Great Northern Brewing abruptly abandoned a campaign to support national parks after infuriated customers boycotted the beer. The popular beer brand’s campaign, Outdoors for a Cause, vowed to match donations of up to $200,000 when customers gave to the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife charity.
After receiving many complaints from outdoor explorers, the brewing company halted the campaign, which was supposed to run from January 15 to March 31.
The customer backlash that stopped the campaign
The beer brand infuriated opponents by supporting the creation of national parks. These parks have stricter policies than state parks and make it more difficult to camp, bring a family dog on a trip, or drive a 4WD.
Zac Gelman, Great Northern Marketing Head, revealed it had taken its customers’ advice on board and dropped the campaign.
“Great Northern’s Outdoors for a Cause campaign was paused yesterday following feedback from our passionate drinkers, our donation to the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife will not be used to buy land to add to national parks. Our donation will instead be used to preserve endangered species,” Mr Gelman said.
In an abrupt turnaround, Great Northern announced that it backed those who want to preserve the less restrictive state forests. Mr Gelman made known their support for Great Northern drinkers.
Whether hiking, fishing, 4-wheel driving, or just relaxing, he acknowledges how they preserve their precious spots in the great outdoors. Great Northern Brewing underestimated the amount of its drinkers who supported the protection of state forests.
Consumer voice power
An angry drinker, Jake Seddon, shared footage on TikTok showing him pouring out his Great Northern in anger over the beer brand’s campaign. The caption read, “Great Northern supports locking us out of our parks.”
Another angry customer, Sean McLachlan, took to Facebook to post a video of him puncturing his Great Northern can and letting it spill out, saying, “G day, Australia. This used to be my favourite beer before you woke.”
The campaign also angered the four-wheel-driving Facebook group 4WD TV, and they wrote in a disgraceful move that Great Northern Brewing has gone woke with a campaign to help get them locked out of forests. Leonie Blackwell, who runs the Facebook page Victorians against the Great Forest National Park, also said that Great Northern Brewing would regret their decision, reiterating how disappointing it is that major companies like that are blindly buying into supporting issues without really understanding the full context of the impact they will have.
She also mentioned how good-looking they want to appear but need a bigger vision than just trying to look cool and trendy. She hopes for a regret in their decision-making and how many who drink Great Northern also go camping.
National parks are areas of land reserved for protecting and conserving biodiversity, native plants and animals, ecosystems, places of cultural significance, and natural or geological features. Before the campaign was abandoned, only $2,286 was raised for the cause.
State forests offer a lower level of environmental protection, and the list of permitted activities is generally broader and includes things like trail biking, authorised hunting, horse riding and dog walking. In 2010, the Japanese company Asahi, through its wholly owned Victorian subsidiary Carlton United Breweries, announced the launch of Great Northern Brewing.
Great Northern is styled on Cairns Draught, a product brewed in 1924. In 2022, it was the best-selling beer in Australia.
A lesson in charity and responsibility
This incident reminds us of the misaligned values of charitable initiatives and the people they aim to support, reflecting concerns in the charity space. An example is an investigation by the Good Law Project revealing that nearly £28 million in charitable donations, many of which have links to individuals with close ties to the Conservative party, were funneled into right-wing think tanks. Questions have been raised about how charities are directed and whether the interests of the public are served.
Customer feedback lesson
Great Northern Brewing’s campaign controversy is an indicator of the power of consumer voices. While the beer company taught that it was supporting a worthwhile cause, it quickly learned that listening to its customers’ concerns is instrumental to maintaining loyalty and avoiding the disaster that comes with public relations.