We assisted VISITFLANDERS with a range of PR activities related to the popular niche beer event Toer de Geuze which was held online this year. The efforts made the Scandinavian countries among the top in terms of reach.
Few beer styles in the world – if any – are as revered by the international beer community as lambic and oude geuze.
These unique beers can only be brewed in the Pajottenland and Senne Valley, a rural area in Flanders, on the western side of Brussels. In this region, lambic breweries and geuze blenders keep the centuries-old tradition of spontaneously fermented beers alive.
Many beer lovers from all over the world looked forward to a pilgrimage to the region in May for this unique bi-annual event, but unfortunately, the physical event had to be canceled.
Instead, Belgium’s High Council for Artisanal Lambic Beers (HORAL) announced the launch of a virtual version of Toer de Geuze.
PR targeting beer aficionados
In this regard, Related was appointed to assist spreading the news to Scandinavian beer aficionados.
Tasks included a local language press release shared with travel, lifestyle and beer media in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
Further, we pitched the news to bloggers, influencers and associations within gastronomy and beer; to make them spread the news.
And to target the consumers directly, we also got help spreading the news through Facebook communities focusing on craft beer – where the posts about the virtual event got very positive reactions, with several beer fans tagging each other to spread the news.
Scandinavian countries among top 10 in reach
The efforts resulted in great coverage, e.g. on a Norwegian beer blog and on the Danish Beer Association’s website and Facebook page. The Swedish beer magazine Beer News and Norwegian beer magazine Ølportalen also shared the news, among others.
Despite the relatively small populations in the Scandinavian countries, Sweden and Norway were among the countries with the highest reach on Facebook and on the website. Sweden and Denmark were among the 10 countries with the highest amount of website visitors.
Live sessions with the Belgian lambic brewers can still be seen as videos at www.toerdegeuze.be
