Thursday, January 19, 2006

Peroni Me


Free beer while shopping -- it’s a new idea brewing in Atlanta.

While shoppers age 21-and-over browse $150 jeans at the stylish Bill Hallman Boutique in Virginia Highland, they can sip on a beer imported from Italy.

The lure might sound like exactly what’s expected from an upscale, designer clothing store. The wealth of foot traffic already flowing through the Virginia Highland neighborhood is providing great exposure for the store – as well as Peroni beer.

Anyone hoping to score a quick brew while browsing should know that the beer is kept behind the counter. A boutique clerk is needed to get a beer for a shopper.

Peroni spokesman Chad Wodskow said the beer company pays Bill Hallman for the space. Their idea is that if shoppers see the beer in a cool store, they’ll think the beer is cool.

“Atlanta is the launching pad of our national campaign,” Wodskow said. “New York is next, then San Francisco.”

Peroni is offering their beer free in 11 Atlanta stores, mostly located in Midtown and Buckhead. And, the stores don’t even need a liquor license. It’s actually legal to give beer away without one.

That's Right,

HMK