Passion outweighs profits in new era

We are a brand that has grown through editorial content, which has allowed us to tell our story, rather than tell people to buy our beer. We have gained far more value from editorial content across the media spectrum than we could through any above-the-line advertising campaign.

Our beer is to the staid drinks market what punk rock was to popular music. The same can be said of our marketing tactics, which don't support the existing parameters, but shake the foundations of how things are 'meant to be done'.

With the mass adoption of digital media, the tectonic shifts in print and broadcast media structures and a declining trust in traditional advertising, the potential for brands born from passion to disrupt a market is growing all the time.

Take the old marketing patterns; take your ideas of editorial coverage, of community and advocacy being directly correlated to the size of your wallet; and take a match to them. Within five years the old way of doing things will be dust.

Global mega-corporations have struggled to adopt new marketing techniques like an embarrassing dad trying to dance. These brands are laser-guided by profit, not passion, which means they are left in the wilderness when standing out against brands that actually have something to say.

Just like a dad trying to throw some shapes to drum and bass, the big brands lack the integrity and authenticity demanded by audiences in this new media age.

Social media channels, a growing community of fans and PR agencies are the new weapons of mass disruption.

Earned media now have to be genuinely earned, not bargained for.

James Watt co-founder of independent craft beer brewer BrewDog

This article was first published on prweek.com