The marketing insights of the top beer brands
YouGov research reveals the consumer profiles and buying preferences of beer and cider drinkers, including the habits of pubgoers and the brands with the top perception scores.
Beer and cider is one of the country’s most dynamic consumer goods sectors, with established brands fighting keenly over on- and off-trade sales, while craft brands cause a wave of disruption to tempt consumers to try something new.
YouGov conducted an in-depth study of beer and cider drinkers in the UK, and here’s what it uncovered.
READ MORE: Download YouGov’s beer and cider whitepaper here
Pubgoers tend to be older men with the means to spend
More than half of exclusive pub drinkers are over 55, and the majority of them are male, while home drinkers over-index among women aged 35-44.
Pub drinkers are defined as those who drink at the pub once a week or more and rarely or never drink at home, while home drinkers do the opposite.
The former group also worry less about money than average, while the latter tend to have less disposable income.
Perceptions of Peroni are outpacing Stella Artois
Peroni is beating its premium lager rival Stella Artois on perceptions of quality. Peroni, sold off to Asahi when AB InBev acquired SAB Miller in 2016, gets a quality score of 25 in YouGov’s research, versus 19 for Stella Artois, which AB InBev hung onto.
The gap has been widening since 2014, when their scores were just 1 point apart.
‘Frogs’ earned Budweiser an awareness leap
Budweiser’s ad awareness enjoyed a huge spike when the AB InBev brand brought back the frogs from its famous 1990s ad to launch Bud Light in the UK. The brand’s ad awareness measure peaked at 13, having rarely risen above 5 in the previous 12 months.
However, Bud needs to improve its perception of value, which falls below the sector average with a score of just 1, compared with 11 for Guinness. Even premium brands Peroni and Stella Artois score better on this measure.
Kopparberg, Peroni and Brewdog have top female appeal
Women are most likely to choose a flavoured cider or premium lager when buying beer or cider, with Kopparberg, Peroni and Brewdog being the three they are most likely to buy in the next 30 days, according to YouGov.
The results indicate the route to attracting more women drinkers is to place the marketing focus on these categories, rather than launching beers aimed at women. Ales and lower-end lagers don’t feature among their favourites, however.
Download YouGov’s whitepaper here to find out:
- How the UK’s top beer brands rank on quality, ad awareness and recommendation
- Demographic and personality profiles of today’s typical beer and cider drinkers
- What factors drive consumer choices
- The big opportunities for beer and cider brands, and those in complementary categories