Craft Beverage Expo (CBExpo), the conference for independent producers, announced that industry and marketing experts Christian McMahan and Tom Flanagan will lead the event’s keynote sessions. The CBExpo will take Nov. 7-9 in Portland, Ore.

CBExpo attendees come to discover and share best practices for everything post-production and address the business needs for independent producers such as marketing, business development, navigating beverage laws, finding the right distributor or catching the attention of retailers.

“The independent beverage producer community has asked for help addressing the biggest business challenges they are facing, primarily how to get their product in front of customers,” said Kellie Shevlin, executive director of CBExpo, in a statement. “In an effort to support their business goals and future success, this year’s conference will feature topics focused on marketing’s best practices, including the most recent digital, social and eCommerce tactics. We are pleased to announce that Christian and Tom, industry thought leaders and visionaries, will be on hand to share their personal stories and provide attendees with tips that will help them succeed in today’s market.”

McMahan, president of Wachusett Brewing Co., has more than 20 years of beverage and marketing experience including his work as managing partner of Smartfish Group, chief marketing officer for Heineken USA and vice president of marketing for Diageo North America. He has been recognized as an early pioneer among marketers in social media including features on ABC News, CNBC’s “The Facebook Obsession,” and the Wall Street Journal.

Speaking from his vast experience, McMahan will present “Creating Brand Reappraisal, A Marketer’s Toughest Test.” In this session, attendees will learn how companies have gone about trying to achieve the hardest of all marketing strategies, brand reappraisal. He will share his thoughts on how some companies have succeeded and some failed. McMahan will explore the multiple levers brand marketers have to pull when going about this strategy and how to best identify if and when a brand is in need of this approach.

As co-founder and partner of Nut+Bolt, Flanagan is responsible for driving content strategies and creative services for global brands and entertainment companies. As a former executive vice president and managing director for Leo Burnett, Flanagan helped lead the company’s entertainment marketing and content creation efforts. As a beverage marketer, he has worked with Bacardi, Kastner & Partners (Red Bull), Gallo Wine, and others, and is the founder of the new Dive Bar Beverage Co.

Flanagan will present, “How to Find Your New Competitive Advantage.” In this keynote, Flanagan will discuss how helping to create a new market and/or growing a tiny portion of a current market into a very large one is the better strategy. He will share proven tactics to ensure that independent producers are developing the right beverage at the right time for the right audience.