When it comes down to it, the business of craft distilling is like any other – you need to sell product to survive. To do so, establishing precise and tailored marketing campaigns are indispensable.
Your marketing campaign not only reflects the essence and story of what you make, but who you sell it to and how; it’s the blueprint for reaching and engaging your target audience.
The strategy to create one that stands out is simple. Ensure that it answers the cardinal questions: who, what, how, and why.
Answer them succinctly with total clarity and you are onto a winner.That’s easier said than done though.
Let us delve deeper into how you can go about doing it, and in to how you can structure any new marketing campaign so that it maximises your chance to resonate with your target drinkers. The great thing about this structure (and these questions), is that it can be applied to any type of distillery or spirits brand, anywhere in the world. The concepts are universal.
Start by answering who your marketing campaign for.
Your audience influences your messaging, your brand positioning, and the mediums you choose to promote your product. It makes sense then, that understanding your target audience is the first, and perhaps the most critical, step in crafting a successful marketing campaign.
It’s sounds so simple and, to be honest, a little condescending. But it’s often the biggest mistake drinks brands make. They don’t keep the ‘who’ in mind, or clearly articulate what these drinkers are about, where they gather etc.
This is especially true for new drinks founders who have developed their product based off their tastes and because it provides a solution to a problem they perceive. “It’s for drinkers like me!” is something we hear often. While it’s a helpful start, that’s all it is – a start.
Start by challenging your assumptions. Go in open minded and conduct market research to identify and understand your prospective customers. What are their preferences, demographics, and buying behaviour. Try and avoid confirmation bias.
Actually go to the bars, the festivals, the events and the gathering places you think your target audience is.
Once you have a clear picture of who your audience is, always tailor your message to resonate with them. Align it with their values and expectations. Audiences have a deeper connection with the brand, the stories, and the people when that message is authentically yours too.
Don’t get lured in by the easy win.
Remember, just because you know how to sell to a consumer type in a specific place doesn’t mean you should.
For example, you could be the best at converting festival goers into buying cans because you are amazing at selling convenience and know how to press all the purchase impulses people have. But if your brand is about premium relaxation, it’ll be a quick win for a longer term stall as you’ve converted the wrong drinkers at the wrong occasion. Even if you make good money.
Your audience should, ideally, match the type of message you want to pitch. Their values ought to be your values and vis versa.
Finding the right “who” sounds obvious, but it’s like dating – picking who you approach, how and where it’s done and basing that around shared values and synergies leads to a better relationship, not a one time interaction. And that’s good marketing campaigns are all about, building an ongoing relationship.
What are we going to do specifically, and what does success look like?
Once you’ve defined your audience, the next step is to outline your specific goals and define what success looks like and how that is quantified.
Irrespective of whether it involves launching a new product, increasing brand awareness, or driving website traffic and sales – you need to identify the metrics that will help you measure success. That can be sales numbers, website visits, or social media engagement.
The clearer your goalposts are, the easier it will be to strategise and execute your campaign with precision and purpose. Set your numbers!
Simultaneously, envisage what success looks like. A vivid vision will act as a motivating force, steering you and your team towards the established goals with enthusiasm and drive. What do you want to happen? What is the ideal scenario?
Spell it out, dream about it, work at it and measure your way all the way through to delivering it.
How are we going to implement our marketing campaign, and how will it work in practice?
You know who and where, you know what the objective is, what success looks like and what metrics to track. At this point, you’ll also have a good hunch about what’s likely to work.
But now is the moment to flesh out the ‘how’ and where your plans take tangible form.
Decide on the marketing channels to employ — be it social media, SEO, content marketing, events, or PR — and craft a cohesive path for how to dovetail them together. Keep in mind the differences in the channel’s ability to reflect your brand’s spirit (literally) and story vs those that are best suited to delivering blunt results.
Your choice ensures coherence and alignment with your brand ethos.
This is also the moment to define roles and responsibilities too. Who in the team is doing what? Are they able to and how can you support them?
Asking a distiller to nail social media or adding additional tasks to a busy sales team might be the failure point in an otherwise great marketing plan, through no other reason than there wasn’t enough time.
Consider skill sets too. Are you maximising the team you have and what they are really good at? Sure, a distiller might not be the person you want to handle all the social, or do your SEO, but they are probably very detail focussed. Why not get them to help look over copy? Same goes with that sales person. All marketing is geared to building sales, and maybe they might be able to help linking your campaign with practical ways to loop that in…
Finding a way to be collaborative while defining where the responsibility lies for driving it all is where great marketing campaigns are built.
Why are we doing this, and why is this the best method to reach our goal?
Constantly revisit the underlying purpose of your campaign. The ‘why’ is the bedrock and it should guide every decision and strategy choice being made.
When planning, demonstrate why your chosen strategy is the most effective route to achieving your goals. Lean on data and insights gathered during your market research phase to assist you.
Of course, when it all gets implemented, you need to be prepared to iterate and fine-tune your approach. If your data and insights change, your calculations should too. For example “in practice” might be slightly different to “in market research” and that’s okay.
Nothing will be perfect every time and all marketing plans have a life span in which they evolve. Knowing your purpose (your why) keeps things in context and allows you to asses a changing situation and revisit your other big questions – what and how, tweaking if needed.
So there you have it. By meticulously answering the ‘who, what, how, and why,’ you will be able to construct a marketing campaign that is not only informed but infused with purpose, direction, and a deep understanding of your brand and audience.
If you’ve made it this far in the article, it’s probably because you want to build your rate of sale and because you believe in organising yourself effectively. Why not have a look at our other articles on brand strategy, such as our Marketing Tick List, as they’ll help too.
If you haven’t and just scrolled to the base for the magic answer, consider the following:
A grounded and robust strategy is often the differentiator between a hobby sized distilling operation and a flourishing craft business. Marketing campaigns are a huge part of that. Ask yourself the questions above, answer them honestly as you plot yours and you’ll see – the results speak for themselves.
