Why A “Year in Review” Recap is Worth Your Time

The effervescent Kate Bernot joined our recent #CraftSocialMedia workshop to share her insight on the Year In Review with a journalist’s lens. She also penned this article about why you should plan a year in review this (and every) year.

Thank you Kate!

No one is looking for another item to add to their to-do list, but a “year in review” recap for your brewery is a worthwhile investment.

As a journalist, I’ve been on the receiving end of these recaps and can testify to their utility in your media relations plan—more on that shortly. But these reports aren’t just press release fodder; done right, they can be a powerful internal and external strategic tool. 

A year in review recap is a chance to reflect, organize, and communicate. It’s an archival snapshot of your business, one that is useful now and years into the future. When life moves at breakneck speed and it’s a challenge to even remember what month we’re in, there’s immense value in accurately cataloging your business’ milestones at the end of the year. You’re likely to understand your own brewery more deeply, and to help share important achievements with stakeholders like staff, media, distributors, retailers, community partners, and the public.

First, let’s discuss the year in review as an external communications tool. I cover the business of beer, which since the pandemic has not been smooth sailing for many companies, large and small. Amid the varied challenges breweries face, I’m still always looking to tell success stories. They certainly exist, but are perhaps not as obvious as they once were. Particularly when I’m writing for a trade publication, I need data points—everything from sales volumes to competition medals—to justify why I’m spotlighting a particular brewery.

Breweries can help me uncover these bright spots by sharing their wins, and their challenges, with me at the end of the year. How else will I know that your company launched two new seasonal beers into distribution, or grew own-premise sales, or paid for 100% of taproom staff to become Cicerone certified, or committed to local malt across its core beers? All of those are potential angles for media coverage, either now or in the future. Having them bundled in one easily digested report is a reporter’s dream. Attach the report to an email and send it once it’s ready— timing is less important to me than clear, organized information.

But members of the media aren’t the only external shareholders. Share your year in review with wholesalers, key retailers, and your nonprofit or community partners. Think of the year in review as your family’s holiday card: It’s a reason to reconnect with people you haven’t talked to in a while, update them on your milestones, and keep yourself top-of-mind as those partners are planning for the year ahead. (… Maybe send that email in advance of spring resets?) You may also want to disseminate some aspects of the year in review on social media and your newsletter. Turning core accomplishments into content is a way to highlight your wins and remind your fans of great times they’ve had with the brewery over the past 12 months.

Finally, and perhaps even more importantly, embrace the year in review as an internal exercise. At the management level, examine your brewery’s mission statement alongside your year in review. Do your most important moments of the past year reflect what your brewery stands for? Are there areas of the mission statement that weren’t operationalized? Are there emerging areas of importance over the past year that should be integrated into your mission statement? Finally, make sure your staff sees all or part of your year in review. Keeping employees connected to your mission and celebrated for their role in it is core to maintaining morale. Shout out the people who took the lead on major projects, and use achievements as a reason to celebrate the whole team. 

There are few tools within a brewery’s kit that offer this kind of multifaceted return— and cost almost nothing to implement. 

Written by Kate Bernot

RadCraft Partners With Empowered Streaming To Amplify #CraftSocialMedia Workshop Experience

INTERNATIONAL— RadCraft will bring back its virtual social media marketing workshops for breweries in 2024, this year with the amplification of streaming services from Empowered Streaming. 

The #CraftSocialMedia experience will be improved with enhanced video and audio, faster streaming, and expanded capacity for participants to communicate with speakers and one another. 

There are three #CraftSocialMedia workshops with expert speakers planned for 2024. The series kick off will feature Kayla Stinnett of Iron City Social presenting Social Media Marketing For Recurring Brewery Events on Friday, May 10 at 12pm MT. She’ll share tried-and-true strategies to promote recurring events while keeping them fresh and top of mind, all while on a budget. 

Details about these next two beer marketing workshops Social Media Management For Multiple Brewery Locations (August 16) and Social Media Automation That Sells More Beer (November 15) will be published in coming weeks.  

Register for the #CraftSocialMedia workshops at radcraftbeer.com. 

ABOUT EMPOWERED STREAMING 

Empowered Streaming was created to make virtual and hybrid events stress free for event planners. Behind the scenes, it’s run by a passionate set of studio musicians, engineers and videographers. During the pandemic, it became clear that the technical skills and sense of precision honed in music performance and studio work was very much needed in the corporate events space. Today, Empowered is responsible for the video and audio production for events all over the world, with a passionate crew dedicated to providing a fun and easeful experience for everyone involved.

ABOUT RADCRAFT

Beers and spirits should tell stories about brands, and RadCraft loves a good story. Founded in 2012 by Emily Hutto, RadCraft provides communications support for the beverage industry. From breweries and distilleries to maltsters and their affiliates, RadCraft’s partners are makers of thoughtful products and cultivators of radical ideas. Learn more at radcraftbeer.com. 

Advice From The Trail: Odell Brewing on Media Relations

We got a chance to talk media relations shop with Kristin Wood, the Community Manager at Odell Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado. Here she emphasizes the significance of relationships, specifically bringing online connections to life by hosting at the brewery. We know that’s not always possible, and we encourage breweries to get creative with swag packs, beer shipments, and other digital ways to create connections in other virtual ways that lead to longterm brand recognition.

Odell seems to get an array of media mentions every day. How much of the earned media that you get is organic? How much comes from your PR efforts? 

If you include social media, I would say 70 percent organic mentions and 30 percent are from press releases and beer samples around new product launches.

How do you choose who to ship beer samples to?

We start with a list of people who are in the industry. Then we add to it over time with people who we find organically when they write stories or mentioned us or people or publications who we'd want to pitch to.

Any tips for engaging influencers on social?

Get to know them on a personal level. Communicating via social media as a brewery is great because you can be fun and casual and really build rapport with your influencers. Comment on their posts when they mention you and always re-share their content.

How often do you invite media out to visit your tasting rooms? How often do you host? 

Whenever I see a social media influencer is going to be in Colorado, I always send a personal note inviting them to one of our taprooms. I often make a point to be the hone who hosts them, even if it's after hours because it's so cool to be able to meet this person in real life. 

Who form your team handles PR? Is that their full-time or part time role? How does that work integrate with the rest of your sales and marketing team?

As the Community Manager, I handle PR. It's one of my many hats but it blends well with managing the social channels since the line between traditional media and new media (blogs, vlogs, social media influencers, etc) has become so blurred.

What have you had to learn the hard way about PR? 

I studied PR in college and I feel like nothing I learned is relevant anymore. Social media has completely changed the landscape and rules of the game. Often I feel like I'm just figuring it out as I go.

Sleeping Giant and Boulder Beer Announce Partnership; New Manufacturing, Sales, and Marketing Relationship to keep Colorado’s First Craft Brewery On Shelves

DENVER, CO— Sleeping Giant, the first dedicated contract brewing company in the Western United States, announced today a new partnership with Boulder Beer Company that keeps Boulder beers in distribution without interruption. Sleeping Giant will be manufacturing Boulder’s brands and taking over distribution and marketing of the Boulder-based institution’s beers in the marketplace.

This news comes after Boulder Beer’s announcement in October 2019 to discontinue its widespread distribution and operate solely as a brewpub. This is still Boulder’s plan, with the new addition of Sleeping Giant as a manufacturing, sales, and marketing partner. Sleeping Giant approached Boulder after this announcement to discuss possibilities, and the two breweries quickly worked together to keep Boulder’s brands on shelves.

Going forward, Boulder Beer Shake, Mojo, Buffalo Gold, Hazed & Infused, Spaceman, and Due East will be brewed and packaged at Sleeping Giant, where state-of-the-art lab and brewing equipment will ensure the quality and consistency of Boulder’s brands and this 40-year-old namesake of Colorado beer. 

“This is an exciting time for Boulder Beer,” says Gina Day, Boulder Beer Company Owner. “We are thrilled to have the brand continue its legacy and to continue to supply our loyal customers through retail markets.”

“For Sleeping Giant, this partnership was an amazing opportunity on multiple levels,” adds Matthew Osterman, President & Founder of Sleeping Giant. “We couldn’t be more proud to work with such an iconic brand, the first craft brewery in Colorado. Further, our new relationship will allow Sleeping Giant to better understand the distribution, sales, and marketing side of the business. Developing this expertise will allow us to assist our contract brewing clients, and provide yet another value-add service to our portfolio.

For more information about this new partnership between Sleeping Giant and Boulder Beer Company, contact Emily Hutto at hutto@radcraftbeer.com. 

ABOUT SLEEPING GIANT BREWING COMPANY

Sleeping Giant is the first dedicated contract brewing company in the Western United States. Catering to the craft beer community, Sleeping Giant offers a cutting-edge QA/QC program, approachable brew lengths, a variety of packaging options, and personalized customer service that sets it apart. Since the company was founded in 2015, it has supported the brewing and packaging needs of dozens of breweries across the country and grown to be Colorado's fourth largest independent craft brewery. Sleeping Giant made the 2019 INC 500 list and was also named a Colorado Companies to Watch this year. Learn more at sleepinggiant.com. 

ABOUT BOULDER  BEER COMPANY

Founded in 1979, Boulder Beer Company has been a pioneer in the craft brewing industry for 40 years. From their early days brewing in “The Goatshed” north of Boulder, to brewing and packaging for a regional audience out of their European-style brewhouse on Wilderness Place, to their recent move to scale down and focus on their brewpub operation, to now partnering with their friends at Sleeping Giant to keep the brands alive at the retail level, Boulder Beer’s passion for innovation and sustainability has seen them to their milestone 40th Anniversary and will continue their legacy in Boulder and the craft beer industry for years to come. For more information on Boulder Beer Company, contact Tess McFadden at tmcfadden@boulderbeer.com and follow @BoulderBeerCo on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.