Okay – my apologies. I’d posted this – I thought – and yet the ghost in the machine somehow got a hold of it…

Marty letting 'er rip!

SO – with no further adieu, here’s the ‘Nod’, as it were. Many thanks to the talented, fun and sharp Marty Jones for the intro song per a workshop at Wynkoop Brewing Company on marketing beer to women.

I am woman hear me road in numbers too big to ignore / When I’m shopping for fine beer in your store / But your marketing and ads are aimed at dudes and dads / Ignoring customers without gonads

Oh yes I’m a wife and I’ve drank beer all my life / Yes I’ll pay the price if you offer beer that’s nice  / If I want to, I can buy anything / I’m employed, I have a Mastercard / I am woman!

I am woman see me drink In numbers larger than you think / And I know too much to go back an’ pretend / Please don’t suggest Cabernet when the one drink I crave / Is a Rail Yard Ale and glass of B3K

Oh yes, I have breasts but I don’t want the wine list / Two X chromosomes and I buy the beer for home / So please tell me about your beer stash / I want hops I want some flavor / I have taste and an MBA / I have expendable income I am WOOOOOOOO MAN!!!!

Today’s post goes out to Joel and Wes of Knoxville Tennessee. I had the pleasure of coincidentally sitting at the same bar in the hotel last night for a beer and dinner.

gorgeous snowy Denver Colorado

They’re in Denver to ski – excellent plan – and I’m here on (pleasurable) business. One great thing about Women Enjoying Beer is that it’s a real conversation starter.

“Really?” is the comment from a lot of people when I introduce myself and pass them a business card. Beer holds a lot of allure and fascination regardless of if people drink much beer or not.

(I know…tough job. I do take it seriously while having fun at it though.)

So Joel asked me last night - what did I think were the two top reasons women didn’t drink much beer.

I turned the question and asked him what he thought the reasons were. His answer: calories and carbs.

Bingo – one exact reason WEB is around is to bust those kinds of myths.

Not so – and this is according to the hundreds of women I have talked to about beer, whether formally in focus groups or casually at, say, hotel bars. The calorie and carbs issue is a perfect example of advertisers marketing to what they think women want – without necessarily asking them directly. It’s someone else’s lens placed on the view.

And while health is  part of the conversation for women and beer, as it is for men as well, it’s not the very top of mind issue.

The top two would easily be:

Number 1 they haven’t been marketed to accurately and authentically hence little engagement.

And number 2 that they haven’t been actively and consistently pursued educationally. i.e. breweries specifically reaching out to women about beer – not pandering or patronizing. Reaching out – recognizing the potential, realizing that beer should be genderless in it’s audience yet  you have to first capture that market share to address it (like any market share).

And it’s not what I think. Those answers come from a large number of women from all kinds of backgrounds and in many different demographics.

Thanks Joel for the lively conversation and asking questions. The conversation has to include all genders. I hope you two had a fun night in Denver. How was Wynkoop?