It’s the holiday season. And for some consumers, that can mean promotional overload. So marketing efforts this year are truly aiming to make an impact by not only giving consumers a product they can relate to, but by pairing that product with foods that make sense.

When it comes to food pairing, the category that has seen notable growth with the trend has been the craft beer segment. And along with food and drink for the holidays, comes seasonal beers. According to the Brewers Association, craft beer seasonals surpassed pale ales as the No. 1 selling “craft beer style” in January.

As a result, the Brewers Association launched Craft Beer Throughout the Year, a website that serves as a resource for those looking for the latest information on US seasonal and special release beers in addition to an outlet for craft breweries to spread the word on new releases.

“The timing is just right,” says Julia Herz, craft beer program director, Brewers Association, when referring to the recent launch of the site. “One of the reasons craft brewers have become known for seasonal beers is because of their winter and holiday seasonals. It’s a great celebratory time of year and that’s when people are going to have the biggest and best chance to share a special beer.”

The site features more than 200 seasonal beers so far and can be searched by state. With seasonal beer availablity visitors to the site also can get food pairing recommendations.

“Brewers today are becoming completely geared towards not only saying they have a new release, but also describing the flavors of that release and the characteristics of that release and what foods go with that release,” says Herz.

Tecate and Tecate Light’s off-premise holiday promotion looks to make a connection with its target consumer—the Mexican immigrant in the US—by toasting them to a year well worked and helping them enjoy festivities with foods that pair well with Tecate. “Our main target is the Mexican immigrant in the US,” says Arturo Vargas, Tecate’s sponsorships and events manager. “The holidays are really special. They celebrate with their families, with their friends, and food, obviously, is a big component of these celebrations.”

The campaign reinforces the brand’s Spanish language integrated advertising campaign, which launched this spring, with the tagline “Por los que trabajaron todo el año y se merecen un regalo,” which translates to “For those who worked hard all year and deserve a gift.”

Along with the ads, which feature stacked 12-packs of Tecate and Tecate Light topped with a bow made from what looks like unraveled Tecate cans, a cross-promotion with independent grocers will take place offering consumers food pairing ideas with the beer for the holiday, and in-store coupons for added savings.

The cross-promotion will feature displays of Tecate and Tecate Light incorporated with food pairing suggestions, like avocados and tortilla chips, in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Nevada, where brand performance is strongest. Specific food pairings will differ depending on the region, says Vargas. The pairing will “make sense and be very relevant to the consumer,” he says.

From Beverage World October 15, 2008