Beer's on Top

From organic brews to fruit-flavored lagers and IPAs, beer is taking on new flavors and textures and demonstrating its dominance as America’s favorite adult beverage.

To me, beer is more than just a beverage; it’s a unique experience that has withstood the test of time. I’m honored to be part of the Beer Zone Beer Dream Team and share my insights with you.

I’ve focused the largest part of my career inside beer. I began in advertising in 1980, eventually landing at DDB Needham working on businesses like McDonald’s and Anheuser-Busch. In 1989, I left the agency to start my career with Anheuser-Busch as the Bud Light brand manager. Over the next few years, I worked on many of the A-B brand campaigns and eventually became vice president of brand management and director of global brand creative where I was responsible for the worldwide marketing and award winning advertising for more than 40 Anheuser-Busch brands, including the infamous “I Love you Man,” “Louie the Lizard,” and “Whassup?!” campaigns.

And now I’m putting my energy into something new. I head up a group that is designed to enhance and elevate the image of beer. Beer is about good times with good friends. It’s a social beverage that’s been a part of history for more than 10,000 years. Beer has no cultural boundaries, and has a long tradition of providing refreshment and enjoyment for people around the world.

Today, the industry is on the upswing and as it continues to grow, efforts to promote beer and to remind people of the good things for which it stands are stronger than ever. Beer clearly remains America’s alcohol beverage of choice, accounting for nearly 60 percent of all alcohol beverage servings.

Helping people understand and appreciate the essence of beer and what makes it unique were the goals behind our creation of the “Here’s To Beer” campaign.

“Here’s To Beer”

This past February, Anheuser-Busch launched the “Here’s To Beer” campaign with a television ad toasting beer lovers around the world on Super Bowl Sunday. The ad celebrated beer’s global popularity and promoted the beer-themed Web site, www.herestobeer.com.

Intended to focus on enhancing and elevating the image of beer, the Web site focuses on three key areas. First, remind people of the social value of beer and how it brings people together in an unpretentious way. Second, reinforce beer’s refreshment, all-natural ingredients and beauty of its liquid. From the art of brewing to the sound of the bottle opening, the aroma and the pour, it’s a way for people to understand and appreciate the entire experience that is unique to beer. And last, encourage people to view beer differently and illustrate beer’s wide variety of styles and flavors and its ability to pair so well with food.

The site has had great success and continues to build momentum. For example, the media are writing more about the goodness, the fun and the renaissance of beer flavors and styles. The Chicago Tribune and San Francisco Chronicle recently wrote stories covering the flavor varieties and new product assortments that are available for consumers today. But most importantly, beer sales nationally have started to pick up momentum in the past six months with the Beer Institute estimating a 2.8 percent industry increase from October 2005 through March 2006.

We’re in the fight to keep beer going strong. In the coming months I’ll share more news about the beer industry focus and economic impact, new products, and brewers on the move.

Here’s to beer!

Bob Lachky