Tim Mather is an original co-founder of Untappd: the app that blends mobile technology, social sharing, and a love for all things beer.
After getting his degree in graphic design at the Brooks Institute, Tim mocked up what would eventually become Untapped. Currently, Tim is Chief Product Officer at Untappd where over 4 million users have drank over 400 million beers in the last 6 years.
Leveraging Untappd in Brewery Marketing Efforts
The first step in unlocking Untappd for your brewery is to go onto the Untappd website and claim your brewery page. From there you can start building relationships with customers that come in and visit. As a user, it feels awesome when a brewery you’ve just been to, toasts to you on the app. From the brewery side of the app you can also get analytics that cover what your top beers are, how many people are checking in on average, and where your top locations are. Seeing where your beer is popular can help you determine what directions to branch out in.
Badges & Creativity
Badges are one of the most effective marketing tools that Untappd offers. A digital achievement that encourages users to adventure out and track down your beers to try them. Badges can be awarded for things like checking in a certain number of times per month or checking in at different locations at specific times of day. They are a perfect avenue for enticing customers to come in for seasonal or special releases.
Badge Case History
Explore Chicago with Old Style
With the Old Style Neighborhood Patch Program, the goal was to check-in an Old Style beer in each of the 19 Chicago neighborhoods between March 31st and July 31st. Each neighborhood had its own unique badge. Reaching different levels unlocked the opportunity to receive beer swag such as actual neighborhood badge patches and limited edition Old Style Drivers Jackets.
This resulted in people going out of their way to go to Chicago and do this, either crossing the state line or flying in from Phoenix.
Untappd For Business
Untappd for Business is designed specifically for tap rooms, tasting rooms, bars, brew pubs, and bottle shops – basically anywhere beer calls home. Untappd for Business lets you set up a digital menu while giving your tools to customize its appearance. The app also lets you run Untappd specific promotions to bring in traffic. In addition, Untappd has many resources to help your beer and location draw more attention.
Notable Quote from the Interview
“We started off very basic, the idea was obviously as simple as check in beers, make wish lists and connect with your friends. But, that’s evolved a bit since the beginning to include more of a discovery aspect. The idea of trying to connect people with beer and taking a slight focus off of the social feed and trying to kind of help people discover new beers and places to get beer where they live…”
Brew Site’s April Fools prank announcement:
http://www.thebrewsite.com/breaking-anheuser-busch-buying-untappd/
Additional Resource
Blog post from Fill Your Taproom titled:
Tim’s contact info:
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @timm3h
Facebook: facebook.com/timmather
Untapped: timm3h
Web: untappd.com
