70 per cent of Australian beer drinkers are actively seeking out locally brewed and owned beers, new research commissioned by Coopers has shown.
The research examines the preferences of beer-drinking Australians, showing six in ten to prefer spending on Australian made and owned beer brands when buying beer in a pub, bar, club or restaurant; whilst only one in ten say they are likely to choose internationally owned alternatives above Australian brands on these occasions.
Coopers, the last locally owned and operated big-beer brand in the country, announced the findings to celebrate ‘Local, Everywhere’, a campaign set to mark the brand’s place as the local beer of Australia.
Because although Coopers may be born in Adelaide, it’s raised by locals all over Australia. And nothing says ‘local’ in Australia like a ‘Big Thing’, which is why Coopers will be rewarding loyal fans this summer with the next big-thing in big things, over 1,200 augmented reality activated 50ft ‘Big Ales’.
To celebrate Coopers is also running a selection of bar shouts across the country. The Coopers Big Ales will be popping up ‘Locally-Everywhere’, including some of Australia’s favourite monuments, Big Things, pubs and tourist hotspots.
Coopers fans are encouraged to check out and experience the many ‘Big Ales’ across the Summer, including Coopers Brewery and Kangaroo Island SA; Byron Bay Lighthouse, Bondi Beach and the Big Potato NSW; Airlie Beach and the Big Red Elephant QLD; Rottnest Island, Cottesloe Beach and Kings Park WA; Victoria’s Luna Park, Albert Park Lake and Giant Koala, and Tasmania’s Mount Wellington.
The AR experience has been supported by online video, with a 30 second piece championing Coopers’ regional customers. The film, shot in Miles QLD, includes real community members, and centres around The Windsor Hotel, currently under the helm of Jaimee Neilsen.
Speaking about Miles’ involvement in the piece, Jaimee said, “Coopers have been part of our community for years now. For us, Coopers has been more than a brand, we feel like a real extension of the family, and welcoming cameras up in Miles and featuring so prominently as part of the brand’s campaign really shows their commitment to regional drinking spots just like us”.
Coopers’ research also found more than six in ten Australians to describe ‘local’ beers as those owned, made and operated in Australia, with Coopers giving Australians what they want from a home-grown tinny, stubby or on-tap.
Meanwhile, 36 per cent of those asked what constitutes a local brew were looking for ‘a family brewed and owned beer’ such as Coopers, whilst three in ten Australians beer drinkers see local beers as those brands which support their local communities. Coopers’ strategy of being local everywhere echoes what Australians beer drinkers want.
Australian made and owned beer brands were shown to be in demand amongst beer consumers with almost a third of those asked keen to see more Australians beer brands in the market.
The research also showed Australian made and owned beers to drive loyalty, with 40 per cent more likely to repeatedly purchase their local beer, and 41 per cent more likely to stay loyal to one.
In a timely finding for Coopers, alcohol tourism was also shown to play a large role in purchasing decisions, with one in five more likely to buy from a beer brand where they have visited the brewery.
Construction is underway on Coopers’ new $50 million world-class visitor centre, microbrewery and whisky distillery at its home in Regency Park, South Australia.
This development will position Coopers for the future with interstate and international visitors to the brewery also front-of-mind.