Creativity is key to advertising. It is a challenge to find something never before seen. Tap handles provide a different test. Not many businesses take on this challenge because not everyone needs a tap handle like everyone needs toilet paper. Tap handles are not easy. They take a lot of resources, effort and time from the design all the way through production. But all that hard work pays off. Don’t let the golden opportunity of an excellent tap handle go to waste.
Why Is The Tap Handle So Important?
Not only does this small billboard have the opportunity to reach thousands of consumers, but it is also a necessary functional tool that is used to pour beer, wine, cider, kombucha, or anything liquid. Promotion and function? Talk about bang for your buck! Your consumers are sitting in a pub or a restaurant for anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours. How do we make this tap handle as effective at advertising as it is at pouring out the beer?
Here’s a test: Next time you’re in a pub (Try to choose a pub that has more than three beer taps), take a quick look at the tap selection.
Now close your eyes (or turn around, whatever is less awkward). Which ones do you remember? The weird whale? The bright, bold name on a simple background? The strange shape that bore no resemblance to anything? The generic shape that had the name in bold? The regular looking tap handle that you couldn’t read?
Now open your eyes: Which Tap Handles grabbed your attention first?
From a marketing perspective, we have a few seconds to catch the consumer’s eye. We need to shout HEY and have it stick. We need repetition, and to see it often; simple, relatable.
I remembered this whale handle. Why? It’s a whale - I know what it looks like, I can compute quickly that it was cool because it’s a whale tap handle. But what was the name? It may not be enough just to have a cool looking tap handle. Perhaps you should prominently display your brewery name.
I remembered Bud Light. It was white lettering on a blue handle - I’ve seen it many times before, and can easily read it again now. But is it fair to compare giant brands to small craft? YES. Use them as an example because they spend millions on marketing and advertising, so why wouldn’t you use that?
Brand recognition
First of all consumers see your packaging, they see your website, your labels and your brewery logo. They will see your tap handles as well. Is your tap handle consistent with your brand family?
Bottom line
You want your tap handle to stand out, but it must relate and mean something for people to remember. They need to see your name and your brand - repeatedly. Art is nice, but don’t let it side track you from the fact that you are selling beer in a dark pub where people are drinking (hopefully) your beer. Make your tap handles bright, make them bold, make them crisp.
Reinventing the wheel is the norm for marketing
Use that tap handle business card to reach out on a daily basis because no other business has that opportunity. You create the beer that tastes exceptional. At Tap Handles Canada, we create the tap handles quickly to sell A LOT of it.
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