Sisyphus

Precisely my point, tl. That's why I'm attempting to start a conversation that will help to side-step the trial and error process. Carl

True, Quirk, but the landscape has changed dramatically since Tito's started in '97. C

Man, you're a real ray of sunshine, Roger. What I got from the article is that this industry is on fire but there are some real challenges in getting attention and scaling up. Obviously, the big players are watching what's happening and trying to reproduce the model but they face the corollary challenge of scaling down. The grey area in the middle creates a quandary in positioning a brand, I think. Should you become the face of your product? A small, scrappy David against the established Goliath? To do so may well limit the potential for authenticity when you start to scale. The alternative would be to create the image of a big brand but run the risk of missing the benefit of local traction. Obviously, this question boils down to individualized approaches but in twenty years it'll be answered in hindsight. Carl

Here's some great information. It may be old news to many of you but I just came across it. This article from BeverageMedia.com talks about the growth of Craft Distilleries but also lays out some success stories and the challenges faced in getting a product into the hands of consumers. http://www.beveragemedia.com/index.php/2013/01/small-gets-bigger-the-craft-distillery-movement-keeps-growing/ Carl

Thanks for your continued input, Roger. It's funny, all the while you're saying I'm not likely to get any useful information from my question, you keep giving me (and future forum users) incredibly useful information. I appreciate your input and remain hopeful that the conversation will continue to evolve. Carl

Thanks for chiming in Brian. You get your homework done yet? Carl

Roger, It's a fair question, though I feel like I addressed it before you did. I run a small marketing company and am in the very early phases of conceiving a plan for a microdistillery of my own. It occurred to me that I could combine the two, marketing for distillers while learning the craft and getting to know the players and their varied approaches. So far as I understand it, industry forums exist for the sharing of knowledge and the building of community. I've dug through some of your posts and I see that you contribute quite a lot on both fronts. In building my knowledge base by pouring over past topics, I may well find myself utilizing "information I've obtained free from this forum" to shape the future of my distillery. Is that, by default, to be limited to tools and techniques at the exclusion of getting my product to market? I imagine my path to ADI is not unique. I spent years dabbling in the Home Distiller forum until I got the crazy idea of opening a distillery. It was then I discovered this forum and dove in with both feet. While I've learned much here, I see that marketing is not, generally speaking, at the forefront of the discussion. This thread will hopefully contribute to the knowledge base for people like me who are just getting started. In fact, you've made a huge contribution to said knowledge base with the B2CviaB approach you describe above. Thanks for that. I'm well aware that many people think of marketers as little more than glorified used car salesmen but without a finely crafted marketing strategy the world's best spirit will languish in oblivion and potentially drive the craft distiller into craft bankruptcy. That said, my intention is twofold, as I freely and openly admitted above. I'm in conversation with four distillers, all of whom are members of this forum, who are in various stages of early development. While I'm well versed in marketing tactics and techniques, the microdistillery industry is new to me and has nuances that I don't yet fully comprehend. I don't want to waste their time and resources, nor my own, on tactics that don't work. As an aside, I've given all four of those distillers tons of my time and advice and only talked money with one of them, who had this to say:

John, That's why I was very explicit with my question. I knew this was a topic that could ruffle a few feathers if not asked carefully. carl

John, Here's a question I don't yet have an answer for; To whom are we looking to sell the second bottle? Seems to me, booze is in a strange little niche insofar as it's kind of a B2B product and a B2C product. Obviously, you want people buying your bottles from the liquor store but you also want it to get into the hands of bar owners and managers, who can drive demand and bring buyers back for more. Personally, I like to test out a new quaff at the bar rather than drop $50 on a bottle, and I often rely on the barkeep to make recommendations. That would seem to require a two-tiered marketing approach, driving customers into the bar requesting your product as well as bringing the brand to the attention of the decision maker at the retail level. And then there's distributors. They, if I understand it correctly, become the sales staff for your brand. How to make them your cheerleader? I agree with you completely on setting aside the gimmicks and building a genuine presence behind your brand and I think the distillery game is rife with stories that consumers can get jazzed about but it has to be 100% genuine. Carl

Scott, I was sincerely hoping you'd come into the conversation, though not necessarily in this light. I've checked out your sites and your social feeds and have, in fact, sent your links to the distillers I'm working with as an example of a distiller who's working Social Media Marketing to its fullest. It looks like at least one of you two have a background in design so I'm guessing that gives you a boost of confidence to take on such a task. How's it working for you? Carl

I recently introduced myself to this forum as a nascent distiller and a full-time marketer and offered an invitation to discuss marketing plans with forum members. The response has been great and I'm helping to develop some plans of action. I'm wondering if some of you in the "older guard" would be willing to offer stories of what works/what flops with regard to marketing your product lines and your distilleries. I'm not asking for trade secrets or anything here, just an overview of marketing ideas that have proven successful for you. And a few war stories might help to pepper the mix... I also understand, all too well, that what works for one business may not work for another. I've read the threads, with some amusement, about promotional giveaways such as branded golf balls that some see as a great branding vehicle while others see them as a complete waste of time and resources. Let me reiterate, I'm not trying to "borrow" secrets. I'm hoping this thread can become a teaching tool for those in the early phases of developing a marketing plan, saving them time and money on wasted or misguided efforts. I'm also hoping, of course, that I can save my clients the same. Carl

Thanks for your referral, Jeff. I'm now in conversation with four distilleries, discussing marketing plans, social media, web identities, etc. It's been fantastic to learn the different ways people are going at this business, some funded, some busting their backs to build everything by hand. You truly are a scrappy lot and that certainly makes crafting stories much easier. I look forward to many more conversations and hope to meet as many of you as possible. I wish I could carve out the time to get to the conference in Denver. Maybe next year...

I liked it too. Learned a ton!

I'm new here and still learning. Conversations like these open the doors to more and more understanding of the nuances of the craft and I love it! Pete, Here's something I learned while following Moe's suggestion to Google "The Scotch Pot Still". While it's true that there's degradation from the fire side of the flat plate stills that Glenfiddich uses, it's far more dramatic on the inside due to the use of a rummager, a chain mechanism that scrapes the bottom of the still for years on end. Given that the stills Glenfiddich uses are insanely expensive, they want to get as much life out of them as possible. The thicker the bottom, the longer they last. http://www.whisky.de...erts/copper.htm That opens another question about the still you're making, Jimmi. The rummager is there to avoid the scorching of fallen solids on the flat bottom, in the case of direct fired wash still. Have you taken that problem into consideration? Carl

Hello to all from gorgeous Asheville, NC, USA. I'm at the very beginning stages of considering a plan for a microdistillery and have found this forum to be unbelievably useful. I spent many years in the "other forum" learning the basics of distillation and found ADI when I started kicking around the idea of going pro. As the conventional wisdom in opening a microdistillery seems, inevitably, to be "don't quit your day job", I'm planning to merge the two. You see, my day job is running a media and marketing company, Sisyphus Media. For a number of years, I've been catering to any business that came along with the money and motivation to start marketing their business. I've always considered the notion of catering to a niche, but couldn't think of one that wouldn't eventually become an anchor. And then, WHAM, it hit me like the ol' proverbial ton of bricks - the adult beverage industry! I can offer my services as a marketer while I get to know people in the community and learn more about the business, regs, licensing, etc. Marketing Philosophy Now, more than ever, selling a product is driven by telling stories. The most amazing product ever produced, be it liquor or wicker, will languish until the market catches wind of a compelling story. Take, for example, Riedel Glasses. (Full disclosure, I borrow this example from Seth Godin's excellent book, All Marketers are Liars Tell Stories). George Riedel and his people fervently believe that the enjoyment of wine is directly related to the shape and quality of the glass from which it's quaffed. Several high profile wine reviewers have become Riedel's cheerleaders and have made the Riedel Glass a must have item. Trouble is, in double-blind taste tests there is absolutely zero discernible difference between a $1 glass and a $20 glass. None. Riedel sells millions of dollars worth of glasses every year. He sells glasses to intelligent, well-off wine lovers who then proceed to enjoy their wine more than they did before. Marketing, apparently, makes wine taste better (Godin, 4). Understand, I'm not talking about lying here. I'm talking about uncovering the story of your business that will become your "unique selling proposition". It might be you, if you want to be the face of your company. It could be your particular terroir. It could be damn near anything. But, like Riedel, you have to believe it. An invitation I'm already working on the story for my microdistillery and I'd like to work on one for yours. As I'm not yet up to speed on the regulations for labeling and advertising, and much prefer to learn these details with my feet in the fire, I don't feel comfortable storming out of the gate, guns a-blazin', selling myself as the savior of distillery marketing (at least not yet!). I'd like to discuss the possibility of offering a seriously cheap marketing package to two or three interested members of this forum. If you're interested, let's talk. (I certainly hope this is an OK thing to offer in my very first post. I read the rules carefully and they didn't seem to suggest there was any reason not to.)