NEW YORK, April 4 ― Using geotagged tweets from Twitter, scientists have charted a ‘beer map’ showing that consumers in the Eastern half of the US prefer Bud Light, while the Western half showed more interest in Coors Light.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Kentucky, is part of a new book, “The Geography of Beer,” which looks at beer and wine preferences among American consumers.
After looking at one million geotagged tweets containing the words “beer,” “wine” and product brands between June 2012 and May 2013, researchers found that Bud Light and Coors Light dominated the virtual map ― not entirely surprising given they’re the top-selling commercial brands.
However, the geotagged tweets found a general east versus west divide when it comes to brand loyalty, and further regional preferences.
Coors Light, for instance, is particularly popular near Colorado and surrounding states, researchers said.
Meanwhile, beer drinkers in the Midwest and Great Plains expressed a preference for Miller Light. And brands like Corona and Dos Equis got more mentions in the Southern border regions of the US.
As for wine, predictably, most wine-related tweets were also sent from wine-growing regions like Washington, Oregon and California, researchers said.
Another generalisation: consumers in the coastal eastern and western US were more likely to express an interest in wine on Twitter, while residents living in Midwestern states like Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas were more likely to tweet about beer.
“The Geography of Beer” is published by Springer for US$113 in e-book format and US$143 in hardcover. ― AFP-Relaxnews
