Brewery owners should pay the same attention to their marketing and storytelling as they would to their beer production, a leading marketing agency told the audience at The Brewers Congress in London yesterday.

Rob Cowen and Theo Cooper, are the joint founders of Untold Agency and they opened the 2026 Brewers Congress warning beer companies why nobody needs marketing… until they do.

With co-Founder Rob Cowen, Cooper helped leda global strategy for Budweiser Budvar, and was instrumental in evolving the brand’s narrative, playing a pivotal role in changing how global beer brands connect with consumers.

The duo said that when it comes to the beers you brew, the story surrounding it should be of equal importance to the liquid itself. “You wouldn’t put out a bad beer so don’t put out poor storytelling,” they said.

Cooper encouraged brewers to do more to show the consumer what makes their story special.

“Give them the ammunition. Give them a story. It is the emotional currency,” he added.

Together with co-founder, Theo Cooper, Cowen served as Untold’s brand lead for Sandford Orchards, Krombacher, Jennings, Csiki and Budweiser Budvar in a decade-long partnership during which the agency fundamentally shifted drinks marketing across the world. 

And from those experiences, he had some clear words of advice. 

“If you have to tell the consumer your beer tastes great then it probably doesn’t,” he added.