• by Jack Cohen-Martin , February 27, 2014

In early February, Anheuser-Busch InBev, America’s largest brewer, signed a deal to buy the Blue Point Brewing Company, a well-respected Long Island craft beer company. With Anheuser-Busch InBev’s success, and its strong portfolio of beer brands that include Budweiser, Stella Artois, Beck’s, and Corona, why would the company feel impelled to buy a craft beer company?

Despite “big” beer’s success in the U.S. (craft beer accounts for only 6% of the $200 billion U.S. annual beer consumption), craft beer consumption has grown every year since the 1990s. That trend line and increase didn’t escape Anheuser-Busch InBev and most likely led to them buying Blue Point Brewing Company – which sold 60,000 barrels of beer last year.

In addition, we’d argue that Anheuser-Busch InBev is aware of the anecdotal evidence of Millennials’ approach to commerce. There’s certainly awareness among Millennials of wanting to spend money thoughtfully on local brands that offer a sense of authenticity vs. the Budweiser that their fathers and/or grandfathers drank.  

Some might argue that Millennial men will lose their idealistic approach to shopping and commerce once they’re married in their 30s and living in suburbia. No one can answer that definitively, but are you willing to risk the equity in your brand based on a hopeful hypothetical? 

As you’re considering your brand, product, or service, and your marketing’s appeal to Millennial men, here are few things to keep in mind: 

• How is your brand/company positioned for Millennial men? Have you tested and surveyed what they think of your brand? Can you speak accurately and authoritatively – via data – about how they view your brand, product or service? Or, are you just hoping that they view your brand as you do?

• Are you using storytelling in your marketing to communicate the unique, impactful aspects of your brand that will appeal to Millennial men?

• What supply chain and sourcing decisions are you making that could potentially tie into a marketing message that would appeal to Millennial men? Is there a cost-effective way to shift manufacturing to the U.S., and use that local manufacturing as part of your brand positing and advertising/marketing? Apple Computer is now manufacturing Mac Pros in the U.S. and highlighting that fact. 

In some respects, Millennial men are no different than earlier generations of American consumers. In some respects, they are dealing with a different America than their parents’ – crippling student loan debt, and a very shaky economy with very few entry-level jobs in many sectors.

To ignore Millennial men and their unique desires and interests in your marketing could be a risky move.