Oregon State fraternity gets boost from PBR

Modern Brewery Age, Dec 6, 2004

AP--Now playing in Corvallis, Pi Beta Rho fraternity, brought to you by Pabst Blue Ribbon. In what marketers believe is an unusual association between a beer brand and a student group, the San Antonio, TXbased contract beer maker has gotten behind the unaffiliated Oregon State University fraternity in a big way.

The Pi Beta Rho brothers have gotten signs, T-shirts and even a dartboard from Pabst--no free beer, though.

Fraternity members persuaded Pabst to sign on after a unleashing a barrage of emails and phone calls to the brewing company's marketing team.

And ever since The Daily Barometer, Oregon State's campus newspaper, wrote a story about the match-up, inquiries have been pouring in from around the country.

Students from Washington State, MIT, Purdue, North Carolina State and the University of Michigan's rugby team, among others, have all emailed the fraternity asking how they can start their own Pi Beta Rho chapter.

Pabst said it welcomed the attention for the brand. "These are a group of guys who have adopted the brand. Like any subculture--bike messengers, a New York underground film festival--we support their lifestyles," said Neal Stewart, senior brand manager at Pabst.

Larry Roper, Oregon State's vice provost for student affairs who spearheads the school's alcohol education efforts, said the Pabst Boys are on a positive track. It's entrepreneurial, he said. "Our responsibility is not to mold (students) into a single lifestyle; it's to equip them with the tools to live a life of integrity," he said.