Amid challenging times for the craft beer industry, the Great Australasian Beer Spectapular (GABS) has launched a cashback campaign incentivising consumers to attend the festival series in June.
Offering $100,000 worth of cashback, the campaign was designed to deliver value to the consumer and encourage record numbers of visitors to the festival. In doing so, Mike Bray, Managing Director of GABS, hopes that participating breweries will also benefit from gifted consumer spend.
“GABS has always been the country’s leading conduit between breweries and world-class consumer beer experiences,” says Bray.
“As the craft beer industry finds itself at a terrible crossroads with the cost of beer being forced up by forces outside breweries’ control and the record 13 interest rate hikes in 15 months starting to bite consumers’ discretionary spending, we wanted to launch a campaign to help both forces and give consumers $20 cashback to spend on beers from the over 150 breweries who have product pouring at GABS.
“It creates a winning formula for beer lovers and the breweries behind their favourite beers, so we hope both beer drinkers and breweries will embrace the campaign,” he added.
Consumers who purchase eligible tickets before midnight on Thursday 18 April will automatically qualify for a $20 cashback drinks card that can be used to support any of the breweries pouring beer at the festival.
Bray is hopeful that the timing of the cashback campaign, which has been launched early in the ticket cycle, will benefit the GABS faithfuls who often buy their tickets early.
“We have reduced our third-party marketing spend on the basis the cashback offer will create an awesome word-of-mouth campaign as festivalgoers let their friends know about it,” he says.
“The exciting opportunity for the breweries is the opportunity to share in the $100,000 of gifted consumer spend at GABS and get new consumers trialing their products.”
Alongside the cashback campaign, this year’s festival sees the introduction of a post-GABS Beer Safari, which will reward each ticketholder with up $250 in beer offers to be redeemed at partner venues after the event.
Bray said: “For the first time ever, we will be driving the 40,000 consumers that attend the festivals back to GABS exhibiting partner venues with a buy a beer, get a second free offer. It is a great reward for both the breweries exhibiting at GABS and the consumers attending.
“They get to try so many new beers at the festival and this is a brilliant opportunity for them to go out to brewery venues and continue their craft journey.”
Last year’s festivals saw 164,000 glasses of craft beer enjoyed by consumers, with another promising series of events lined up this year. Speaking to Beer & Brewer, Bray thanked beer lovers for making craft one of their beverages of choice, and for continuously supporting the industry.
“We would love you to come on out to any of the 10 GABS sessions and support all the amazing breweries who go to a massive amount of effort, not only to brew 120 new beers for you to try, but also to build some of the best pop-up bars you will ever see under one roof.
“GABS is where good friends meet for a beer, grab yours and come have a great time with the legends of the industry,” he concluded.