Hasta La Creative!

When Anheuser-Busch InBev acquired Goose Island in 2011, some beer enthusiasts seethed, fearing that the small, respected Chicago craft brewer would suffer under its corporate overlords. “My heart just sank,” tweeted one fan. “Chicago is just a little bit less Chicago today,” tweeted another, according to a roundup of immediate reaction by Chicago magazine.

Put the doubters seem to have been proved wrong. As the three-year anniversary of the $38.8 million deal approaches in March, Goose Island has managed to hold on to its street cred. It’s stayed true to its roots by avoiding many tactics employed by A-B InBev, such as copy testing, consumer testing or market research. Instead, the brand has relied on grassroots marketing as it puts new beers in the market based on the judgment and creativity of its employees and head brewer. But in January, Goose will begin getting more aggressive when it launches its first ad campaign under its first ad agency, Chicago-based VSA Partners.

For the campaign — aimed partly at gaining awareness in new markets — Goose Island is being careful to maintain its image as a gritty, urban brewer known for an innovative pipeline of specialty beers, such as Sofie, a Belgian-style farmhouse ale, and Lolita, aged with raspberries in wine barrels. The push includes print, out-of home and a digital video that mixes city images with shots of beer ingredients, such as a bowl of cherries, brewery scenes and warehouses stocked with bourbon and wine barrels where some of the beers are aged. The tagline is “To What’s Next.” The media buy includes Travel and Leisure, Rolling Stone and specialty-beer publications such as All About Beer.

Continue reading at AdAge.com