Behind the Sound Episode 4: Interview with Emma Kramer of Sierra Nevada

In this episode, host Annika Dietiker talks to Emma Kramer of Sierra Nevada.

When you think of Sierra Nevada Brewing, you probably think of iconic craft beer, sustainability, and a brand that’s been shaping the industry for decades. I had the pleasure of meeting with Sierra Nevada Social Media Manager, Emma Kramer, about how she uses the power of sound and other senses to narrate the brand’s online identity.

It’s safe to say Emma’s day-to-day is packed – she manages 8 different accounts and the brands within the Sierra Nevada portfolio (and we’re grateful she took time out of her day to chat!). She explained how different beers have their own brand identities, whether it be the outdoorsy Pale Ale or the zesty Citra Little Thing.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:16

You're listening to APM Music Behind the Sound. A look at how creative PZR Music to enhance their stories. I'm Annika Dieteker and I'll bring you behind the scenes of APM clients and their creative endeavors from story-driven podcasting tour fashion shows and everything in the top. I'm here today with Emma Kramer, social media manager at Sierra Nevada Brewing. Thanks so much for being here, Emma. Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to chat. APM and music and all the fun things. Yes, I'm so glad. And I know, like, you're probably super busy, you know, pumping out that great content. So we really appreciate it. Of course, yeah. Excited to take the time and get to chat with you. Awesome. Um, do you want to start from the beginning of like your career in creating and social media and what got you into it and how you ended up at Sierra Nevada?

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Yeah, definitely. Um, so I had started my career in the sports industry. And so now being at Sierra Nevada, it's definitely very different. I had started my career originally at the Colorado Rapids as their social media and content coordinator. So I did a whole bunch of things: social media, creating content, taking photos, and that just led me to more opportunities within sports of joining Real Salt Lake as their social media manager and then digital director and then senior digital director. So overseeing a bunch of different things beyond video, photo, graphics, email marketing, um, website, social media. It was it was a ton and loved that experience. It was super fun, which then in turn led me to the NFL and working for the Arizona Cardinals, um, managing social media there with that team as the uh director of social media and emerging platforms. So a ton of different fun experiences led me here to Sierra Nevada as now the social media manager, getting to create so many different pieces of content and taking photos, cell phone videos, Instagram stories, all the fun stuff. Um, and so super excited to have APM here because I've gotten to use it at other places too.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

Yeah, I'm so glad that you're familiar with us and like enjoyed it in other roles too. Um, our sports side is like huge, but I it's like interesting that you went into like a brewing company because I feel like there's so much overlap um also be like with partnerships and stuff, you know. Like I always see Mishlaub Ultra or like um like a lot of brands under Anheuser Busch do like those sports partnerships. So I feel like there is a lot of overlap there.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

Yeah, it's definitely I feel like very inligned with the entertainment industry that sports is and Sierra Nevada um being in brewing, as we have two breweries, one on the East Coast in Mills River, North Carolina, and one out west in Chico, California, where we started. And so we have two concert um spaces at both locations. And so we host a lot of concerts and beer dinners and just fun opportunities to bring guests in and enjoy the properties. Um, so it brings forward a lot of content opportunities in terms of being able to create content not only about around our products and our beers, but also the events and the on-site opportunities that both breweries bring.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

Yeah, that's so fun. I like weirdly didn't notice that uh or didn't know that you do events at the breweries, which is so fun.

SPEAKER_00 4:06

Yes. We, if you're ever in North Carolina or in California, you should absolutely check it out. The concerts are really cool. Here in Mills River, we have a backyard amphitheater. Um, so in the summer we have our concerts outside, which is super fun. You can bring your own chairs. We have Adirondack chairs and rocking chairs and stuff, which is really fun. And then um we have a big concert venue upstairs of the brewery, so it holds a decent amount of people. So in the winter, we can still keep hosting concerts or little fun events um where we host our beer dinners too that feature a certain beer and our our head chef um on site too that does pairing, so that's fun. And then there's a big concert room out in Chico, California, so we can host um beer dinners and concerts, and we host events for people. People have their rehearsal dinner parties here or company outing, so it's it's awesome. Big space.

SPEAKER_01 5:01

That's so fun. Oh my gosh. Well, if I'm ever in North Carolina, I will definitely stop by. Yeah, if you have to, it's amazing here. Yeah, that's awesome. No, it sounds so beautiful. I have a friend over there, and she goes, she goes to concerts like almost every day. I feel like there's also a big music scene there.

SPEAKER_00 5:18

It is, yeah. There's a ton of different places around here that you can go and see concerts, which is super, super cool and not necessarily like something you get everywhere because some places only have massive concert venues. Where here we have a ton of little local ones, which makes it even more attainable to see concerts often.

SPEAKER_01 5:35

Yeah, that's really, really nice. Like I live in LA and we have, you know, the forum and the big ones, but I always prefer and have had the most fun at the small, like historic venues for sure.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

Yeah. My boyfriend and I were just at the Troubadour in LA not too long ago, seeing Young the Giant, and that was cool. Definitely an older venue.

SPEAKER_01 5:57

Yes, I love the troubadour. That one is so historic, and Young the Giant is great. That must have been so fun.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

It was super fun. It was the very first place I think they played like their this current album that they were doing on their tour was at the Troubadour. So, and this was like exactly 10 years later. Um, so it was it was awesome. We got to meet the band and everything, uh, which made things so.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Oh my god. That sounds like so much fun. I'm jealous. I wish I went to that show.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Yes, it was really fun.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

You definitely missed a good one. Yeah. Um, so what is like a day in your life like um at Sierra Nevada now?

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Oh, great question. I always say each day is super different in what it brings, which is part of the reason I love working in social media, that it's it's always a surprise of what you're gonna be doing or how different each day is, because one day could be just capturing a ton of content for a new brand or for an event, um, or just creating fun content that's evergreen for the brewery as well. And then others we could be really analyzing data and looking at our analytics, building decks for executive level leadership, scheduling out posts, building content calendars. Um, so it really changes day by day, uh, which is fun and and keeps me kind of on my toes. So there's never a chance to get bored.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

Yeah, totally. That sounds exciting, like you know, never a dull moment almost. Exactly. Yes. What would you say is like the most difficult part of like just your workflow overall? Ooh.

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Um, that's tough. Because I mean, when you think of something tough in your workflow, you generally don't like enjoy it. And so far I've enjoyed every aspect of my job. I think maybe I would go with like the biggest differences between like working in sports for so long and working at a brewery would maybe be um, I think learning the beverage industry was pretty difficult compared to sports, as you don't have players and personalities that you can rely on to create content. You have to work with the brands and like the little personalities that they bring out because our portfolio is so large and so unique from one brand to another, that really determining how they were going to show up on social and what kind of voice that they would have and how it would look versus some of our others, which is which is always fun to do. Um, we definitely create a lot of decks here, which was new for me. Um, but now that I've definitely I've gotten into the hang of things, um, so that's that's much easier for me now. And and something that's part of like my daily routine. Um, and obviously not having games to go to, but we I get to go to the events, which um scratches that itch a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 8:53

Yeah, totally. Do you have like a favorite beer? Well, Sierra Nevada or not? I mean.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

Yeah. Um, so last year in August, we launched Pills, which is our Pilsner. Um, and I absolutely love that beer. That one's my favorite one that we have. And anytime I find it on tap anywhere, that's my go-to. It's my it's the one that I always drink here. It's so fresh, so refreshing, crisp, clean. Like it just feels like something you could drink at any time. It's not too heavy. Um, we're definitely known more for our IPAs. And so that's a little bit too hoppy for me, but our pills is like just the perfect amount. Um, and I love the can size that we chose, which is an 8.4 ounce can, which is a little bit unique, but it's catered to um keep the first sip as refreshing as the last sip. Um, and so that was designed with a lot of intentionality, which I think is cool.

SPEAKER_01 9:50

I love that. I had to try the pills because I'm also I'm not brave enough for IPAs. Like I feel like they just have a little too much of like that hoppiness for me. Um, but I definitely need to try the pills. That sounds great.

SPEAKER_00 10:04

You would like it. If if you're not a huge hoppy person, that's definitely the beer for you. And you can drink it at like any at any occasion.

SPEAKER_01 10:11

Yeah, that sounds great. Well, I'm gonna add that to the list. You'll have to tell me what you think of it once you try it. And if you like the the fun 8.4 ounce cans. I like the um intentionality behind that. That sounds cool. Yeah. What is like maybe they had to quiz you on this, maybe not, but like, what's the abridged story of Sierra Nevada, if you know?

SPEAKER_00 10:36

Yeah, so we are family-owned and operated and have been for the last 45 years when Ken Grossman started the brewery out in Chico, California in 1980. Um, and so we have grown a ton since then, now having a second location out in Mills River, North Carolina, right out of that, right outside of Asheville. Um, so we can cater to the East Coast and the West Coast really easily. Um, we have a huge focus on sustainability and the work that we do at both breweries to keep ourselves very sustainable. We have a water treatment plant at both locations to keep water in um and repurpose it in any ways that we can. So there's there's a ton of backstory and history to our brand. The first beer we ever brewed was Pale Ale, um, which is the beer that we're probably most known for and everyone kind of associates with us. And then when we released Hazy Little Thing, um, that has become very popular. Uh, and and a ton of people drink that one. So that's kind of gaining gaining a lot of traction and becoming a popular one that that people recognize here in Nevada for as well. Cool.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

Yeah. My my family was like uh, we would go up to the mountains every year to like the Sierra Nevadas, you know, like uh around Mammoth. My dad would always grab a pack of the pale ales, only for those mountain trips. Like, never drank it at home. I don't know, he was he would drink wine or whatever. But I don't know, something about the Sierras and the Sierra Nevada pale ales and the mountains and stuff. It seemed to pair very well together.

SPEAKER_03 12:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

I love that. We love hearing the stories of like people's like first Sierra Nevada beer, what it was, usually a pale ale, where they had it. Um, because so many people have like strong memories that are tied to that first Sierra Nevada moment. Um, and for you, it it's your dad going up into the mountains. And and so those are the kind of things we love to hear from people, especially like on social. It's questions that I ask all the time to get some engagement and responses from people. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

Well, I'll keep an eye out. Maybe I'll have an answer next time. Sweet. Well, when it comes to like APM, and you know, I feel like our relationship together is really new. Um, being a music provider for Sierra Nevada, but like so glad it happened and excited to see where it goes. But what was sort of like the decision maker in choosing APM as a music provider? And what role does music play in like your workflow?

SPEAKER_00 13:15

Yeah, so when I got here, we did not have a music provider, and I knew immediately like that was one of the things that we needed to prioritize just to make sure we were clear of any copyright issues and were really protecting ourselves on social with the brand. Um, and I had familiar familiarity working with APM. We used them at the Arizona Cardinals. Um, we had them, I believe, also at Real Salt Lake. So there was some back knowledge with it. And um, I got to talk with a few people at APM before like making that jump. It was super helpful. And now we have onboarded it. We get to use it when we're making social videos, and it's it comes in really handy with the search methods of being able to find like the right vibe and tone we're going for with music, which really helps a lot in the process.

SPEAKER_01 14:07

Nice. I love to hear that. Yeah. Do you like what's your um sort of search process like? Like, do you go to our music directors? Do you use um like prompt search or just see what's new every month?

SPEAKER_00 14:20

Yeah, I would say probably go to search first and try to type in like some unique keywords, and then we'll go to the sidebar and start clicking through like the moods that you guys have of like happy or like vibey and and start narrowing things down from there. And it usually helps get like a really good selection of what I'm thinking in my mind. Um, because music is such a hard part of creating content because you have this full video, and then it's like, now I need music, or do it vice versa. And it's so hard to narrow down exactly what you want. And I think that's probably the case for most brands is how different brands also sound. Like our crazy little things sound so different from pale ale versus pills versus trail pass. And so being able to kind of determine what vibe goes with each really helps by by having so many different genres and moods available through APM. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 15:18

Oh my gosh, I love to hear that. Um, I know, like I feel like um we look at other libraries that don't have the volume that we have. And a lot of brands sometimes come to us and they say, like, I've just hit the bottom of the barrel, you know, like reusing the same music. Um, and it's kind of hard, I feel like, to create that sonic brand with so little options, you know, at other music providers. Um, but like with APM, we just we have like over a million tracks. So I feel like if you want this one to sound like moodier, um, this one to sound happier, more lighthearted, you know, you can do that. But what is like the Sonic brand overall, you think, for Sierra Nevada? Like, what are you looking for there?

SPEAKER_00 16:09

Oh, that's a tough question because so many of our brands are really different. Like Pale Ale's, very much like our nature brand, like you were kind of saying with you bring it to the mountains. Um, and so it has a very like earthy kind of vibe and and outdoorsy, and it's catered to like the adventurers and um it's tried and true. And so we we really look at different music for that one versus hazy little thing, which um our mantra for that is is like embrace the haze, and it's really closely tied to music. And so for all of our concerts and events, everything is very much in the hazy branding. And so it's it's just super vibey um and fun, and and that's what we look for. That's very like upbeat and um brings a solid vibe to the the video that also has just like the fun element to it. Um, and then there are so many brands that we have that I could just go on and on about how they kind of look and sound versus others. Um, and so I think that's the hardest part is to really like pinpoint where those where those sounds come to life for each brand because they're not like a one size fits all. And I think that's what is great about APM of having so many tracks that I don't think I ever find the same song um twice based off of different searches. Like you always get like a new variety.

SPEAKER_01 17:41

That's so nice. Yeah. I've I feel the same. I was doing a little search um for like a prospect of ours, and I looked up like certain keywords and got this return back of like 30 tracks, and then tried something similar like in prompt search and it was totally different. So I was really glad because like I was looking for a lot of options. So um, yeah, it's it's just fun to use.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

Oh, definitely. I think even like just changing like one word to something like slightly different, even based off of um the suggestions it has on like that that sidebar really helps. Cause I could be thinking of something and it's just not the right vibe because I didn't use the right type of wording. Yeah, but then APM has a whole list of like, well, did you mean maybe like this word? And that usually like helps hit the trigger for sure.

SPEAKER_01 18:34

Yeah, yeah, totally. I love our our search is just so detailed. Like, I like that we we can use AI to search, but it's not in our music, of course. It's like all human created. Yeah. So um, it's just really smart at like sometimes I'm not the best at prompting it, but it figures out what I mean, you know? Yeah, right, completely. Um, do you have like any favorites that stand out from the library? Just like sorts of genres, or like do you like our indie artist stuff? Um anything that stands out?

SPEAKER_00 19:09

Um, I definitely like the variety of just instrumentals. That's something I really gravitate towards. Um, because most of the content that we that we push out doesn't require any like singing underneath it. It just requires like the vibe that we want to bring forward. And so having so many instrumental options is huge. Um, and I'm typically the one making more content for the local breweries at like MailServer or Chico. And so we just want to come off across with um high energy, positivity, makes you want to come to the brewery, is very inviting. And so those are the types of sounds that I gravitate towards there. And then obviously they change throughout the seasons, and so we have music that can kind of help carry us throughout the season as well. Um, we did a video back in December because we have one of the largest Santa collect like vintage Santa collections. Oh my gosh. And so we kind of hide them throughout um the visitors' corridor in Mills River that you can visit and spot all the different Santas that we have available. And so I needed something like Christmassy, holiday focused, but obviously nothing copyrighted. So we couldn't use anything necessarily traditional. But the sounds that APM had really brought a great perspective to the video that really just enhanced it and gave that winter feel that wasn't so overtly Christmas, but also enhanced what we were trying to showcase in in Mail's River.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

Yeah, that's great. I had no idea about the vintage Santa collection.

SPEAKER_00 20:48

Yeah, yeah. Um which is which is really cool. Uh, and something I was super excited about when I got here and learned about it. That um there are so many vintage Santas here and in Chico, um, because uh Ken Grossman's wife started collecting those, and so she's brought them to the breweries, and that's how we have this massive collection. That's so fun. Oh my gosh. Yeah, so it's cool.

SPEAKER_01 21:13

Nice. Um, so I feel like, you know, in the beverage space, there's always a new brand coming up, um, you know, alcoholic, non-alcoholic, anything. There's like so much saturation, and like in the content world, it's it seems like sort of just an ongoing battle of like how to stand out um with all that noise. So, what would you say? Like, how do you differentiate um among all the beer brands and like make Sierra Nevada stand out with their specific brand?

SPEAKER_00 21:50

Yeah. We like to do content that no one else does. And so that's a big thing for us. You won't find like memes or super trendy content. Content on our on our accounts, we try to find the unique angle in with strong storytelling and brewery romance. And so really creating content that makes you want to come to our locations or drink our products. And so each each product release or each event has a very different look that creates a unique aspect, but stays very true to the Sierra Nevada brand as a whole. And so I think we do that exceptionally well is not giving into the trends or giving into the things every other brewery is doing right now. We are looking outside of the box and trying to tell a unique story for each brand and for each brewery too, because our audiences are also so different across the board. We have eight different profiles that we that we reach across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. And so each one of those audiences are really different. And so catering to them also is super important and following the algorithms as well that kind of lead our decision makings when it comes to posting.

SPEAKER_01 23:11

Gotcha. Yeah, that's so interesting. I like storytelling is so important. And it like makes people connect with brands so much more, you know? Yeah. Um yeah. I I feel like a big this is just a trend, but I've noticed the micro dramas happening. Which have you have you seen this? Like brand micro dramas?

SPEAKER_00 23:34

I don't think so.

SPEAKER_01 23:35

What is it?

SPEAKER_00 23:36

Explain it.

SPEAKER_01 23:37

It's definitely like I don't know if it'll pass or not, but a lot of really big brands are doing like it's not really brand storytelling, but it's it's like fiction, um, little drama stories and like episodes for social media because I guess you know, people's attention spans are shrinking.

unknown 23:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:58

And I think I don't know, I guess people like to watch little like drama things on TikTok and Instagram, and it's like one-minute episodes, but I think that's like a newer form of storytelling that's emerging, but yeah, um, it's not exactly so like true to um it's not, it's it's fiction, you know, it's like it's made up, so it's different.

SPEAKER_00 24:24

Yeah. Yeah, definitely. When you see another one, you'll have to send it to me so I can take a look. Because I don't think I've seen any of those yet.

SPEAKER_01 24:30

Yeah, I'll send it to you. I know like um Dove, like with Unilever, did one or they're making one. Um, and then like Oatly, like oat milk. They actually had a very interesting theirs was um like nonfiction. So it was based off like a real person's story and his grandpa or something, um, sort of more like documentary style, but it was interesting.

SPEAKER_00 24:53

That's so interesting. Are those appearing more on like TikTok, would you say, or reaching Instagram and YouTube?

SPEAKER_01 24:59

I think more TikTok. I honestly can't speak to it because I am like a big Instagram user and barely ever go on TikTok.

SPEAKER_00 25:07

Yeah. I'm I'm curious. Do you on Instagram, when you're watching any reels, are you listening with sound or without sound?

SPEAKER_01 25:15

I it depends where I am, but I think like half the time with sound, half the time without.

SPEAKER_00 25:21

Yeah. I think that's also a big one um to really like lean into and look at is when creating content, is which platform are you really leaning into sounds versus where the audience is usually listening without sound? Um and I think that's super unique to create content with and to make sure you're providing like also thinking about captions. Do we need captions on this video because it's going on Facebook and Instagram and people are less likely to use sound versus TikTok and YouTube, which are very sound-driven apps, then probably don't need captions because people are listening with sound already. Um, so I'm I'm always interested to hear what people think um on that side of things.

SPEAKER_01 26:04

Yeah, I find it interesting too because like obviously sound is what we do. Like we want people to be using sound. Um, but you know, it depends on the platform. Um in another episode I did with a client, he mentioned they were leaning more into like very stripped-down instrumentals um for like Instagram stuff because he also knew like on here no one's really turning on the sound. So they're keeping it really minimal. Um, but like they still use us. It's just more of like our stripped-down music beds and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 26:39

Yeah. I think that's something that's an that's an interesting point and something I should probably look into a little bit, especially for like Instagram and Facebook, um, where people aren't listening with sound as much. Um, to find something like very simple that just complements the video if you do turn it on versus or isn't doesn't carry the video at the same time if you don't turn it on.

SPEAKER_01 27:02

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah. But I don't know if that's like also just a trend that's like a listening trend or sound trend, or if it's going to stay and maybe people won't ever use sound again one day or something. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 27:18

I doubt that'll happen with how strong TikTok and YouTube is for a long time, and TikTok has become.

SPEAKER_01 27:24

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Um, do you have any anything you can share about like projects that are in the works or just even something that just came out with Sierra Nevada that you're excited about?

SPEAKER_00 27:40

Yeah, I mean, we have a ton of new products upcoming. Nothing that I can share right now, um, because those releases will happen March, April. Um, but but there's some stuff that's that's in the pipeline that's super fun. Um, something that we've been leaning into a little bit is um Spotify playlists and creating a playlist based off of the brand's vibe. And so we did that for our beer that we released uh a few months ago called Citra Little Thing. It's in the Little Things family and which really is deep into music. And so we've been leaning into Spotify to get people into the Citra Little Thing mood or the hazy little thing mood. And I think that's a fun way to kind of differentiate our brand um is to bring in playlists that really align with what that brand is doing. Um, and we can link out there for people to listen to some of that stuff. Um, I think we can music really comes to life for us through the little things brand um in the ways that we can create emotions and vibes for for a person to understand what this beer is like. Um, and so every time we have a new little thing release, I think there's a fun way in with that specifically. Um, and so I I think that one was really fun to launch and other creative that we went about with it. Um, in the educational aspect of really teaching people what a citra hop is versus just saying this is a citrusy beer. It's all because of this one particular hop that really brings you all the flavor that you're experiencing in this one um, this one beverage.

SPEAKER_01 29:22

Nice. That's great. I'll definitely listen to the Spotify playlist. I love when brands do that. I I know like some fashion brands I like have done that, and it's made me discover a lot of good music too.

SPEAKER_00 29:35

Yeah. I could imagine the fashion industry could really lean in heavy on that side of things to really have their clothes kind of speak more to what it's about through music.

SPEAKER_01 29:45

Yeah. Yeah. I love when brands tie together all those senses. Like, you know, especially with beer, like it's something you taste and having something to listen to. Um, it's like, uh, what's it called when some people experience um like they hear and color or something? Oh, there's a word for it. Yeah, and it's gonna bug me, but it's kind of like that, like um bridging those senses together and creating, you know, something more from it is really cool.

SPEAKER_00 30:17

Yeah, very sensory driven is is a great play on social. Um, and then for brands to kind of act upon.

SPEAKER_01 30:25

Yeah, yeah, totally. Well, I will wrap it up here because I know you're busy and I feel like we had a great chat, but I really appreciate you taking the time today.

SPEAKER_00 30:37

Yes, thank you so much. I loved having this conversation and and thinking about sounds and music so differently. Um, so this has been great. Thank you so much. I'm so glad and I can't wait to see what's new in the next few months.

SPEAKER_01 30:49

You know, I'll be on the lookout. That's absolutely take a look and try some pills too. For sure. I will definitely do that. Thank you. Thanks. For more music, head to ap music dot com.