The pan-industry campaign will focus on three core messages about the quality, diversity and versatility of beer. Frank PR is handling the substantial PR element.
A TV advert directed by Michael Winterbottom, whose films include 24 Hour Party People and The Trip starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, is to debut on ITV during Downton Abbey on 2 November. It shows how different styles of beer can be paired with a variety of foods, and enjoyed by different people at different times across Britain.
Social media activity, anchored around the hashtag #BeerForThat, will see consumers given almost instant advice from beer writers and sommeliers via Twitter on what beer goes with what occasion under a tool called #BeerMatch, launched in November. Later that month will see the launch of Beer Club, a guided discussion of key beer styles, hosted by beer experts on the @BeerForThat Twitter account each Wednesday evening.
Louise Doherty, digital and social manager for Britain’s Beer Alliance, which includes 22 brewers, trade bodies and pub companies, said: "Social media are a fantastic way for us to provide ongoing support to beer drinkers, new and old, who want to explore the wonderful world of Britain’s beer."
There will be a media partnership with digital publisher Buzzfeed, and a new consumer and industry-facing website launching in early November at beerforthat.com.
The consumer PR campaign is targeting lifestyle publications aimed at women and health-conscious men, emphasising the 'goodness' of beer against its stereotypical manly and unhealthy image – for example, stressing its relatively low alcohol content.
The PR campaign also saw activity at the recent Urban Food Festival in London’s Shoreditch, with tasting sessions matching beer and ‘street food’.
Trade media activity will focus on publications aimed at the pub and supermarket sectors, and will include roundtable discussions.
In 2015 the campaign will target pubs, bars and supermarkets, encouraging trials of new beers and consumption on new occasions, such as with food.
The activities follow on from the Let There Be Beer campaign launched 18 months ago, which represented a spend of £5m. The new investment will pay for activities until the end of 2015, with funding from global brewers SABMiller, Carlsberg, Heineken, AB InBev and Molson Coors.
Speaking at the event launch in London, Mike Benner, chief executive of trade body the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), said: "This is a once in a generation opportunity – we have a coherent strategy, an advert that works really well, and it’s backed by a huge chunk of cash."
Acclaimed beer writer Pete Brown admitted that people felt "slightly let down by the execution" of the original Let There Be Beer campaign.
Last year the advert for Let There Be Beer was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for implying alcohol made people popular and was important for sexual success.
Brown said a campaign was needed to harness the impact of the current "beer revolution", fuelled by growing interest in the new generation of so-called ‘craft beers’ that he said were resonating way beyond the stereotypical "hipster" heartland of east London.
Britain's Beer Alliance currently consists of the five global brewers and their UK regional counterparts including Fuller's and Shepherd Neame, plus industry bodies including the British Beer & Pub Association and SIBA.
