The trajectory from consumer electronics to alcoholic beverages is not, it must be said, a well-worn path on the American marketing career ladder.
Yet Allison Stransky, who has been overseeing marketing for Samsung in the United States, will become chief marketing officer of the Boston Beer Company on Oct. 12, the brewer announced. She will report to Jim Koch, the company's co-founder and chief executive, and to Phil Hodges, the chief operating officer.
Ms. Stransky arrives at a moment when two of Boston Beer's flagship brands find themselves in somewhat choppy waters. Twisted Tea, which has long dominated the admittedly specialized category of malt-based hard tea, is now contending with a proliferation of spirits-based competitors and canned cocktails that have crowded onto store shelves. And Truly, the hard seltzer that was once a darling of the post-White Claw boom, has not met the company's expectations for consumer demand, according to Mr. Koch's remarks on an earnings call in July.
(The hard seltzer market, it turns out, was not infinitely expandable — a discovery that has occasioned some quiet recalibration across the beverage industry.)
The company said it would continue to spend heavily on advertising but planned to cut about $20 million in media spending that, in its assessment, has not been performing well, primarily in support of Truly.
"Allison brings a fresh perspective shaped by experience at some of the world's leading companies, along with a genuine passion for brand building and innovation," Mr. Koch said in a statement, deploying the sort of language that has welcomed new marketing chiefs to new posts since time immemorial.
Boston Beer declined to comment beyond its statement. Samsung did not respond to a request for comment.
Ms. Stransky's fresh perspective will, presumably, need to be applied rather quickly.
Original story published in adweek.com: "Samsung U.S. Marketing Chief Allison Stransky to Join Boston Beer Co. as CMO"