By Andrew Starke
Coopers Brewery says it has been overwhelmed by the success of its new web-based ‘Order of Coopers’, launched almost 12 months ago.
Replacing the old Coopers Club, the interactive Order of Coopers, doubled its web traffic within its first month of operation.
Coopers chairman and marketing director, Glenn Cooper, said the response to the new website had been phenomenal with more than 257,660 visits to the website since its launch.
Described as a “society of master beer drinkers borne of the love of Coopers”, the online community features forums, step-by-step brewing guide and label information.
It also enables supporters to create their own ‘chapters’ and ‘virtual breweries’.
“The concept of the ‘virtual brewery’ and ‘chapters’ has been very well received,” Cooper said.
“Over 10,900 people have created chapters and 2,772 breweries have been mapped from 160 different countries.
“Online store sales also increased by 36 percent in the first month.”
Last month, the Order of Coopers won the Creative Showcase 5.2 Award for online creativity and innovation.
The Creative Showcase Awards recognise and celebrate cutting-edge originality within the online advertising sector.
“While the old Coopers Club attracted a loyal group of members we needed to take the website to the next level, in order to appeal to the next generation of Coopers’ drinkers,” Cooper said.
“We have been extremely pleased with the response to the new website and we’re thrilled to have won this recent online award.”
The news follows the decision by family-owned wine retailer Kemenys to offer an online sales service.