Boston Beer Takes a Big Hit

America’s drinkers are putting down their Sam Adams. Its brewer, Boston Beer Co., which has gotten a bit of press recently for putting in a trademark request for Boston Strong 26.2 Brew in the wake of the bombings at the Boston Marathon, announced its quarterly earnings Wednesday and they were not good. The company earned 51 cents per share in this year’s first quarter, “down almost 9 percent from a year earlier and well below the 62 cents a share expected by analysts,” CNN reports.

That news sent shares of the country’s top craft brewer down almost 11 percent Thursday. Their spot at the top of the heap is hurting them, the company said, as consumers are turning their tongues to other smaller craft brews that are on their way up.Continue reading...

Boston Beer Aims to Trademark "Boston Strong 26.2"

Boston Beer Company, the maker of Samuel Adams, has been brewing up a special beer, "26.2 Brew," for the Boston Marathon for years. Now that the marathon has taken on a wider social significance in the weeks after the bombings, the company would like to change the brew’s name to "Boston Strong 26.2 Brew" and has applied for a trademark, the Boston Globe reports.

The plan is to use money from the sale of the beer to help victims of the tragedy. Boston Beer says it won’t hog the trademark but allow other beverage companies to use it as well as long as they commit to giving 100 percent of profits to charity.Continue reading...

Two days after the Boston Marathon bombing, while the police were still trying to track down the perpetrators and the public was still reeling from the first major act of terrorism on American soil since 9/11, two companies were filing trademark applications for “Boston Strong.”

Custom T-shirt company Born Into It of Woburn, Mass., and an individual, Kerim Senkal, of Allston, Mass. both aimed to use “Boston Strong" on apparel and accessories, The Huffington Post reports.

Another related trademark application came from Boston Beer Co., the maker of Samuel Adams, which brews up an annual 26.2 Brew for the Marathon each year. The plan would be to rename the beer Boston Strong 26.2 with the idea that it would help raise money for victims of the tragedy, the Boston Globe reports. The company claims that it would allow other beverages to use the trademark as long as 100 percent of the money made all went to related charities.Continue reading...

It’s been more than 1,500 years since Saint Patrick was laid to rest and could no longer use the shamrock to explain to Christians the idea of the Holy Trinity. Thanks to St. Patrick's Day every March 17th, his legacy inspires millions the world over to consume massive amounts of alcohol and shout “Top of the morning to ya!” to anyone who passes. With such a jovial reputation, you can bet that brands, alcoholic or not, take advantage of the built-in marketing ploy—and not just those participating in Pantone's color of the year for 2013.Continue reading...

"Argo" wins Oscar for Best Picture as 85th Academy Awards widely distribute recognition among films, actors and others, while The Onion runs into critical barrage over tweet about young actress.

KFC launches campaign in China after an antibiotics scandal damaged the brand.

IKEA withdraws Swedish meatballs from store restaurants in 14 European countries on horsemeat scare.

Barnes & Noble chairman mulls buyout that could split it in two and put B&N's Nook e-reader up for sale.

BP may be closing in on a settlement as spill trial nears.

BYD targets electric-vehicle sales.

Darden warns of sales declines at its restaurant brands including Olive Garden.Continue reading...

Is the head of a company or brand the most effective spokesperson? Not every CEO, after all, can be Richard Branson or "Papa John" Schnatter.

Ace Metrix’s latest white paper, “CEOs in Advertisements: What Happens When the Boss Steps into the Spotlight?” reveals that the CEO doesn't need to have a cult of personality and be a household name to help put a positive face on the brand.Continue reading...

Absolut is paying its respects to San Francisco with a new flavored vodka, following in the wake of past citified special editions for New Orleans, Los Angeles, Boston and Brooklyn. Absolut SF’s somewhat esoteric mix of grape, dragon fruit and papaya is designed to capture the “unique cultures, ethnicities and culinary delights of San Francisco” and entice drinkers with a “bold flavor when mixing a perfect cocktail.”

The brand is tying the latest entrant in its Absolut Cities campaign with a Facebook page, “What’s Your Absolut SF?” that encourages city residents to share their stories, as well as inviting prominent San Francisans such as Digg founder Kevin Rose and DJ Miguel Migs to collaborate with the brand on various projects. Absolut is also donating $50,000 to Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco as part of the campaign. Continue reading...

The Samuel Adams beer commercial above has been running on US TV. It's marvelous.

So many of the ad and brand strategies of the "leading" beer brands involve exploiting gender relations, smashing things into genitals and other boorish (beerish?) behavior. But Sam Adams is demonstrating what should be the core of beer marketing: Not advertising but "edutising."Continue reading...