Belgian Brewers launch national campaign for beer

They did not wait for the Brewers of Europe ’s generic beer campaign to get off the ground. Instead, they decided to go alone with their own to boost domestic beer consumption. And not too soon. While beer exports from Belgium are up, consumers back home are drinking less and less local beer.

In view of the evidence, last year Belgian brewers decided that something needed to be done. In February 2014 the Belgian Brewers association presented its campaign slogan – “Fier op ons bier” (“Proud of our beer”) – and three TV ads, in which foreigners profess their love of Belgian beer.

In two of the ads, viewers hear from young women in China and France who have opened Belgian beer cafes. In the third, an American chef talks about cooking with and serving Belgian beers in his restaurant in Maine.

Foreigners may love Belgian beers, but Belgians love to drink them less and less. The campaign is in part inspired by the continuing fall in the volumes of beer being consumed inside the country – from 100 litres per capita in 1992 to a mere 74 litres in 2012.

It ’s mostly pils brands that are witnessing declining sales; speciality beers, on the other hand, are on the increase. However, pils beers are often the core business of brewers of speciality beers and they depend on revenues from it.

As could be expected, the campaign was met with criticism by people concerned about binge drinking. That ’s why the Belgian Brewers ’ Association quickly denied that it was encouraging alcohol abuse. They said that they were not interested in creating a shrinking group of people who drink more. Instead, they want to see more people drinking moderately.

The generic beer campaign has the support of the Flemish government ’s marketing agency Vlam and can be viewed on YouTube.