Sleeman Breweries, which has traditionally marketed its beer on the basis of heritage, is forging ahead with a new marketing approach that emphasizes quality over roots.

The microbrewery’s new marketing strategy is being led by Dan Fox, who joined Guelph, Ont.-based Sleeman as director of marketing last October after 16 years with Labatt Breweries of Canada.

One of the more visible results of his labors is the launch last week of a new advertising campaign from SMW Advertising, the Toronto agency he hired a month into his new job.

While moving Sleeman’s marketing efforts from a tactical to a more targeted approach, Fox says he doesn’t want to lose sight of the key strengths that built the business.

He says the day John Sleeman reopened the brewery in 1985, the two core elements for success were already in place – the distinctive clear bottle and the beer recipe book belonging to John Sleeman’s grandfather.

‘We’re going to focus on our strengths and keep the message simple. And that message,’ says Fox, ‘is we brew good beer and we’re not going to compromise our values.’

That message is the foundation of the new advertising themeline, ‘We brew good beer. We hope you like it.’

The company plans to have a year-round advertising presence in Ontario and Quebec, with radio as the primary medium. Support will follow with outdoor and print designed to highlight the clear Sleeman bottle. From a media standpoint, the company is continuing to target its traditional audience, men and women aged 25 to 45.

Fox says Sleeman appeals to anyone who loves good beer and he expects that the aging of the population will certainly work in the craft category’s favor.

The new campaign differs from past Sleeman efforts in that it doesn’t emphasize the history of the company, which was founded in 1834 by John Sleeman’s grandfather and lay dormant for many years until its 1985 rebirth. Instead, it focuses on the quality of the product and the history of the current incarnation of the company.

John Sleeman is back as spokesperson and delivers the message in an honest and appealing manner.

Sleeman has been growing steadily since 1985 when it launched as Sleeman Brewing and Malting. In 1995, it merged with Okanagan Spring Brewery of Kelowna, b.c. to form Sleeman Brewing. The companies continue to operate separately.

Sleeman is the largest craft brewery, or microbrewery, in Canada and the leading brewer of premium beers.

Fox says while Canada’s domestic beer market is relatively flat to declining, the premium or craft category is experiencing double-digit growth. He says Sleeman is experiencing that type of growth in all its markets except the Maritimes.

The company has plans to almost double its brewing capacity to 400,000 hectolitres by expanding its Guelph facility.

Until that time, Fox says current limited production capacity means that during peak summer months, Sleeman could occasionally run out of product and not be able to meet customer demands.

Fox is quick to point out that the new brewery expansion does not mean the company will change the way it makes its beer – in small batches, with all-natural ingredients.

Sleeman now brews Cream Ale, Silver Creek Lager, Original Dark and Premium Light beers, and Fox says there are some new products on the horizon.

Since taking on the post at Sleeman, Fox has been reworking a number of internal and external components of the company’s marketing structure.

Internally, he has added to Sleeman’s marketing department and restructured it along traditional brand management lines.

Externally, one of his major priorities was the hiring an agency. Before choosing smw, the company had been working with agencies on a project-by-project basis and handling media buying in-house.

‘For a number of years, the efforts were more tactically driven with really limited emphasis on marketing or traditional brand planning of any kind,’ says Fox.

As marketing demands increased, he says, the company needed to develop a more formal client-agency relationship, in order to take full advantage of intelligent strategy and media planning.

Consumer research was another benefit of formalizing the relationship, says Fox.

‘We found consumers in [the craft beer] category are really linked together by their love for great beer,’ he says, adding the quality of the product plays a more significant role in the category than it does with mainstream products.

From Sleeman’s perspective, Fox says the research reinforced some of the company’s assumptions.

‘We discovered we have tremendous positive brand equity, and more importantly, we really seem to have some brand assets,’ says Fox.

‘Today, most breweries are hell-bent to differentiate their brands solely on the basis of image. We’re in a little more fortunate position where we have some brand assets that are truly differentiated from our competition and, perhaps more importantly, are very relevant to craft drinkers.’