Australian for Beer, but not really

“Country of origin” marketing can be an effective tool. This is where the origin of the product plays an important positive role in the mind of the consumer who is purchasing it. An example is Foster’s beer. We all remember the “Foster's: Australian for beer” commercials. The interesting thing that this image is almost purely created by the marketing department. I found out about this when I studied abroad in Australia in 2003. Our group visited a local Brisbane bar and requested Fosters for everyone. The bartender started laughing at us. First of all he didn’t even have Foster’s available in the bar and second hardly anyone in the whole country of Australia drinks it. He told us that Americans always ask for Fosters when they first arrive because they seem to think its Australians premier beer. This is simply not true. This is a marketing campaign created to get Americans to buy an “imported” beer. So remember that perception is everything in marketing; and that where we perceive the products we are buying are from plays an important role in our purchasing decisions (ie. French wine, Italian suits, etc....).