Blog Entries by Jeff Cioletti

Who Comes Up With This Stuff?

Category: General Blogs  |  Tags: beverage, marketing

Sometimes I wonder if some marketers are subconsciously trying to sabotage the very business they’re in and bring back Prohibition.

Okay, I admit, that’s a bit extreme, but with some of the shenanigans from a handful of brand marketers of late, you’d think they were hand-delivering ammunition for neo-prohibitionists wrapped in a convenient little package with a bow on top.

One such example occurred when a popular high-end vodka brand got a lot of flak for an ad it posted on its Facebook page that many said all but glorified rape. The uproar forced the company to pull the offending piece.

Anyone who’s attended any number of industry trade shows will know that such degradation is nothing new. In the conference components of such events, industry trade associations will implore the members of the alcohol marketing industry to not cheapen themselves and their brands with lowest-common-denominator nudie ads. But then, once the trade show floor opens, the booths that seem to be drawing the crowds are the ones with models wearing four-sizes-too-small bikini bottoms and nothing above the waist but body paint.

Many ad and marketing firms pride themselves on bringing in young, hip associates who’ve got the pulse of the coveted 21- to 29-year-old demo. But part of the problem is that, for many of these young, hungry ad execs, very little time passed between the frat house and the agency. And those with a little maturity and real-world experience seem to be put out to pasture when the little crystal embedded in the palms of their hand begins to blink as they near 30. (I’m dating myself using a “Logan’s Run” reference. There’s supposedly a remake coming starring Ryan Gosling, so the generation I’m mocking might one day be in on the joke.)

It’s also pretty troubling that people today seem to be the least knowledgeable about history (and a lot of other subjects, for that matter) than during any prior era. It’s almost as if some of them get their historical frame of reference from watching “Mad Men.” (“I want to go into advertising so I can party and conquer like Don Draper!”)

Which brings us back to Prohibition. It’s safe to say that there’s no one employed in the industry today who reached adulthood during Prohibition (Repeal predated my birth by nearly 40 years.) That’s why it’s critical for everyone entering the beverage market to bone up on their history.

The debauched free-for-all that some beverage marketers promote—and, let me be clear, it is but a small minority within a very responsible and upstanding industry—dangerously parallels the (hyperbolic and often downright false) image the Anti-Saloon League was trying to pin on the alcohol market, which ultimately led to the Volstead Act.

Since Repeal, the U.S. has had what is arguably the most orderly and effective system of alcohol marketing and distribution in the world. So let’s not ruin it by playing into the hands of fringe lobbyist groups that would like nothing more than to turn back the clock to 1920.

Laugh Along Even Though They’re Laughing at You

Category: General Blogs  |  Tags: beer, beverage, alcohol, wine, pulp, common people

So, a couple of interesting events occurred this week and in an odd sort of way, they’re spiritually related. In New York, I got to see one of my favorite bands that had been on hiatus for the better part of a decade and hadn’t played in the city since 1998. The band is the Britpop combo Pulp, of whose most famous song I was reminded when I attended the second event, a wine festival in a Western U.S. city billed as a “Rock & Roll” wine event (complete with a performance from another band that peaked in the ’90s but whose return was far less triumphant than the aforementioned band from Sheffield, England. (Basically a glorified one-hit wonder, maybe a one-and-a-half-hit wonder if I’m feeling generous).

The song the latter event evoked was “Common People,” basically about a wealthy, bourgeois art student who cluelessly and patronizingly says she wants to live like the common folk. It’s completely lost on her why such a thing is not possible for someone whose rich dad is always a phone call away to bail her out.

What does that have to do with wine? Well, it wasn’t so much the drink itself, but the very forced nature of the tasting festival. It tried to hit attendees over the head with the fact that it was a “rock & roll” event, as if to say, “See, wine understands the common people.” (The cheap plastic tasting cups didn’t help matters. They just came off as tacky).

I’m not saying wine isn’t as flexible a beverage as beer, as far as consumption occasions are concerned. Quite the contrary. But I almost got the sense that the organizers were so self conscious about the—often misguided—perception of wine as a drink that encourages snobbery that they overcompensated by desperately trying to connect with everyday folk by producing a transparently artificial, raucous, rockin’ time. It’s like a multimillionaire buying a Chevy Cavalier in an attempt to “keep it real,” but driving it home to a personal car elevator.

Wine’s a great beverage and has every right to go after traditional beer occasions, just as beer has done with what had been historically perceived as wine occasions. But when it tries too hard, it just comes off as disingenuous and a little desperate.

Act Naturally

Category: General Blogs  |  Tags: fleet, alterantive fuels, BevOps/Fleet Summit

With BevOps/Fleet Summit upon us (which very likely is happening as you read this), I’ve got alternative fuel on the brain. A recent trip to Indianapolis helped put me into that frame of mind. That was the host city for a second consecutive year—next year will be the trifecta—of the Work Truck Show and if there was one take away from the three-day event in the home of the Indy 500, it’s that CNG’s moment has truly arrived.

CNG (compressed natural gas) seemed to be in the air (no, not literally) at the March event, which showcases the latest and greatest in commercial vehicles. Virtually every press conference from the major fleet equipment suppliers had something to do with CNG. Many cited the stats released by the International Association of Natural Gas Vehicles, which estimates that there will be more than 50 million natural gas vehicles worldwide within the next decade, or about 9 percent of world transportation fleets. That’s nearly quadruple the 13 million that are on the road now. About 150,000 of those are in the U.S.

Part of what has made CNG the go-to alternative fuel is that the infrastructure is already pretty much in place. Fleets can tap into existing natural gas lines with on-site refueling stations. It also helps that CNG has demonstrated a dramatic reduction in smog-producing pollutants and significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Oh, and it costs, on average, more than a buck less than the equivalent volume of gasoline. That’s a highlight that’s certainly not lost on fleets dealing with this year’s oppressive fuel prices. Natural gas is also free of the sort of price volatility that goes with sourcing fuel from foreign oil, especially when the bulk of it—about 60 percent to be exact—comes from unstable regions of the world. Contrast that with natural gas, 98 percent of which is produced in North America.

So it’s timely that the current Fleet of the Year honoree, Golden Eagle—which we’re honoring at our BevOps/Fleet Summit Awards dinner—achieved the distinction for its progressive work with CNG vehicles. Golden Eagle’s senior VP of business operations Bill Osteen also is on the speaker roster at this year’s event, detailing the practices that earned his company the award.

According to our 2012 Beverage Supply Chain Report in this month’s issue, a little more than 4 percent of respondents’ fleets currently are using CNG vehicles, while around 10 percent say they plan to incorporate CNG in the next year.

That’s just one of the topics you’ll find in the report, which combines—just as BevOps/Fleet Summit does—insight on beverage fleet management with that on warehouse and facilities operations. It’s the first time we’ve combined both aspects of the beverage supply chain into a single comprehensive document. There is something in it for companies of all sizes and it should prove to be a useful guide for whatever operational investments you plan to make in the near future.

Even the U.S. can be an emerging market it in its own way.

Category: General Blogs  |  Tags: alcohol

There’s been a lot of coverage about emerging markets of late, including my PourWord from last month detailing a recent trip to an emerging South East Asian market, Vietnam. We traditionally think of the so-called BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as the four biggest emerging markets on which beverage companies have been lavishing attention, followed by the next wave of burgeoning sites in Asia (like the aforementioned Vietnam), Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

What really defines an emerging market is the level of untapped opportunity to grow various product categories. So, in that regard, couldn’t just about every country be an emerging market for something? And, yes, that includes even the U.S.

I never in a million years would have considered the U.S. to be emerging in any way, shape or form, since it’s possible to get a drink from just about every category in the States. But then a recent invitation to a press event in New York City reminded me that there are many segments that have yet to max out their market potential in the U.S. The invitation was from the Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO) and it was for a showcase of shochu, Japan’s national spirit (see some pics in this month’s Liquid Lens).

Shochu had been on my radar for a while. One of my favorite izakayas in Manhattan is a place called Umi No Ie, which specializes in the spirit; shochu varieties outnumber the sakes nearly tenfold. Also, on a trip to Japan a couple of years ago, I had stumbled into a Tokyo bar that served shochu exclusively. But beyond those examples I rarely gave it much thought in my daily life. And that’s kind of a small tragedy because given the extremely niche-level penetration shochu has in the U.S. market, it’s likely that most legal-drinking-age consumers don’t pay it much mind either.

The New York event reminded me that it’s a pretty accessible and versatile spirit. For a clear spirit, it pairs pretty well with a variety of foods without any enhancement. But for cocktail-crazy consumers, its various flavor expressions—depending on whether it’s distilled from sweet potatoes, barley, rice, sugar or buckwheat—make it fairly flexible for drinks both sweet and savory. Renowned mixologist Junior Merino led a guided tasting at the expo to demonstrate just how mixable it is. What’s more, there’s no shortage of romance associated with its history and product methods to satisfy even the most discerning Scotch and bourbon aficionados. Its origins can be traced back to feudal Japan of 500 years ago and is, to this day, distilled using wooden pot stills. Its single distillation ensures that as much of the flavor complexity of its base ingredient is retained.

The U.S. may be one of the most mature spirits—and overall beverage—markets around, but when it comes to segments like shochu, it’s barely a toddler. And that toddler, if nurtured correctly, could have some very fruitful growing-up years ahead of it.

Last Call for 2012 BevStar Awards Submissions!

Category: General Blogs  |  Tags: beer, brewing, craft beer, beverage, alcohol, brew, awards, soft drink, soda, tea, cider, sake, mead, wine, spirits, liquor, functional, sports drink, water, bottled water, enhanced water

I just wanted to give you a quick heads-up that the submission deadline for the Third Annual Beverage World BevStar Awards is fast approaching.

The awards recognize innovations across the major beverage categories, introduced to the market--US or abroad--during the past 18 months. You can submit as many products as you'd like, as long as they've been released within that time period. We'll award gold, silver and bronze medals in each of those categories, as well as a Best in Show award and special achievement awards for Marketing Innovation, Social Media Initiatives and Environmental Sustainability.

We're happy to announce a new category this year: mead, cider and sake. We felt that these fermented classics got lost within beer, wine and spirits, especially since sake is actually closer to beer than it is wine even though it's frequently lumped in with wine.

Other categories include carbonated soft drinks, water/enhanced water, functional & energy, beer, wine & spirits and ready-to-drink tea.

The first step is to email your submission to bevstar@beverageworld.com. That message should include:

• Product Name

• Parent Company

•
 High-resolution product image

• A brief description of the product and why you believe it should win a BevStar Award — maximum 75 words please


• The names of any packaging design, ingredient and branding companies that played a key role in the development of the product

If your entry passes the initial screening process, expect an email directing you where to mail a product sample.

Good luck to you all!