Offered: Summer

Summer Dates: August 9 – October 3, 2023
Course Tuition: $1495 ($1196 for Certificate Alumni and/or Brewers Association Members Discount)
Course Duration: 8 weeks
Learning Format: Online

Instructors: Julie Rhodes and Emily Hutto

Download a sample Brewery Marketing and Promotion in the Digital Age Syllabus

Both the marketing landscape and the culture of craft beer have evolved significantly over the past decade. An informed brewery marketing department will take an omnichannel approach (both digital and physical) to building brand awareness and fostering long-term relationships with today’s craft beer consumers. Digital channels lead the way for breweries to connect and engage with their audiences due to ease of access and cost efficiencies. They allow breweries to build larger, more targeted, and highly-engaged fan bases for less money. Combining digital tactics with traditional marketing methods, like print advertising or event sponsorships, is the most effective way to build brand awareness for your craft beer.

The biggest challenge that today’s breweries face is that digital marketing is fast-paced and often confusing. This online course focuses on introducing the craft beer professional to a breadth of core and emerging marketing channels and disciplines. Students will learn the holistic value of creating a clear digital marketing plan, how to determine the ROI (return on investment) of various digital marketing strategies and channels, the tools to support their efforts, and the skills to evaluate and refine results. Understanding the interconnected value of various marketing channels will set you apart from other beer professionals and set up a solid foundation for your marketing plans for years to come.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Create their own strategic marketing plan and identify goals for a digital marketing program based on an awareness of key trends within the craft beer and digital marketing landscape
  • Understand how to brand their business and what should be included in a brand folder
  • Identify their phase of the product life cycle to determine overall marketing objectives, plus understand consumer purchasing behavior
  • Assess a website’s ability to rank well in terms of SEO and create a website optimization plan
  • Create effective social media and PPC ads, and identify the best places to “place” craft beer ads with effective audience targeting techniques
  • Develop an email marketing campaign, and know how utilize segmentation and sequences
  • Maximize the impact of each social media channel, learn how to create a content calendar, and identify ways to improve their sales conversion copywriting skills
  • Identify different types of content and various digital channels for distribution, and evaluate why each one may, or may not, work for their brewery
  • Develop strategies for online consumer engagement, dealing with negative consumer feedback, and practice using these instances as opportunities for improvement
  • Know how to create and track a marketing budget based on marketing objectives
  • Increase awareness of legalities around advertising and marketing beers and breweries
  • Use analytics to improve their digital marketing strategies, efficiencies and content

Schedule

Week 1: (re)Branding

Week 2: Understanding Marketing Processes and Objectives

Week 3: Discovering Your Target Audience

Week 4: Identifying Marketing Strategies & Channels

Week 5: Content Planning & Scheduling

Week 6: Email Marketing

Week 7: SEO and Web Presence

Week 8: Marketing Analytics