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Getting paid to show up at beer tasting events and festivals

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  • Getting paid to show up at beer tasting events and festivals

    I recently had someone in the industry tell me they are only going to participate in tastings and other public events/festivals where the event organizers pay them to be there.

    It had always been my impression that brewers either 1) showed up for free and wrote off the costs as a marketing expense or 2) paid to show up and wrote off the entry fee and other costs as a marketing expense. There was no common option #3) "get paid to be here"

    Am I off base here?

  • #2
    Some fests will actually (gasp) buy the beer. Oregon Brewers fest is one that pays for the beer I believe. I wont pay for any fests. I will donate the beer on a case by case basis.
    Big Willey
    "You are what you is." FZ

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    • #3
      Wisconsin also has festivals that will pay you for the beer. We have a company policy to not participate in any event that has a table/booth charge. There are usually more than enough events during the year to get your product sampled out.
      BJ Knoke
      Hub City Brewing Company
      "The Largest Microbrewery In Stanley, Iowa"

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      • #4
        Get paid to attend a fest? By who?
        I guess I could see the brewery paying their employee to attend although all the breweries I've been associated with have not paid their employees to represent the brewery. I have had the brewery pick up the tab for gas, hotel (when the fest didn't), and food.
        If there is a brewery out there that will pay me to attend a beer festival please send your info to info@glacierbrewing.com attention DAVE!

        Prost!
        Dave
        Glacier Brewing Company
        406-883-2595
        info@glacierbrewing.com

        "who said what now?"

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        • #5
          We'll be happy to pay our folks to attend (but not booth fees) if the event will simply buy the beer. Until someone can convince me that the band is playing for free & the food vendors are donating their product we'll just follow their lead...
          Marty Compton
          Director of Sales
          Bell's Brewery, Inc.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by MCompton
            Until someone can convince me that the band is playing for free & the food vendors are donating their product we'll just follow their lead...
            Exactly!
            What is it about Breweries that make festival organizers think we are an endless source of free beer? Maybe I'll try to start a BBQ fest preferably on my birthday. We wont pay you for the ribs and brisket, just show up and serve BBQ, and by the way its $25 a head at the door, thanks.
            Big Willey
            "You are what you is." FZ

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            • #7
              We only attend festivals that at a minimum buy the beer. We do around 12 fests per year. If you continue to give your beer away and diminish its perceived value, how will you continue to garner a fair price in the market?
              Cheers!
              David R. Pierce

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              • #8
                Pay to Play?

                It is always nice to get paid for the beer provided, but often times not the case.

                Some of the best festivals around will not pay you for the beer. For instance the Legendary Boonville Beer Festival is one of the prime festivals in Northern California, we've never been paid for the beer served there, and that is a must attend festival.

                And I have to disagree with seeing it as 'diminishing perceived value'. As more and more people taste your beer, the more buzz you will create, followed by people recommending it, and soon enough sales are up. We have donated beer to many events and beer festivals along the way, and it hasn't diminished the perceived value at all.

                It is a marketing expense. You've got to get people to taste your beer, and festivals are the easiest ways to do that, and relatively risk free. Actually having to pay to get into an event is a little much. However, the potential gain in sales or awareness has to be there.
                -Anthony
                Drake's Brewing
                San Leandro, CA
                www.drinkdrakes.com

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                • #9
                  festivals

                  Lets see. I think I will hold a music festival and charge all the musicians to come and play. In fact I will make them pay for all their accomodation and food and travel and of course they will have to ask all their roadies to come and volunteer for free and then maybe I'll take a commission of any merchandise they sell. What a great idea. I wonder if it will work, all it will take is to invite a bunch of them, tell them that they will get some great exposure and then make them pay for it all. I'll make a ton of money! Until the people who make the beer hold the festival this is the way it will be. Unless of course you all decided not go one year unless you were paid for it?
                  What a concept. As long as there are sheep to be shorn there will be someone there to fleece them.

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                  • #10
                    As a brewpub with no outside sales, it gets old doing the free beer fests with little or no ROI. If we were a new Brewery or a production brewery then it would be a nice marketing opportunity. As it stands we see little benefit from most local fests. Usually I am stretched thin as it is and its hard to justify the time investment as well. The only positive is hanging out with your fellow local brewers!
                    Big Willey
                    "You are what you is." FZ

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                    • #11
                      Just a suggestion BigWilley - of course it depends on the fest, but why not create coupons (20% off your meal, $2 off a pint, or whatever) for these festivals to hand out to people who taste your beer and have never been in your pub? You can then see the ROI as people return to your place at a later date for food & drink AND you get to drink beer with fellow brewers.

                      Holy Double Dipping Batman!

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                      • #12
                        That's exactly what we did at a festival that was across town. Buy one get one free microbrews, which was a pretty sweet deal. We handed out hundreds and redeemed only a handful.
                        Thats when I really started questioning the real value of doing these events. That one was actually large by local standards. At least it was for charity so wer could write the beer off!
                        Big Willey
                        "You are what you is." FZ

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          A lot of great points were made here.
                          If an organizer charges $35 a head and has attendance of, say, 3000
                          thats $105K! Ok, maybe $5K to $10K for the venue if anything at all.
                          Food vendors normally pay to attend.
                          Security, ice, tents, music, chairs etc, what, another $10K to $15K?
                          Most of the actual work is done by volunteers.

                          That leaves some $80,000! Donate $5K to a "charity" and your left with $75,000. Not a bad take with no investment in the product they are promoting.

                          What other industry allows this?
                          Why should we continue to do so?
                          The festivals that pay for the beer, nationwide, can be counted on one hand.

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                          • #14
                            I'm the organizer of one of the largest beer festivals in the country so I thought my perspective might be helpful. This past year we poured 517 kegs of beer bought at full price from distributors in our state. We spend more than $80k on beer and more than $250k on the event as a whole.

                            We don't charge any brewers or distributors anything to be a part of the event and we use volunteers to do all of the pouring unless a brewer or brewery rep is on hand and would like to do that themselves. Even with all this we get very little brewer participation. This due in large part to the crowded festival schedule and also to Boise, ID being off the beaten path and not the easiest place to get to.

                            I think its a bit silly for a brewer to expect to get paid to attend a festival and market their own products. Now, if its a case where they are expected to donate the beer and then provide free labor on top of that then I totally understand.
                            Owner
                            Grind Modern Burger
                            PostModern Brewers
                            Boise, ID

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Brewtopian
                              Now, if its a case where they are expected to donate the beer and then provide free labor on top of that then I totally understand.
                              That is the case which I'm referring. We do not donate. If you buy the beer, we show up and pour, within reason and in our own market. We will generally donate a tee-shirt or pint glasses for a raffle.

                              The largest one day Fest in my area balked at buying the local breweries beer this year. Their argument was "we only made $68,000 last year". After paying everyone right down to the guy that cleans the port a-can, they ONLY made $68,000. They did purchase all beer legally through proper distribution, raised the price by five bucks, only after all the locals said they would not attend. The event sold out and they made a record amount.

                              Don't BS yourself, someone is making money off of your donated beer and it isn't you.
                              Cheers!
                              David R. Pierce

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