Engagism and Home Brew

So, Sam Adams is building customer loyalty by engaging its customers in the time honored practice of brewing their own beer. Sure, homebrew isn't anything new, but does it strike anyone else as a little odd that a major beer company would actually give its customers the tools to create their own product? Perhaps to even create a better product than the company itself? It's a little like Palmolive selling its customers the ingredients to make their own dish soap.

And yet, in light of all the recent research on engaging customers, it makes perfect sense. Not only is Sam Adams building brand recognition, it's also building a rabid fan base -- people who will spend hours studying the chemistry of beer-making and who wil, in the end, become more knowledgeable consumers.

And, of course, with the home grown videos accompanying homebrew entries, Sam Adams will also find themselves with an enormous amount of free footage for its advertising campaigns. Developing knowledgeable, loyal customers and reducing advertising costs -- where's the downside?

Check it out at http://www.samueladams.com/promotions.aspx