Saranac Launches New Website, Online Merchandising and Social Initiatives

Retailers are finding it more important than ever to reach out to their customers and potential customers online. Store displays are a great way to reach shoppers, but today’s sophisticated consumers also expect an immersive online experience, with the opportunity for feedback, shared experiences through blogs, photos and video, interactive tools, and entertainment, as well as merchandise and product information. F.X. Matt Brewery has embraced this trend, and is drinking deeply of the social marketing brew. With the help of a new website and companion merchandising site from Romanelli, Saranac is winning more fans, and business, every day.

We’ve helped them launch Saranac pages on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, where visitors can see the latest television spots, share stories and opinions on their own Saranac experiences, and find out more about Saranac’s upcoming music events, awards and news. Older and younger fans alike have also found a special interest page on YouTube featuring Schultz & Dooley, talking steins who starred in wildly popular television spots from the Brewery’s past. The unlikely German and Irish pair helped put the Brewery on the national map with Utica Club, one of their flagship traditional brands.

Beer drinkers throughout Saranac’s distribution regions are visiting Saranac.com and its social media sites in record numbers to read and share opinions about new beers, enter contests, provide feedback on the Brewery’s products, and become better brand messengers. They’re also spending more time purchasing Saranac merchandise online, and spreading the word as they share a few cold ones with fellow craft brew afficionados. Irish Red, anyone?

Share your thoughts with us below and open up the lines of communication even more. We’d love to hear from you.

For years the folks who brew Saranac beer have been huge fans of the band moe. The members of moe. have also been huge fans of Saranac beer. moe. has actually been singing about their hometown brew in their song Happy Hour Hero for almost 10 years, (originally recorded on their album Tin Cans and Car Tires (1998).

Romanelli Communications, an ad agency within just a few miles of the birthplace of Saranac (The Matt Brewing Company) and the birthplace of members of moe., loves music and beer, (especially music by moe. and beer by Saranac). Put them all together and you end up with a Saranac TV Commercial with Happy Hour Hero as the soundtrack.

“From the very beginning we wanted great music in this spot,” said Fred Matt, Vice President of The Matt Brewing Company. “It was important to us because it’s part of the Saranac culture. For the past few years we’ve hosted concerts by moe. at the Brewery and have been the major beer sponsor of moe.down. The more we worked with Romanelli to develop the TV spot the more we both felt that Happy Hour Hero really belonged there.”

“It is perfect for a moe. song to be the soundtrack of the Saranac commercial,” said Bernie Freytag, Creative Director of Romanelli Communications. “Both moe. and Saranac achieve high quality in what they produce. They stay genuine and true to their art without hiding behind gimmicks.”

“When we heard that there was a Saranac commercial being produced and they wanted to feature a moe. song, we were all for it,” said moe. guitarist, Al Schnier. “Saranac is a great beer brewed in our hometown. We already do moe.down together because the guys in the band love the beer, so it was a good fit that just made sense.”

Freytag continued, “The line in Happy Hour Hero – “a Saranac will do just fine” was a perfect fit. It’s all about being content with something fundamental , like great beer. That’s why we chose it. At that moment, you don’t need anything else.

Immersing themselves in the Saranac brand, Romanelli really discovered who Saranac was. Saranac is about being comfortable, laid back and spending time with friends. They’re authentic, the real deal. Their beer is meant to be savored, truly tasted and enjoyed. The Matt Family has a gorgeous, state-of-the-art Brewery where they’ve been making great beer since the late1800’s. Saranac is about great beer.

Matt continued, “What’s nice about this spot is that we’re using original music that is real and unscripted. It really speaks to the authenticity of the Saranac brand. The phrase has a laid back unassuming tone to it, which is what we’re all about. So your day was rough, you’ve opened a Saranac, and now, everything’s going to be just fine.”

This collaborative effort between Saranac, moe. and Romanelli has resulted in a new Happy Hour Hero recording and the birth of the Saranac Quality TV spot, “Great Beer”. The spot is planning to run in the Utica/Rome, Albany, Syracuse and Ithaca/Cortland markets and can currently be viewed on YouTube and Saranac.com.