content valuable and shareable through our fans so we don’t want to treat them like small billboards or advertisements."
Jellie explained the decision to look for alternative marketing and brand strategies was a direct response to its growing popularity among younger beer drinkers, aged 18 to 25.
"The biggest difference over the last three to four years is that the voice of the younger consumer, the 25-year-old, is now coming out louder than it ever has before," Jellie said.
"Through social media we’ve been seeing our brand explode on those platforms and through the feedback we received, it became clear that we needed to activate in this space and create another product offering for those digitally engaged consumers."
According to Jellie, a driving factor behind the growth in this demographic was the decision to bring CUB's digital and social capabilities in-house, setting up a new team called Draftline, which recently changed its name from Speakeasy.
The in-house team allowed CUB to speed up the process of its social campaigns, Jellie said, with agencies often slowing down the process.
With the launch of the e-commerce store, VB now has a means of both engaging fans outside of drinking experiences while also having them act as advertisements for the brand.
While there has always been branded merchandise, often bootlegged clothing, this new strategy by VB is about creating an "alternative and authentic" brand experience, Jellie said. To execute the merchandise, CUB paired up with high-quality designers and looked through its archives to showcase some of its historical designs.
Like any new strategy, Jellie said launching the range of merchandise has not come without its challenges. CUB has to be mindful of the restrictions around alcohol advertising, which means extra effort is invested in taking the product to market.
"There’s nothing you’ll see that is designed to look or appeal to anyone under the age of 18 and that’s where we have to hold ourselves to account," he said.
"The challenge isn't in the marketing though, the challenge will be in the items themselves, because while fans may have feedback on what we should sell, they won't be as aware of the guidelines we have to follow."
The brand has also recently begun tattooing loyal VB fans, after the brand slightly altered its logo this year.
Jellie said the success of these two brand initiatives have proved the importance of stepping outside traditional advertising, particularly as alcohol consumption habits among the 18-25 year old demographic continue to change.
"Victoria Bitter is just one product, so consumers nknow what they are getting, but it does have its limitations. There has been a tendency in the past to launch products off the back of VB, which haven't been successful," he said.
"That's why we have to find alternatives where we can and, if the moment isn't right to have a beer in hand, then at least you can reflect your love of VB by wearing a t-shirt, cap or tattoo. All of these activations feed back into the strength of our digital strategy, with fans sharing pictures and posts of the merchandise."
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.