Breaking Down Boston Beer’s Truly Hard Seltzer’s Marketing Success

Are you over the age of 21? If so, this mouth-watering post is for you. Or, in other words: “Goodbye, beer belly bloat and too-sugary cocktails. Hello, Truly Hard Seltzer.” 

That’s how Truly Hard Seltzer, the light and refreshing alcoholic beverage brand markets itself. And it seems to be working. 

Boston Beer Company, the maker of Samuel Adams, Angry Orchard, Truly, and more reported some very impressive second-quarter results that had the share price up over 20% Friday morning, with revenue growth of 42%. 

The brand credits its growth in online sales – a cross-market lockdown-induced phenomenon – to Truly Hard Seltzer and Twisted Tea, as they’ve exceeded expectations and popularity in what seems to be a younger millennial audience. Looking ahead, the company expects higher earnings and sales growth in 2020. 

“Millenials, say 21-to-35-year-olds today, are not drinking as much as the people who came before them, but they’re drinking better. When you look at those trends of health and wellness, variety seeking and premiumization, it all supports the growth of this hard seltzer category,” says Boston Beer’s CEO, David Burwick. 

Truly Hard Seltzer Lemonade, which launched earlier this year, has driven the brand’s growth and is generating high repeat purchase rates. 

“Lemonade has been terrific for us,” Burwick said. “The repeat rates are actually very high — 50% higher than any of the other new products that were launched this year. The velocity is also very high.” 

The low-calorie, highly drinkable Hard Seltzer is truly a sensation as it now outsells Budweiser and is bigger than Heineken. “It’s killing it,” says Benj Steinman, president of Beer Marketer’s Insights. “It’s revolutionary.” 

But how are they doing it? 

Firstly, these beverages fit right into what is a wide cultural trend. Secondly, the unique flavors have got customers hooked. “In a sea of hard seltzers that combine a seltzer base with hints of fruit, Truly Lemonade stands out because it delivers more flavor than a traditional hard seltzer,” Boston Beer founder, Jim Koch said. 

“We just happened, with the lemonade, to hit a flavor profile that people really enjoy,” he said. “To be totally honest, the volume surprised us as well, and the only thing I can attribute it to is we just hit the bullseye of flavor for the space between seltzer and lemonade.” A niche, between niches. They do still exist. 

And though their creative marketing approach is truly diverse, it centers around new TV spots, digital and out of home “Live Truly” campaigns, and through a new artist collaboration that truly tempts drinkers. Overall – targeting a wider audience that boosts sales. 

Burwick says their campaigns are “high energy, colorful, and optimistic as people are ready for some advertising that isn’t dour and dark.” 

Truly, also an Official Hard Seltzer of the NHL, “has captured the whole ‘bro’ market,” says Burwick. “Our consumers tend to be higher income, younger, heads of household, and more diverse.” 

The White Claw Hard Seltzer, for instance, has a large portion of the white, 21-34-year-old male segment as its customers. 

Drinking during the pandemic 

According to the Motley Fool, “demand for alcoholic beverages hasn’t really let up. Arguably, similar to cigarettes, it even intensifies during times of economic stress.” 

Consumers are drinking more from home as bars and restaurants stay closed, and people remain cautious too. At the beginning of the pandemic, there was an evident surge in online alcohol sales, and the trend seems to be continuing. 

The pandemic has increased demand for hard seltzer, according to Burwick. Boston Beer’s shipment of Truly products jumped 35% during the second quarter of 2020. 

Take a look at how Truly customers advocate for the brand with some of these quarantine Tweets, posted to their IG feed: 

Staying in the spotlight post-corona 

“When you innovate, there’s sometimes an assumption that just innovating and putting a brand out there means you’re building a brand, but innovation and brands — and strong brands — are not necessarily the same thing,” Burwick cautioned. “We want to make sure we’re building something that’s strong, that can last.” 

With successful innovations driving growth and such high demand amid the pandemic, Truly launched a boozy ice cream and sorbet for the summer of 2020 – Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet, Mango Lemonade Sorbet, Lemonade Ice Cream, and Black Cherry Lemonade Ice Cream all with up to 5% ABV. 

Kylie Jenner’s BFF – StassieBaby, recently posted a photo to her 8.6 Million Instagram followers posing with “every college student’s favorite hard seltzer” – the black cherry flavored White Claw. Cheers, Stassie! 

The company also supports important matters, including LGBT+ with their “Truly Proud” content series, which “gives a platform to Black LGBT+ voices by amplifying their stories across Truly’s social channels to hundreds of thousands of its followers.” 

And what may be most impressive of all is the fact that the company had no layoffs or furloughs during these past few months – on the contrary – daycares were put in place for employees and intense brewery cleanings, “whatever it takes to reduce anxiety,” says Burwick. “Living our values has been the true enabler of our success.” Not surprising, coming from a brand that speaks its own language.