Question

Topic: Branding

How To Market A New Liquor Brand On A Low Budget?

Posted by Anonymous on 10/21/2005 at 7:20 AM ET 250 Points
With a new brand of vodka being launched practically every week, releasing a new brand that will intrigue -- and more importantly, move -- retailers, bar tenders, and end users into actually buying our brand is a daunting task. The fact that we are a start-up that lacks the well-oiled marketing machine that industry giants have makes this even more challenging. We may be a small business but the industry we are entering is huge, potentially lucrative, highly competitive, and well, is all about luxury and image. The liquor industry is actually more about marketing than it is about the quality of the product! How can we maximize our modest budget to generate buzz for our product?
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by mgoodman on 10/21/2005 at 9:47 AM Accepted
    Small marketing budgets probably kill more new brands than any other single factor. In categories (like yours) where marketing is everything, a small budget means you can't possibly compete effectively with the giants. You can win a few battles, but you're not going to win the war.

    My suggestion would be to focus all your resources on a small, well-defined market, and dominate that market. Assuming you're in the United States, you might consider a market like St. Louis or Indianapolis, and if you have the funds, expand to 8 or 10 cities in the Midwest.

    Your chances of success are much better when your objectives are well defined and limited. Figure out what it's going to take to be successful in a market with, say, 250,000 people, then expand your universe to fit the budget. (If you think you can do a good job with 250,000 people on a budget of $1 million, and you have $5 million to spend, then go to a market -- or markets -- with 1,250,000 people. Etc.)

    That's a lot better than going into a broadscale marketing campaign knowing you're below the threshold of effectiveness and virtually guaranteed to fail on a large scale.
  • Posted on 10/22/2005 at 3:52 AM Author
    Thanks, mgoodman, john, lisa, and tom. All great ideas!

    mgoodman -- Yes we will take it one state at a time, starting with major cities in our target state. I'm just afraid of getting "stuck" there...

    john -- I think Grey Goose toots the loudest horn, after all, it got a 96 from the Beverage Tasting Institute. Of course we aspire to score high and will definitely maximize good reviews!

    lisa -- Will definitely look into FFA and forward Gino's contact info to our sales director.

    tom -- I've always known that bartenders could be our best friends, but your suggestion takes it up a notch! Thanks!
  • Posted on 10/25/2005 at 12:51 AM Accepted
    Maybe it's an English thing here, or perhaps I'm the only English guy on the site, and god knows the advice that many people give here is great, but sometimes maybe we forget that start ups when they say a small budget may mean $1000 or less. the Drink, the Brand and the launch area is crucial that we can all apprecaite. Years ago a small company called Xerox sold photocopiers in London. Each rep had 1 side of each major road and when they had sold a copier into each business they wouyld have made over $20million each, needless to say, none of us did it. However, maybe the moral is to start smaller. If you were launching a new Vodka, then go to the biggest and best club that you can, cut a deal with the owner on supply over the next 6 months as long as they will let you serve free samples on a voucher system, it's cheap effective and it works. Tell other clubs that you've run this promotion with X and the brand will get recognised very quickly. Tell distributors what you are doing and they will buy it. We did this campaign last year with a drink in the UK, it took 6 months, but it worked.
  • Posted on 10/26/2005 at 2:59 AM Author
    Tom -- Could you please tell me the name of your company? Couldn't find it on your profile... We probably won't make it in time for Christmas though, so I might not get in touch with you 'til the first quarter of 2006.

    Bread and butter - What I actually meant by "small" is it's very modest relative to marketing companies like Diageo and Allied Domecq... but we do have more than $1000 to spend, thankfully! As mgoodman once put it, trying to get by on a shoestring marketing budget is tantamount to entrepreneurial suicide. Anyway, yes, we are starting out small. Thanks for the advice!
  • Posted on 10/27/2005 at 3:37 PM Accepted
    Hey how about trying to create some buzz in your targeted area. For example... Have a girl(somebody most guys would only ) walk on the road with a t-shirt that says something like the only way you can get me is if you got me drunk enough and the only brand i have is..... something like that.... basically create the buzz before you launch it.... also you might wanna read about red bull's marketing campaigns when they were new. Might get some useful insights
  • Posted on 10/22/2008 at 5:07 PM Member
    I work in Public Relations, and one of our clients is Moet/Hennessy. About a year ago we did a campaign with Def Jam Records through a firm called the Kluger Agency. These guys got us hooked up with a few MAJOR recording artists who helped us promote Hennessy by ways of product placement, online sponsorships, and brand integration. The results were outstanding. What i'd recommend for a smaller brand is take this route, it's unique, it's effective, and i'm sure if you linked up with a smaller growing artist, the price wouldn't be as steep. What most brands understand yet fail to practice is establishing credible relations and longterm marketing plans that will last far longer than the typical quarter.
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