Increasingly, consumers, associations, and businesses are serving craft beer at their events with one stipulation: Bring cool beer on cool wheels that can roll right into the party.
Mobile beer truck sightings are becoming as familiar as the ice cream trucks of yesterday. In May of 2017, the Kearny, New Jersey Police Benevolent Association’s annual Food Truck and Craft Beer Festival invited craft beer companies to park beer trucks at their popular event. Brix City Brewery, New Jersey Beer Company, and Pinelands Brewery all participated.
Residents in both Chester and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania also benefit from the growing beer on wheels trend that started several years ago, thanks to Downingtown, Pennsylvania brewery, Victory Brewing Company’s Brewpub on Wheels (BPOW). This mobile pub regularly dispenses Victory’s craft beer at Oktoberfests, marathons, music festivals, private parties, business events, and food competitions.
The mobile bar launched when Victory Brewing Company wanted to transport its pub offerings to loyal fans and new customers outside of the traditional pub setting. Equipped with sixteen taps, BPOW serves as a powerful marketing tool, powerfully reinforcing Victory’s unique craft brand while introducing their craft beer offerings to potential customers.
Marketing Mobile Beer Delivery
Beverage Master Magazine sat down with Shannon Smith, Victory Brewing Company’s brewpub general manager, to discuss the BPOW and its importance in their community.
Beverage Master (BM): What is the number one holiday or special event for Brewpub on Wheels rentals? Why?
Shannon Smith(SS): Oktoberfest. What goes better with a German holiday than German food and beer? We can customize German menus that pair perfectly with our Helles Lager, Festbier, and Pilsners. Our Brewpub on Wheels is the perfect addition to any outdoor event. We typically begin receiving inquiries in January and February for our spring and summer months.
BM: When, and why, did the Victory Brewing Company start offering Brewpub services? Who was the typical Brewpub customer when you first launched Brewpub on Wheels?
SS: Our Brewpub on Wheels was designed in 2009 and became available to guests in 2010. At first, it was primarily rented by local companies and organizations, as word of mouth was our initial marketing tool.
BM: Who is the typical Brewpub on Wheels customer now?
SS: Our range is from Downingtown to Lancaster to Philadelphia. Brewpub on Wheels has been used at bluegrass festivals, Oktoberfests, weddings and everything in between!
BM: How does Victory’s Brewpub promote its mobile beer service? What specific types of marketing methods do you use?
SS: Our Brewpub on Wheels is listed as a catering option on our website and has also been featured in several corporate complexes around Chester County, as a marketing tool.
BM: Beer bars at weddings are suddenly a “thing” Does your marketing approach target the couple desiring a beer bar at their wedding?
SS: While Brewpub on Wheels is a much larger option for catering, Victory can also provide a simple portable pouring station with one to two brands for smaller events. This is more common at weddings and beer bars.
BM: Finally, do you have any amusing or colorful stories to tell regarding the Brewpub mobile beer and food service?
SS: Watch this video!
http://www.victorybeer.com/brewpub/
events-and-catering/bpow/
Branding on Wheels
Beer trucks, vans, trailers, and other mobile options are used to reach out to consumers in a variety of ways. Some craft brewers, like the Victory Brewing Company, purchase, customize and manage their own mobile beer vehicles. With the ownership option, the craft brewery has total control over messaging and marketing.
Other breweries work with companies that operate mobile bars offering beer selections from various local craft breweries. This still provides the brewery with an opportunity to put their beer in new hands and promote themselves without the additional costs of maintenance and licensing. Each of these methods provides a unique opportunity for the brewery to strengthen brand awareness, increase sales, and reach new customers.
In San Diego, California, Tap Truck combines vintage pickup trucks with handpicked local craft beer, dispensed via a kegerator system, to create a unique customer experience. Tap Truck is doing so well that it is contemplating franchising its business nationally and adding additional vehicles to a fleet that currently includes a ‘69 Chevy C-10, a ‘52 Chevy Panel Truck, a ‘57 Chevy Apache, and a ‘65 Chevy Panel Truck.
Barger’s Beer Truck in Knoxville, Tennessee, maintains a mobile bar fleet consisting of five vintage trucks, with each truck equipped with three taps. The company’s fleet includes a 1947 Chevrolet Thriftmaster, a 1949 International Harvester KB6, a 1954 Dodge truck, a vintage horse trailer, a 1942 black prop truck, and the Mini Bar(ger), a versatile mini truck that is portable enough to serve beer indoors or outdoors. The trucks serve beer, wine and mixed drinks at events throughout the Knoxville region.
Tapped, a traveling beverage service in Boston, Massachusetts, offers its clients a diverse selection of local craft beer from a truck that is distinctly different from the branded tap mobile service provided by the Ipswich Ale Brewery, also located in Massachusetts. Unlike the majority of beer trucks, Tapped offers a sophisticated draft system that is similar to what you would find in a quality restaurant or bar, thereby assuring that all their craft beers offerings taste as they would if they were served up in a tap room.
Shifting Into Mobile Marketing
Thanks to the growing number of mobile beer delivery businesses and there increasingly distinct and clever vehicles and menu options, it is easier than ever for breweries to reach previously untapped markets. However, some considerations should be addressed when a craft brewery expands into mobile beer delivery service. Before jumping head first into the mobile market, breweries should look into regional licensing and regulations. Some municipalities have strict laws governing these sorts of businesses, and looking into your local ordinances should be your number one priority. From there the brewery should consider which type of option would be best for them, purchasing their own truck or connecting with a local service. Demand, marketing and competition in the region are also necessary considerations, particularly when considering the high initial investment and other costs associated.
Kegs for the Newly Wed
Weddings and beer trucks are a marriage made in heaven. Trucks, vans, and trailers serving beer at weddings is a hot trend that started heating up in 2016 and is all the rage in 2017. A slew of bridal and lifestyle magazines, including The Knot, Brides, and Country Living, have all reported on this growing bridal trend.
Fueling this trend is an increased consumer interest in craft beer, food trucks seeking to expand their mobile service menus, and an increasing preference for more casual wedding receptions, particularly in rural areas of the country.
Savvy craft brewers can tap into this trend by marketing their mobile services to newly engaged couples. By forging business connections with wedding planners and catering halls, as well as by exchanging marketing media (business cards, flyers, brochures) with wedding photographers, bridal and tuxedo rental shops, florists, bakeries, and other wedding-related businesses, brewers can increase their chances of being contacted by couples.
Mobile Marketing Opportunities
Aside from the booming mobile business at weddings, there is a broad range of opportunities for craft breweries to tap into the “park and pour” mobile bar marketplace. Craft breweries can market their mobile beer truck services for use at tailgate parties, sports events, music festivals, block parties, holiday events, and birthday and anniversary parties.
When your brand’s fans can’t come to you, it’s nice to know that you can still bring the beer to them—while advertising your brand every mile that your branded beer truck travels until it reaches its destination.