April’s inaugural North Carolina Beer Month celebration has generated coast-to-coast attention from print, broadcast and online media outlets to tap the growing beer travel market. A triple hit in The New York Times scored $191,751 worth of coverage with an In Transit column lead, a piece in the Sunday print edition and a digital tablet app. The coverage reached a circulation of more than 22 million readers. The Daily Meal, a website that targets food-enthusiasts, cooks and wine connoisseurs, also featured N.C. Beer Month. Writer Lauren Wilson attended the New York Media Mission in January, where she first learned about the month-long celebration. The Daily Meal has a circulation of more than 313, 800; the article had an ad value of $2,900
North Carolina’s craft beer explosion tops a recent report about the industry’s national growth. Five states accounted for 30 percent of the market’s growth in 2011, according to a recent analysis by Demeter Group Investment Bank in San Francisco. Of those five states, North Carolina saw the largest percentage increase in breweries at 23 percent. Other states on the list: Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, and Texas. In 2011, Michigan added the most breweries (17) while North Carolina added 11, according to Brewer’s Association data. Expect North Carolina’s number to rank near the top in 2012, too, with many new breweries now operating in the state.
Beer Month, which the Division and the N.C. Brewers Guild are sponsoring as a way to elevate the state’s status as a craft beer destination, has been highlighted by Yahoo! and Reuters news service as well as in-state and national newspapers, business journals, TV stations and specialty publications such as Brewbound.
With about 80 breweries and more on the verge of opening, North Carolina has a thriving craft beer industry that has earned credibility with countless medals from the nation’s top competitions. To date, efforts to spread the word via Beer Month have reached an audience of nearly 132.4 million potential travelers in coverage valued at $1.21 million. The platform, built largely on public relations, embraces beer communities of all sizes in all regions of the state with participation that includes lodging packages, festivals, culinary events, and classes, with unexpected events such as a film festival (Raleigh) and a 4K run (Greensboro).
For more information or to discuss the possibilities of participating in N.C. Beer Month, contact Suzanne Brown at (919) 715-6703.