{"id":28778,"date":"2023-01-09T20:41:09","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T20:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/01\/09\/sam-adams-hypes-0-proof-beer-with-cold-dunk-tank-taste-test\/"},"modified":"2023-01-09T20:41:09","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T20:41:09","slug":"sam-adams-hypes-0-proof-beer-with-cold-dunk-tank-taste-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2023\/01\/09\/sam-adams-hypes-0-proof-beer-with-cold-dunk-tank-taste-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Adams Hypes 0-Proof Beer With Cold Dunk Tank Taste Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Eight discerning beer lovers, gathered recently in Boston, were so confident in their palates that they were willing to do a taste test while sitting above an outdoor dunk tank filled with frigid suds.<\/p>\n

If they failed to pick out the booze-free drink amid full-strength brews, into the icy liquid they would go. Temperature on that particular day was a bone-chilling 15 degrees.<\/p>\n

Smack talk ensued: \u201cI think I can easily distinguish\u201d between real beer and non-alcoholic beer, one participant said, while another boasted, \u201cI bet a hundred bucks I can get it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

The result? Seven tasters took a beer bath, with the moments of shiver-inducing truth captured in a 60-second video.<\/p>\n

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\"image\" <\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

The stunt, orchestrated by Samuel Adams\u2019 Just the Haze, coincides with the annual Dry January<\/a> temperance movement but also kicks off a longer-term marketing push for the nascent non-alcoholic brand.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going all-in on non-alc\u2014we\u2019ve doubled our investment since last year in the category,\u201d Lauren Price, director of marketing, head of Samuel Adams<\/a> brand, told Adweek. \u201cIt\u2019s one of our big pillars for the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The effort includes a TV spot starring the abrasive yet beloved character \u201cyour cousin from Boston<\/a>,\u201d who takes part in a focus group and nearly loses his mind when he likes the buzz-free Just the Haze. The dunk tank content, distributed on social and digital platforms, and TV campaign come from Sam Adams\u2019 agency of record Goodby Silverstein & Partners<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Taken together, the experiential activation and media buys aim to drive broader awareness of two-year-old Just the Haze and position it as a full-flavored, viable alternative to traditional craft beer.<\/p>\n

(Captions\u00a0for the video have not been made available to Adweek. We will update the video once\u00a0captions\u00a0have been provided.)<\/span>Goodby Silverstein & Partners, Samuel Adams<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Sudsy sales, Damp January<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The time is ripe, since sales of non-alcoholic beer grew 20% at retail in the past year, per Nielsen, and are expected to see near-double-digit increases again in 2023. The category\u2019s global bottom line could reach $40 billion by 2032, per GMI Insights, up from $22 billion in 2022. It makes up the lion\u2019s share of booze-free booze, which includes spirits, wine and aperitif alternatives.<\/p>\n

From 2019 to 2022, non-alc beer accounted for 37% of all searches for booze-free beverages, according to Pattern\u2019s study of consumer ecommerce behavior on Amazon. More broadly, the beginning of the year is prime for the non-alcoholic category through online channels, per Pattern, with consumer demand jumping 43% in January 2022 compared to the rest of the year.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, nearly one in five Americans are participating in this month\u2019s challenge to abstain from alcohol, according to a Morning Consult poll.<\/p>\n

But instead of Dry January<\/a>, it\u2019s more like Damp January, with 47% of those consumers planning to reduce their booze intake rather than give it up completely. (Per the 2023 Bacardi Cocktail Trends Report, 23% of millennials and Gen Z are becoming \u201cblenders,\u201d switching between full-strength and non-alcoholic drinks on the same occasion).<\/p>\n

(Captions\u00a0for the video have not been made available to Adweek. We will update the video once\u00a0captions\u00a0have been provided.)<\/span>Goodby Silverstein & Partners, Samuel Adams<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

\u201cHealthier lifestyles are on the rise, people are looking for something lighter and they\u2019re interested in moderation and pacing themselves,\u201d Price said. \u201cInitially non-alc seemed like it was only for people who completely abstain, but that\u2019s not the case. People are drinking non-alc for a variety of reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Survival kits and chilly stunts<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Once sleepy and forgettable, the non-alc beer category is now on fire, dominated by liquor behemoths like Heineken with its best-selling Heineken 0.0<\/a>, several Anheuser-Busch InBev brands and Molson Coors, along with specialty company Athletic Brewing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Both legacy and emerging brands in this segment have been flooding media channels with resolution-themed and party-within-reason messages this month. An upstart in the U.S., BrewDog<\/a> dropped its Dry January Survival Kit with 24 non-alcoholic beers, including fan favorites like Nanny State and Punk AF, along with seasonal and limited-edition flavors.<\/p>\n

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BrewDog<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Boston Beer Co.\u2019s Sam Adams is trying to make Just the Haze stand out in the increasingly crowded segment with stepped-up advertising and promotions, like its torturous (but fun from arm\u2019s length) dunk tank.<\/p>\n

The brand assembled critics, judges and other beer aficionados for the event, providing hand warmers, marathon blankets and other amenities to make their failure a little easier to stomach.<\/p>\n

Risking hypothermia and humiliation, Price even climbed into the tank herself\u2026and couldn\u2019t pick out Just the Haze as the \u201cimitator\u201d in the bunch. She also took a beer bath. The only correct guesser, by the way, was a Boston firefighter named Chris D\u2019Alessandro.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a photo of me getting dunked that my team really loves,\u201d Price said. \u201cIt was a humbling moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n