The craft brewery launch pattern
A craft brewery launching a new SKU has two audiences: the trade (bar managers, beverage directors, distributor reps) and the consumer (the person standing at the bar deciding what to order). The trade decides whether the SKU lands a draft handle; the consumer decides whether the handle stays.
Two-channel mix
Programmatic display covers the awareness window — trade audience, lapsed-craft consumers, beer-adjacent content browsers during business hours. Bar TV carries the in-the-moment trial layer — the screen above the bar in the venues that will (or could) carry the SKU. Eight-week flights are typical, weighted toward the trade-week and launch month.
Trade vs consumer
Bar TV in venues already carrying the SKU drives in-the-moment trial. Bar TV in target accounts the brewery's sales team is actively working influences the trade decision when paired with the sales team's pitch — the bar manager sees the SKU featured in their own venue's TV inventory.