With alcohol consumption at 54% of U.S. adults, the lowest since at least 1939, brewers are hunting for new ways to reach drinkers. Marketing Dive pulled together the numbers behind how midsize and craft brewers are responding. Two companies show how craft beer marketing is splitting in opposite directions.
Boston Beer, the company behind Truly and Dogfish Head, spent $26.2 million on advertising, promotion and selling in Q2, up 16.4% year over year, while revenue fell 3.3% to $568.3 million as hard seltzer slowed. The company plans to cut its planned incremental advertising range by $20 million, mostly by removing lower-performing ads.
Founder and CEO Jim Koch said at a conference that only 20% to 30% of CPG-type advertising works, and that the company has pulled advertising support for brands until it can show creative improves incremental sales. Allison Stransky, previously CMO of Samsung Electronics America, joins as CMO on Oct. 12. For background on that hire, see Boston Beer Hires Samsung's Allison Stransky as CMO to Sharpen Data-Driven Marketing.
Nonalcoholic brewer Athletic Brewing announced a 120% increase in national media spend in May and holds 20.7% of off-premise nonalcoholic beer share. It leans on sports, with a recent multiyear partnership with MetLife Stadium and its resident teams, the New York Jets and Giants. In September it named Dan Kleinman CMO after a monthslong search. Our earlier coverage, The No-Alcohol Beer Leader Hires a New CMO — Built on a 90-Year Low in US Drinking, has more.
Nearly 90% of nonalcoholic beverages sold in the U.S. are beer, and the number of companies making nonalcoholic beer rose 134% between 2021 and 2025.
Per the Brewers Association, 54% of craft brewers reported volume growth in the first half of 2026 and 43% reported declines. Among brewers producing more than 10,000 barrels, 59% grew. Among craft drinkers, 85% drink craft monthly, up 10% year over year and the highest since 2020. Even so, craft volume is down 4% and the number of breweries fell 1.8% between June 2025 and June 2026.
In a shrinking category, midsize brands tend to pick one of two paths: a defensive one, where budget is released only when efficiency is proven, or an offensive one, where media grows inside a growing segment. Either way, spend now needs evidence. A good first step is to measure how much of your current advertising can actually show incremental impact.
Per Marketing Dive, it sits at 54% of U.S. adults, the lowest since at least 1939.
Revenue fell 3.3% in Q2, and the company plans to cut its planned incremental advertising range by $20 million by removing lower-performing ads.
It plans a 120% increase in national media spend and a stronger sports focus. It holds 20.7% of off-premise nonalcoholic beer share.
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