Give me half a pint of anything new and exciting!

It seems that the beer market is rosy at the moment, although also somewhat crowded – there are now more than 800 breweries in the UK, a number not seen since the 1940s. The surge in appetite for craft beer has seen lost brands rediscovered and has also introduced the UK’s beer drinkers to new brews and flavour mash-ups. The very fact that success stories include flavoured beers, barrel aged beers and very strong beers, demonstrates that today’s consumer is open-minded about trying new products and also has the money to be experimental with their purchases. Recent research from CAMRA backs this up by revealing that drinkers now prefer their beer served in half-pints, which allows them to be more adventurous when sampling different and new beers. Overall, people are drinking less, but they are far more daring with their choices! Cider has always held a traditional position within British drinking culture, yet has also experienced a renaissance in recent years through innovation and product development; somewhere in the region of 90 new cider products hit the market in in 2014. Innovation has been the driving force behind increasing sales - according to Euromonitor, in 2014 the UK dominated global cider sales at 954m litres, which equates to £911m in value! Importantly, a beverage that was once perceived as an older person’s drink, has struck a chord with younger more affluent audiences; for example, Mintel estimates that half of under 35s have tried fruit cider. So this summer we can expect another wave of million pound marketing campaigns aimed at engaging young, affluent drinkers, many of which are open to new ideas and are happy to experiment with new products. Gaining urban brand cut-through in meaningful volumes will be a challenge for marketers; both in the high street and also close to purchase points. Happily, in term of cost-effective audience reach, taxi advertising provides a very efficient solution that also reaches a young adult audience in volume. For example, a medium-weight taxi advertising campaign in London will reach 74% of 18-34 Londoners across eight weeks, and on average they will see the campaign 16 times – that’s twice a week. In terms of relevancy as a medium for drinks brands, taxi advertising definitely engages with the right audience. 18-34s who see taxis each week agree are 64% more likely to enjoy a good night out at the pub and 54% are experimental and will try new drinks – they are happy to pay more for quality products too. In terms of influence, they are twice as likely to have spoken with a friend about a brand, having seen the advert on Outdoor advertising and perhaps importantly, are 65% more likely to be influenced by the outdoor adverts they see. Sources: Mintel, Euromonitor, The Drinks Business, ONS, Route, TGI.