Bison Brewing Company
About the Client
Founded in Berkeley in 1989, Bison Brewing produces award-winning microbrews. In 2000, it introduced Bison Original Hard Ice Tea, the only commercially brewed sparkling alcoholic beverage in the U.S. combining whole tea leaves and natural ingredients. Its popularity prompted the repositioning of the company’s brewpub into a new restaurant with a menu inspired by the teas. In 2003, Bison continued its tradition of innovative brewing and launched Bison Organic Light, the first organic light beer.
Objectives
Daniel Del Grande, Owner & Brewer of Bison, hired Galvin Communications to:
- Drive case sales of Bison Original Hard Ice Tea
- Get consumers and industry leaders buzzing about Bison’s teas and beers
- Bring more diners to the restaurant to sample the teas and beers
- Position Bison as an innovative leader in the beverage industry
Results
Galvin Communications placed Bison in every prominent media outlet in the Bay Area, including the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, Oakland Tribune, Contra Costa Times, East Bay Business Times, East Bay Express, Berkeley Daily Planet, and Diablo Magazine. In addition, Bison was featured on television stations KTVU (Fox), KNTV (NBC) and KPIX (CBS), and radio station KGO (ABC). Restaurant revenues and per-case sales of Bison Original Hard Ice Tea increased. The publicity helped place the teas on the shelves of specialty retailer Trader Joes.
Nationally, Bison’s innovate ales (Chocolate Stout, Gingerbread Ale, Organic Light) were covered in trade publications such as Brewer’s Bulletin, Brewer’s Digest, Modern Brewery Age, New Brewer, New Product News, and Fresh Cup. Del Grande was interviewed on the nationally broadcast radio program “Cooking with Chef Piero” (Cable Radio Network).
In other capacities, Galvin Communications developed the brewery’s first high-quality HTML newsletter. We planned a Bison-sponsored mayoral debate between Berkeley candidates Shirley Dean and Tom Bates. The event was preceded by an informal “pizza poll” which was covered by the local media and brought people to the restaurant to cast their votes. The event itself, also hosted at the restaurant, was the highest attended debate of the campaign season and gave Bison positive visibility within the community.
In 2003, Del Grande closed the restaurant to focus on wholesale brewing. The restaurant had received favorable reviews but wholesale distribution represented greater growth potential. We worked with Del Grande to emphasize the positive factors behind this business decision, and the move was covered favorably by the business and trade press.