Your thoughts on specialty packaging

I used to keep that stuff, but it's gone now. Too much clutter for the man cave.

 

Hate it, simplify things and shave a couple of bucks on the price

Side note...whoever is responsible for the wax on the Terrapin specialty Wake-n-Bakes and Moo Hoo’s needs to be slapped, I almost lost a finger trying to open a Cinnamon Roll W-n-B

 

Personally I don't feel the need for such packaging except if I'm looking for something that will be a gift for someone else. Then it's useful. Otherwise I don't care for it.

 

Just something else to throw away.

 

There’s a reason that marketing execs get paid millions. It’s not about how good a beer you can make. It’s about how much beer you can sell :/

 

Millions is a bit of imaginary fiction. But even the best marketing will not sell a substandard product for long when there are other, better products available.

Indeed there are some notable examples where marketing a product people did not want was a massive failure.

 

Budweiser.
McDonalds.
Coca-cola.

I rest my case.

 

Your case isn't made.

There are millions of folks who want and prefer those products. The fact that you don't care for them doesn't mean they don't sell to others who do want them. Indeed if marketing had the potency many attribute to it you'd be a happy consumer of all three.

Try looking up the marketing of the Edsel Ford.

 

Not a huge fan of excessive packaging either, however the marketing does work as it does catch the eye initially and gets the mind working on whether to purchase it or not.

 

Unnecessary. I’d buy without the box, which ends up in the recycling. However...my wife taught advertising courses at the University and had worked in the field prior to getting her doctorate...she’ll crab at me for buying a $12 bottle of beer, but doesn’t bat an eyelash when I snap up a boxed 2015 Parabola for $20...just a fancy skin conveying to some a perception of value, I reckon.

 

Every year hundreds of thousands of bottles of regular craft beer gets tossed in a fancy box in November and is sold out by Dec 24th.

Many beer folks come to BA to discuss how they are happy to at least get a thoughtful gift at Christmas, despite liking or not liking the beer in the package. The alternative being much worse.

So I would say specialty packaging can serve a purpose, especially during this time of year.

 

I would say if large breweries are doing it, there is a purpose. I am skeptical that Duvel Moortgat would allow Firestone Walker to continue to waste money on packaging. After all, they are the ones seeking a return on their investment, and their investment is much, much more than $12 for a 12oz bottle.

Aside from that, it does differentiate a select few beers from the bunch. How many labels capture your attention? How many different shapes capture your attention? Throwing a single beer carton up on the shelf compared with a rounded bomber/bottle is a simple way to contrast and stand-apart from other options. The box also gives a large print surface to advertise to the consumer.

That said, I do recycle the marketing boxes. Save for New Belgium's La Folie Geisha Special Reserve. That cardboard is proudly on display.

 

As far as I am concerned this is just a marketing gimmick which fosters a higher price. In other words: Look at this fancy container and be willing to pay a dollar an ounce for the beer.

I purposefully avoid beers that are packaged in this manner.

Cheers!

 

I hate that pretentious shit. What are we, wine snobs?

 

If it came in a cool tin with a cover, you could at least use it for something else later. But yeah, paying less would be best.

 

Wax dip it at the most and move on.

 

I am kind of a hoarder when it comes to trinkets and packaging, and I keep a lot of empties, Scotch boxes/tins, and other cool stuff (Armand'4 Seasons wooden box is my crown jewel), so I'm all for these types of things if it's a cool, good quality item. I even bought the Pilsner Urquell lunchbox. As long as it's not an exorbitant and evident hike in price, it's no big deal to me if it's something that I think would look nice on a shelf.