Beer Marketing & Tourism Conference

More Pints Sold: Achieve Your Dream in the Craft Beer Industry

2019 Agenda

Below is the exciting agenda for BMTC19, March 26 – 28 at The Riverside Hotel in Boise, Idaho.  Please add your email address to the Stay Updated box to the right to stay informed. Previous years’ agendas and speakers can be found in our Archives.

Tue

12:00 – 6:45 PM Registration (Convention Center Lobby) & Beer Tradeshow (Fireplace Foyer): Our sponsors and partners will have tables set up all day.

12:30 – 12:45 PM Conference Opening and Welcome (Ponderosa & Tamarack): Hear briefly from our local hosts Idaho Tourism and the Boise Convention & Visitors Bureau.

12:45 – 1:15 PM Welcome from Julia Herz of the Brewers Association (Ponderosa & Tamarack): Julia provides a high-energy, fact-intensive overview of the current state of the beer industry with a specific focus on marketing and tourism. Not to be missed.

1:15 – 1:30 PM Beer Industry Update – Idaho Brewers United (Ponderosa & Tamarack)

1:30 – 1:45 PM Break 

1:45 – 4:45 PM “Sharing Best Practices” Summits: Included in your conference registration price, these summits allow you to learn from industry leaders, hear from your peers, and share your own best practices. Each summit will have a moderator and several experienced veterans who provide their opinions on a list of key subjects, followed by group participation. These are always very highly rated so don’t miss out! We will have Summits for the following groups:

4:45 – 6:45 PM Beer Expo & Opening Reception (Juniper & Laurel): Meet and taste beers from our sponsors from Idaho, around the US, and farther abroad. We will have two sections set up for your tasting pleasure: Idaho breweries and the rest of the country/world. Brewers guilds, destination management organizations, and Idaho breweries who register for the conference can staff a table to represent their region and pour their beers at no charge. Just sign up and we’ll set you up.

6:45 – 10:00 PM Evening Party at Payette Brewing: Transportation will be provided to Payette Brewing and back to the hotel on a rolling basis.  This welcome party will take place in Payette’s production facility with yard games, beer tasting stations, local food producer samples, and food trucks parked out back.  Dinner and full pints after your first one are on your own.

Wed

Breakfast on Your Own

8:00 AM – 4:00 PM Registration (Convention Center Lobby) & Beer Tradeshow (Fireplace Foyer)

9:00 – 9:50 AM Keynote – Daniel Lemin: Talk Triggers (Ponderosa & Tamarack): Word of mouth is directly responsible for 19% of all purchases, and influences as much as 90%. Every human on earth relies on word of mouth to make buying decisions. Yet even today, fewer than 1% of companies have an actual strategy for generating these crucial customer conversations. Talk Triggers provides that strategy in a compelling, relevant, timely keynote that can be put into practice immediately, by any business.

9:50 – 10:00 AM Beer Industry Update – Travel Lane County (Ponderosa & Tamarack)

10:00 – 10:50 AM All-Group Session: Christopher Shepard, Beer Marketer’s Insights: Nicer in Niches: placing beer tourism & hyperlocalism within craft and broader beer biz trends (Ponderosa & Tamarack): Driven by struggling top brands, total beer industry volume remains stubbornly soft as the beer market fragments further. These days, niches are the place to be in craft and in the beer business as a whole. Without shying away from examining those tougher overall trends, get ready to dig into the latest industry trends to identify key pockets of growth, including the rise of beer tourism and hyperlocalism.

10:50 – 11:05 AM Break

11:05 – 12:05 PM Breakout Sessions: Choose a breakout session in one of three tracks: Beer Tourism, Marketing, and Event Marketing. 

  • Beer Tourism  (Juniper): The Dogfish INN and Off-Centered Trails for Off-Centered People.   Engaging your communities and recognizing that you are part of something bigger than yourself – Andrew Greeley, Off-Centered Innkeeper, Dogfish INN: 

“The best way to learn about your company is to get the hell away from it once in a while.” –Sam Calagione, Brewing up a Business

With beer travel on a rise, what can you do to differentiate yourself from the SEA of IPAS out there?  Andrew will be discussing how to create a unique and engaging experience to help set you apart from others while at the same time building strong ties to your local community, chambers and businesses.  He will be discussing different strategies and ideas he learned along the way that you can use to help create a sustainable and long-lasting experience for not just the craft beer travels, but all who want to find something new and engaging.  How do you do this and stay true to who you are?  What is the key element in all of this, besides damn good beer!?  Come and find out.  It will only take about 60 Minutes.

  • Sponsored Presentation (Aspen): Maximizing Your Digital Marketing Hopportunuties – Samantha Cuellar, Marketing Specialist of Rockhouse Partners & Etix: Brew a digital marketing plan that works for you. Collect and capitalize on your customer data to maximize ticket sales in every phase of the sales cycle. Whether you’re a brewery offering tours or whether you’re managing a beer festival, you will learn new digital marketing techniques that will take your marketing strategy to the next level.
  • Event Marketing (Laurel): Marketing the Brewfest – Scott Vitale / Ryan Evans, Spigot Labs: There aren’t many things in life that compare to sipping a delicious brew in the sunshine.  Beer festivals bring this simple pleasure to all corners of the US and the globe. In 2017 alone, there were over 100 beer-centric events held in just Colorado.  It’s no surprise that the festival market is expanding just as quickly as the brewing market itself, which has grown over 700 new breweries in just the US during 2017. With so many events happening, how does a small festival stand out?  How can the little guys compete for the best breweries when there are a half dozen competing events on the same weekend? Come learn some of what’s worked, from tasting technology to marketing to staying true to their brewer community.

12:05 – 1:35 PM Lunch (Ponderosa & Tamarack): Sponsored by Idaho Department of Agriculture, Mill 95, Idaho Hop Growers Commission and Idaho Barley Commission and featuring farm fresh local products and local Boise farmers.

1:35 – 2:35 PM Breakout Sessions: Choose a breakout session in one of three tracks: Beer Tourism, Marketing, and Event Marketing. 

  • Beer Tourism (Juniper): Understanding the Beer Traveler – Barry Hansen (City Brew Tours), Hal Mooney (LA Beer Hop), Ashley Rose Salvitti (Brewvana): When you consider all the tools and best practices being discussed at BMTCon, what’s next? How do you capture the hearts (and dollars) of these travelers and exceed expectations after you’ve piqued their interest? This panel led by the CBTOA will explore the many benefits of beer tourism and tactics used to execute local brewery tours for domestic and international travelers. You’ll also learn how best to work with DMOs and other travel partners to maximize the long-term value of beer travel to your organization or city.
  • Marketing (Aspen): Lead with Visual Media – Paige Francis, Marketing Director, Payette Brewing Co.; Taras Manzie, CEO/President, Lake of the Woods Brewing Co.; Brooke Christie, Marketing & Events, Lake of the Woods Brewing Co.: There’s little doubt that marketing is a sensory experience, and it’s often lead with the eyes. In this panel discussion we’ll hear about the power of graphic design from Paige Francis, who graduated with a degree in Graphic Design at Boise State University. We’ll also hear from two dynamic speakers from Lake of the Woods Brewing Company, proudly Ontario’s northernmost brewery: about their philosophies and strategies related to content media and more specifically, the creation of videos to develop a ‘pride of place’ ethos around the craft brewery and the Lake of the Woods region.
  • Sponsored Presentation (Laurel): How to Taste Beer Like a Professional – Meagan Anderson, Sales Manager, Mill 95, Certified Cicerone: Sensory skills are not just for brewers or lab geeks. Everyone benefits from knowing how to distinguish between ingredient driven and quality attributes in beer! Join Meagen Anderson for a session that will highlight specific hop attributes and discuss different ways that sensory skills can benefit your business. Attendees will be tasting beer from Mother Earth Brewing Co.’s Boo Koo during the presentation.

2:35 – 2:50 PM Break

2:50 – 3:50 PM Breakout Sessions: Choose a breakout session in one of three tracks: Beer Tourism, Marketing, and Event Marketing.

  • Beer Tourism (Juniper): Thirsty for Data: Collecting and Using Data for Beer Tourism – Claudia Schmidt, Ph.D., Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences & Don Littlefield, Brew Bus Tours: What’s in it for breweries when it comes to brewery tours, festivals and entertainment? Even though beer tourism has expanded tremendously in recent years, most of the experiences are only reported anecdotally. Join Claudia Schmidt and Don Littlefield, as they co-present on the importance of collecting and using data specifically related to beer tourism. Don will provide a demonstration on how his company is improving participating breweries’ bottom lines and Claudia will guide a discussion on data needs for the industry and how they can be collected.
  • Marketing (Aspen): Increase Awareness Through Media Relations and Influencer Marketing – Kevin York, Kevin York Communications – Up to date website? Check. Social media? Check. Email marketing? Check. You’re doing all the right things to keep those who already know about you updated, but how do you make new people aware of your brewery or tour? Two of the best ways to do so at scale are media relations and influencer marketing. Join this session to learn more about how to gain media coverage and influencer attention.
  • Marketing II (Laurel): Value in Partnerships – Audra Gaiziunas, Brewed for Her Ledger: This session is for both brewery tour operators and brewery marketers/taproom managers. Audra, with her extensive experience as a brewery consultant and past work with Dogfish Head and Mother Earth Brewing, will discuss how these two industries can create a powerful partnership. Specifically, tour operators will learn how to pitch breweries, and breweries will learn how to track and measure business growth as a result from brewery tours.

4:00 – 8:30 PM Tour, Tasting, and Dinner at Gooding Farms: Gooding Farms grows hops in the following varieties: Apollo, Bravo, Chinook, Centennial, Super Galena, and Zeus. We’ll learn about their operations, taste a few beers, and have dinner on location in Parma, Idaho.  Open to registered attendees only.  Closed toed shoes and long pants required.  Part of tour is outdoors – dress accordingly.

Thur

Breakfast on Your Own

9:00 – 10:00 AM Breakout Sessions: Choose a breakout session in one of three tracks: Beer Tourism, Marketing, and Event Marketing. 

  • CLOSED SESSION (Juniper): CBTOA Annual Meeting. Members of the Craft Beverage Tour Operators Association will be conducting its annual meeting. Open to CBTOA members only. Any tour operators interested in joining or learning more about the CBTOA should follow the link above.
  • Marketing (Aspen): The Tale of Two Ale Trails – Ken Beattie, Executive Director, BC Craft Brewers Guild & Monica Frost, BC Ale Trail Social Media and Community Manager: Ken and Monica will talk about how they made one of the most dynamic Ale Trails in North America, from the ground up. They will detail the partnerships that went into its creation, how they sourced funding from local and government entities, and how it is structured as a viable benefit to BC.
  • Beer Tourism and Marketing (Laurel): Leading The Transformation of Destination Marketing: Strategies and Tools to Stay Relevant in a Technology Dominated Era – Mo Parikh, Bandwango: Come learn from Mo Parikh, the founder of Bandwango, the mobile experience passport company, about the big picture of tracking historical destination marketing trends to insights for the future, and to get a pulse on strategies and tools that empower destination marketers to embrace the next generation of travel technology. In his presentation, Mo will draw connections between search marketing, mobile engagement, data analytics, travel content, augmented reality and personalization, all while speaking to the greater purpose of destination marketing, its unique positioning and strengths, and who it’s capable of serving. Destination marketers will learn to draw on their unique sets of skills and resources including local authority, relationships with local businesses, and a deep knowledge of the destination, to envision ideas, services and products that deliver the best of a destination more effectively to locals, visitors and would-be visitors on the platforms and mobile devices they already use.

10:00 – 10:15 AM Break

10:15 – 11:15 AM Breakout Sessions: Choose a breakout session in one of three tracks: Beer Tourism, Marketing, and Event Marketing. 

  • Beer Tourism (Juniper): Using Technology and Innovation as a Vehicle to Promote Breweries and Tours – Catherine Roux, Passport on Tap: This session is about the impact and future of technology products and self-guided initiatives in the current brewing industry. By telling the story of the Passport on Tap app, first launched in Montreal and then in Portland (OR), Catherine wants to discuss how having a proximity with millennials through technology can have a major impact in the current beer tourism industry.
  • Marketing (Aspen): Scream Locale, Not Local – Will Race – Marketing Manager, Alaskan Brewing Co. – Alaskan Brewing Co. has the privilege of handcrafting award-winning beer in one of the most majestic locations on Earth, but that also brings special considerations and responsibilities in the way we brew and the way we bring our message to the world. For over 32 years we have focused on our unique challenges and differences as a major part of our marketing and communications. Now with so many diverse breweries around the US this practice is more important than ever.
  • Event Marketing (Laurel): Daniel Lemin – The Beer Marketing Talk Show: Comprised of members of all present beer industries and led by Daniel Lemin, the Beer Marketing Talk Show is a panel-inspired game-show inspired format that will bring laughs and inspiration.

11:15 – 11:30 AM Break

11:30 – 12:30 PM All-Group Session – Q&A with BeerAdvocate & Good Beer Hunting (Laurel & Juniper): Curious about what makes some of the biggest, most reputable beer media print and online publications tick? Join us for a unique Q&A session with BeerAdvocate editor, Ben Keene, and Good Beer Hunting editorial team member, Bryan Roth. Ask them all the burning questions about the state of beer media, what gets their attention for good stories, how to pitch, and what beers they enjoy drinking! This session will be moderated by Ryan Newhouse.

12:30 – 12:45 PM Conference Close and Announcement of 2020 Location (Laurel & Juniper)

2:15 – 5:15 PM Ski Idaho Brewery Tour

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