
Increase Beer Sales and Social Reach
Company Overview
Dogfish Head Brewery, based in Milton, DE, was founded by well-known craft beer leader Sam Calagione. With over 250,000 barrels of beer brewed annually, they are one of the
United States’ fastest-growing independent brewing companies.
Calagione once served as the head brewer, hostess, bartender, and dishwasher during its humble beginnings as Delaware’s first brew pub and the smallest commercial brewery in
America. Dogfish Head has always placed great emphasis on anecdotal data from their customers. With every pint passed over the bar, Calagione could receive direct feedback on a newly brewed beer. His experience served as the foundation for how Dogfish Head operates—inviting feedback straight from customers drinking their beer.
Challenges
With continued market growth and nearly 7,500 breweries in the United States, Dogfish Head faces heavier competition and proliferation of choice now more than ever. Given the evolving competitive landscape of the craft beer industry, they needed a way to better attract the craft beer consumer and monitor trends. Upon seeking a preferred social media platform for the beer industry, Untappd was the clear choice.
Dogfish Head chose Untappd because it is the world’s largest network of beer enthusiasts and provides businesses with data analytics and trends in real-time. Untappd provides Dogfish Head with macro-level data on what craft beer consumers have an appetite for across the nation. They receive feedback from consumers early in the pipeline of beers they will launch nationally.
Solutions
Untappd’s Sponsored Badges are used by breweries to drive awareness and engagement with brands, new beer releases, and more.
Users unlock Sponsored Badges when checking in the brewery’s beer. Breweries that purchase a badge generally see a 50-100%+ increase in check-ins and typically make Untappd’s Global Trending Beer list during their promotional period. Increased check-ins lead to more exposure and revenue for brewery partners. Using the Badge Analytics tool, breweries can monitor metrics such as unlocks, demographics and more, all in real-time.
Results
In 2018, Dogfish Head ran their highest performing badge to date. It focused on their partnership with Record Store Day—a day to celebrate the culture of independently owned record stores. At the time, they were preparing to release pale ale Dragon & YumYums, an art collaboration beer with musical group The Flaming Lips. Drawing heavy comparisons between the independent music scene and independent craft beer community, Dogfish Head knew Untappd was the best channel to promote the Dragon & YumYums release in tandem with Record Store Day.
We really see Untappd as the place to reach an educated craft consumer. You can go on Facebook and buy ads, but you have to make sure that your targeting is buttoned up so you’re getting as efficient of a spend as possible and that’s where Untappd wins for us. We know exactly who’s on there, and every single person that interacts with us there is a consumer of ours or should be. That’s why we’ve invested a lot of time and thought and consistency into Untappd because it’s the goldmine for reaching that consumer.
Alan Weeth
Brand Manager, Dogfish Head