Tiger beer social network makes me thirsty

Remember the good ol tiger beer ads? "GIVE THAT MAN A TIGER" or "IT'S TIGER TIME!". It's been well replaced by some pretentious branding campaigns over recent times. From the ridiculous tv commercials like this one



to the really ridiculous ones like this ad where Jessica Alba asks for a tiger. Does anyone really believe Jessica Alba chooses Tiger beer as her lager of choice?



The beer market in Singapore has opened up in the last couple of years, from micro breweries to imported beer to brew your own beer kits. APB which owns, manufactures and sells a host of beers such as Tiger and Heineken to name a couple has really had to up it's game to keep the registers ringing. I suppose the upside of selling alcohol is the stuff sells during good times AND bad times. Sometimes more so in the latter case. Also, sending someone a virtual beer isn't exactly the same as experiencing your first cold beer running down your throat and waiting for that irreplaceable "aaahhh".

However, things look "good" with today's report on Just drinks.com stating

"Revenue for the 12 months ended 30 September rose by 12% to S$2bn, Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) said on Friday (14 November).

It attributed the growth to a strong performance from Heineken and Tiger beers, as well as its ability to adapt strategy in different regional markets"

Of course what this really means is these 2 brands have made most of their profits overseas in SEA markets like Vietnam etc. Locally, i don't need statistics to realise less Tiger is consumed at coffee shops, pubs and clubs. With a strong competition and frankly, poor marketing response from Tiger, could social marketing be an answer?

There are some alcohol social networking sites currently flourishing in this arena such as http://www.fubar.com/ ( over 50,000 members), http://chugd.com/, http://www.mustlovebeer.com/home.php etc. What these sites have all tried to accomplish is to provide an online home for the beer enthusiasts.

I doubt this will work in Singapore as for the majority here, drinking goes with pubbing/clubbing which goes with people watching which goes with supper which goes with good fun.
Wait a minute, let's look at this equation again from our perspective.

When i want to go out for a beer after work on a wed night, i need 2 things sorted out. I need to know "who" and "where". "Who" would include anyone from friends to friends of friends to friends of friends of friends. "Where" would be much more complex, Prices, convenience, "scenery" etc are all part of the decision making process.

There are many places we can source for the "where" although it's always the same few pubs listed and the promotions are rarely updated. Tiger beer has a large tap distribution network and they could consolidate the happy hour prices/promos of their partners. This would be useful for me to know where the promotions are at any given time.

Let's take it a couple of steps further and see if a tiger social network is useful. We could :

1)Setup Friday night drink groups and wait for friends and not so close friends to indicate interest. Thats the whole point of community yes? ( more is always messier which is a good thing)

2)Have a calendar function to remind you of pub events, celebrations etc. ( Tiger friendly of course)

3)Message the pub staff directly to arrange for reservations or make enquiries. (who wouldn't want to be pals with the owners/crew)

Ever lost a phone at a pub or got the wrong bill? The network would serve as a direct line to these pubs/clubs too.

Now, where and why does Tiger fit into all this? If it's pub centric, why should Tiger take the initiative?

There are many small reasons why but here is 1 biggie i think looms above the rest. Retail strategy i believe is key to consumption. You drink what the tap stocks. People follow action, not the brand. Remember, branding is only as good as the behaviour that is defined by each consumer. If Tiger makes locations stocking and selling APB beer, this is good news for their retail strategy.

They could cut back on piss poor branding ads and focus on social networking to promote going out in groups, drinking at APB taps and posting drunk photos the next day. Now, does this sound like a network you would get involved in? I know at least 50 facebook minor "friends" i don't really know of the female persuasion that i wouldn't mind arranging a drinking session with. I'm sure you could too.

Think this could work? Drop me comments, and if you work in APB, call me. :p