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I thought this might be appropriate in the Sightings section since it deals with an insider's view of the mass beer industry.
The book is titled "Silver Bullets- A Soldier's Story Of How Coors Bombed In The Beer Wars". It's written by Robert Burgess, who was Coors' senior marketing analyst during the mid to late 1980s.
Written in 1993, the book details the gross managerial incompetence and endless series of colossal marketing and PR blunders that nearly pushed Coors into bankruptcy during the 1980s. Some of what the book covers includes:
-The openly and unapologetically racist, sexist, homophobic, and anti-liberal attitudes of the Coors family. Attitudes that have caused many blacks, latinos, and gays to boycott Coors to this day.
- Coors ill-fated entry into the premium beer market and the colossal failure of their Masters III and Herman Joseph brands.
- The fiasco of Colorado Chiller, a beer-based cooler that turned cloudy and developed a sour taste when exposed to sunlight.
- How their "brewed cold, shipped cold, stored cold" marketing gimmick was exposed to the consumer public as a barefaced lie.
- Calling their product something it wasn't to keep up with the latest beer trends. Example- changing their famous "Banquet Beer" to the name "Original Draft" when it was never draft to begin with. This boneheaded move confused and alienated many longtime Coors drinkers, further hurting their already declining sales.
- The bizarre circus-like atmosphere inside Coors' corporate offices.
- How Bud, Miller, and even the lowly Stroh's buried Coors in each fiscal quarter, despite Coors' best efforts.
If you're a beer aficionado, or simply like reading about how NOT to run a successful company, this is a great read. Really funny, and occasionally sad.
The book is titled "Silver Bullets- A Soldier's Story Of How Coors Bombed In The Beer Wars". It's written by Robert Burgess, who was Coors' senior marketing analyst during the mid to late 1980s.
Written in 1993, the book details the gross managerial incompetence and endless series of colossal marketing and PR blunders that nearly pushed Coors into bankruptcy during the 1980s. Some of what the book covers includes:
-The openly and unapologetically racist, sexist, homophobic, and anti-liberal attitudes of the Coors family. Attitudes that have caused many blacks, latinos, and gays to boycott Coors to this day.
- Coors ill-fated entry into the premium beer market and the colossal failure of their Masters III and Herman Joseph brands.
- The fiasco of Colorado Chiller, a beer-based cooler that turned cloudy and developed a sour taste when exposed to sunlight.
- How their "brewed cold, shipped cold, stored cold" marketing gimmick was exposed to the consumer public as a barefaced lie.
- Calling their product something it wasn't to keep up with the latest beer trends. Example- changing their famous "Banquet Beer" to the name "Original Draft" when it was never draft to begin with. This boneheaded move confused and alienated many longtime Coors drinkers, further hurting their already declining sales.
- The bizarre circus-like atmosphere inside Coors' corporate offices.
- How Bud, Miller, and even the lowly Stroh's buried Coors in each fiscal quarter, despite Coors' best efforts.
If you're a beer aficionado, or simply like reading about how NOT to run a successful company, this is a great read. Really funny, and occasionally sad.
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