Brand Creation Tuesdays & Thursdays, Week 5 - The Plan, Part 2
Philip Duff
Director-Liquid Solutions On Premise Consulting,Chief Genever Officer-Old Duff Genever
Well, if the photo above didn't give you a hint: today we're talking about the Launch Plan!
If you've planned out The Brand (articles 3, 4, and 9 in this series - links below), a launch plan just follows those train tracks you've already laid down.
The purpose of the launch is to announce the existence of your brand to the people most likely to buy it, which means both consumers and trade buyers such as bartenders & managers in hospitality accounts, and liquor store owners & managers. You should also include relevant writers and media content creators, as they can amplify your message, reaching more buyers.
Pre-planning
Nowadays, we all have attention spans that would cause raised eyebrows in a den of meth-crazed raccoons, so plan accordingly. Ensure that before any launch your brand is out there in the world, stocked by the distributor and on the backbar or shelf in at least a select few bullseye (article) accounts, both in hospitality (bars), retail (shops) and with online retailers. There's no point going to all the hassle of organising a real-world event, inviting everyone, filling goodie bags and being debonair and charming, if people can't then order your brand.
For these lighthouse (jargon alert!) accounts, it's important that all the staff know what this new bottle is. It's the kiss of death if a bartender or shop clerk shows up to work and sees a new bottle they know nothing about. Best case, they'll ignore it; worst case, they'll taste it, unguided, and create a wholly inaccurate story about the brand and liquid, which they then convey to guests. One client of mine - before I came on board - opened dozens of markets in less than a year, cheerfully sending containers of gin to countries around the world without holding launch events or educating bartenders and other buyers. Result? To this day - a decade later - a significant portion of bartenders, many of whom are now group beverage directors, operations managers or owners of prestigious bars of their own - have a way offbase impression of the brand, because no-one ever explained it to them.
The Distributor
The distributor, or wholesaler, or both will carry many brands, maybe as many as a thousand different SKUs, many of which have bigger budgets than you do and all of which - because you're new - have higher brand awareness. You have to ensure your brand is at least available for order from the distributor. In a perfect world, you'll get to address the distributor sales staff, with a coveted five minute spot in the GSM, general sales meeting, where all the reps and sales managers gather to catch up and taste brands old and new. Like in shops (see below), cut the fat from your story and give 'em the bare bones;
Not every rep is a stone-hearted cynic, so be ready with more information if warranted. Make sure they taste it.
Bars
Insist on giving a tasting or training at a staff meeting or at a scheduled training; some bars schedule these months in advance, so plan early. Ideally you'll be able to give a category training, adding value to them listening to you by educating them about the whole category your brand sits in. These tend to be better received than straight-up brand teachings, but if you only have 5 minutes, cover what your brand is, where and how it's made, how it's different and what it tastes like. You are the first impression of your brand: if it's a luxury brand, break out the Brioni suit, make sure your shoes are polished and your watch is impressive. If it's a rock 'n' roll mezcal, your jeans had better be distressed and your sneakers fancy. (Resist the urge to wear any kind of hat unless you're actually Mexican). Visuals may be important for your presentation, and not every bar - especially fancy ones - has a screen or projector. You can buy a portable pop-up screen and a mini-projector online for less than $130 in total these days, and this investment will pay dividends for years.
Shops
For a flagship retail account, cut your storytelling right down to the bone: how is your brand different, what are two interesting facts about it, and to whom does it appeal? Lots of retailers are asked for "same but different" from customers, who don't want to appear to be basic, so give an example of how a clerk could help a customer. Think "elevator pitch", and it's an express elevator.
"[Brand X] mezcal stands out because it's made from cupreata agave that's grown in Michoacan, not Oaxaca or Jalisco, and finished in French rose wine barrels. If you like Del Maguey or Sombra, you'll love Brand X."
Targetting stores close to where your bullseye hospitality accounts are is a smart move; the shops like knowing customers who have tried the brand at a nearby bar can come to buy the whole bottle.
Online
You may have to make an advertising deal to get your brand on the front page or at the top of search results in an online store, at least for the first two or so months. Most online retailers will offer a facility to generate private discount codes that you can give to target consumers. This can be a very clever strategy if used with discipline. Don't hand out codes willy-nilly to everyone with a pulse. Legendary bartender Salvatore Calabrese tells his young apprentices "Always give a beautiful woman your business card - she might come and visit you in the bar." In the same vein, give only real bullseye consumers you meet a card with the discount code. They might buy the bottle, and then they'll want to show off to their friends what a connoisseur they are by explaining about it when they crack the bottle open in their apartment, and that's how sales build.
The Launch
Your optimal window to do a launch is roughly February 1st - June 15th, and then early September until about October 15th. In between it's either too busy (Oct 15-Jan 1st) or, in city centers, too quiet (January, the summer).
Read back over the Brand Book. Hold the launch in the kind of bar that is a bullseye account for your brand. Train all the staff - not just the bartenders - on the brand, with a tasting. You may want to hold separate launch events for trade and consumers, or combine the two if you have an extensive enough network or invite list of consumers. For trade, hold the launch on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, either at lunchtime or happy hour.
Invite the staff of the kinds of accounts that you think can sell your brand - not just stock it. There is a tendency for new brands to focus on famous cocktail bars, and while that's great (and great for PR) to have them stock your brand, you also want bars that do serious volume business putting your brand in a menu cocktail.
Serve the kinds of cocktails you'd like to see your brand in, and ensure there's a tasting station so people can try it neat. Run of show could look like this:
230pm: Photographer arrives, photographs bottle shots, cocktails to be served, and you! Photographer should aim for a further 30-50 photos during the event itself.
3pm: Guests arrive, welcome cocktail, snacks (include vegan, gluten-free)
345pm: You / the distiller / speak. Thank the venue staff and attendees. Speak for no more than half an hour; 15-20mins is better. Key points:
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4pm: You, the distiller and anyone else from the brand work the room. Touch every table; speak to everyone. Look them in the eye - do not let your eyes dart around the room for more interesting people when you're talking to someone. Don't just spout the same high-speed elevator pitch at each table. Ask people questions - and listen to their answers. Talk about things that aren't spirits or cocktails or bars! If you're talking to a drinks writer, be exceptionally honest and transparent; it is the key to their hearts. Give everyone your business card and get their card, too; if someone doesn't have a business card, pull out your phone and follow them on Instagram right there and then.
445pm: Announce the event is winding down and everyone should grab a goodie bag on the way out, and that you'll be running a tab at the bar / at a nearby bar, for anyone who'd like to stay a little longer.
5pm: Station yourself at the exit and thank every single attendee as they leave.
515pm: Thank the staff, pay the bill (unless it's being invoiced later) and tip the staff, then move to the bar / a nearby bar with any stragglers. Just as dinner parties tend to wind up with everyone in the kitchen, spirits events tend to wind up at a bar, and it's often where the real business is done.
Goodie bags: no need to go overboard. I was at a launch recently where everyone went home with a record player! Great if you have the budget, of course, but personal connections are more lasting. A sell sheet (with pricing and how-and-where-to-order info), a small trinket like a cool, unique T-shirt (see below, for a recent series of events I did with a client) and some of your product. If you can't afford a full bottle for everyone, re-bottle into 100ml miniatures, and/or bottle in 100ml a signature cocktail. A slightly wonky hand-labelled bottle can be more powerful than any slickly orchestrated gift.
After The Launch
This is when the real work begins.
As always, let me know your thoughts in the Comments below, and thanks for reading!
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