So, I went to the Sam Adams Brewery yesterday as a "school field trip." We chatted with the general manager of Twisted Tea, which is a Sam Adams brand of alcohol (ice tea + alcohol brewed using Sam Adams' signature beer brewing style.), and did some "product testing" of all their beers and Twisted Tea flavors. Totally awesome visit!!
We chatted a lot about marketing Sam Adams' products and managing the operations in general but the most interesting topic was about their Twisted Tea brand and distribution system. I expected Twisted Tea's target demographic to be women, but it's not. Even though the drink itself is nice and sweet and tea-ish and appealing to women, they compete heavily with Smirnoff's and other girly drinks. When the product was first launched, the managers of Twisted Tea also surmised that the niche demographic would be women, so Twisted Tea has a bright somewhat "girly" label on it. However, it turns out the Tea never really took off amongst women, and their niche market is blue collared, White men! Now that they know this, Sam Adams distribution channels will only sell to bars in neighborhoods with large concentrations of "poor White people." So, for example, you can't buy Twisted Tea at a bar in the Back Bay, but you can find it in South Boston. In addition, even though Twisted Tea is marketed to low-income guys, the Tea itself is branded as a high-end brand. In addition, amongst blue-collared workers overall, White men tend to make more money and can afford this Tea, so, they focus specifically on this race. Therefore, they will not market in the South west of the US, because there are few places with large concentrations of lower-income, White men. Interesting.
And what do the guys think about the "girly" label? Well, apparently construction workers perceive the label as "loud and colorful" but not girly. So, they continue to drink the tea. The brand will undertake a makeover this summer, so look for the new Twisted Tea in stores this summer--in South Boston.
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The label design is a little fruity (I just looked at their website) plus the name. but you're right, I haven't every seen this/heard of this tea at a bar I would frequent.
PS - nice ending line to your post. That is SO marketing ad copy. Dude, it creeps into your everyday conversation and writing... I know from experience
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