Branding, Twitter, and Strawberry Beer

One of the beauties of the digital space in terms of building a brand is that it's interactive.
Adamson, pg. 63

Not too long ago, I was reminded that March is strawberry beer season. Unfortunately, Abita's Strawberry Harvest beer is incredibly hard to find anywhere north of the Mason Dixie line. I had first tried it at an outdoor pub in New Orleans and have been smitten since. We tend to go to great lengths to secure a six pack; calling local distributors, bribing our friends from the south, etc, but we’ve never actually acquired any in Illinois.

This March was the annual Dude Weekend at our house. I tend to make myself scarce while the gentlemen visiting play Warcraft but I had one request this year: The friend from North Carolina has to pay for his stay here with Abita Strawberry Harvest. He made good on this promise.

I mentioned on Twitter to alert two of my strawberry beer-loving friends that I had some in my possession. Much to our surprise, the Chicagoland Twitterverse weighed in.










As you can see from this abbreviated conversation, several of my Chicago-area friends found places to purchase this beloved beer and I learned a lesson in Illinois beer distribution. (And I’m not above traveling to the city to have a pint of Strawberry Harvest.) This is a perfect example of how digital media can deliver a brand. Bajwa, as quoted in Adamson, says: “If the right people find you and you give them something engaging, something worth passing along, you can spend less money and have a far greater impact. Content that is shared voluntarily is of incredible value” (pg. 93). In this case, it was not Abita the brewer engaging with its customers, it was a restaurant and a liquor store trying to drum up sales. So, perhaps this interaction didn’t directly deliver a brand, but it did put The Southern on my radar and I will remain loyal to the local Binny's Beverage Dept.