Gage Roads ups profile

Gage Roads Brewing Co Ltd’s hard work over the past year to develop its distribution channels appears to be paying off.

The number of liquor stores that sell its craft beers has more than tripled, largely off the back of a distribution deal struck with the Hardy Wine Company a couple of years ago.

Now that its distribution is gaining momentum, Gage Roads is planning to place more emphasis on developing its brand.

“We are aiming to lift our profile and reposition the brand so that it sits as an Australian beer for international beer drinkers,” managing director Peter Nolin said.

Interestingly, the Palmyra-based boutique brewer has been voted Western Australia’s top emerging brand in WA Business News’ annual survey, a category that aims to highlight brands less than five years old that the advertising industry thinks will become bigger over time.

To date, Gage Roads’ advertising has been modest.

There have been some cheeky press ads and eye-catching promotional material, which were developed by Cooch Creative.

“Cooch did a fantastic job in bringing attention to our brand; they were really attention grabbing ads. But now we are entering our second year of sales, we really want to position the brand where we want it to be,” Mr Nolin said. “Last year it was all about distribution, this year it is all about the brand building.”

In the next 12 months, Gage Roads is poised to evolve its brand through an advertising campaign costing between $400,000 and $500,000, currently being developed by The Brand Agency.

“We are excited because we are going in a different direction to other brewers,” Mr Nolin said.

“A lot of craft beer advertising at the moment is very funky, but we are doing something that is very timeless.”

The campaign will aim to differentiate the brewer from its competitors.

Gage Roads is also considering launching two new beer products to the market this year.

Rival producer Little Creatures was also rated highly in the emerging brand category, however it was disqualified because its brand has been in the marketplace for longer than five years.