wine tastings Archives - Liquid to Lips Marketing

Four Tips for New Alcohol Brands Starting Sampling Programs

In recent months, we've worked with numerous brands that are expanding their in-store sampling programs. It's time to share four tips for new alcohol brands starting sampling programs. Research is starting to show that brands are not always built on-premise. That adage is starting to fade. The traditional education provided by bar staff has taken a back seat to social media accounts that emphasize mixology and brand education. Store sampling is more important than ever. Liquid to lips is the mantra everyone in the industry knows. So what are the systems needed to succeed? Let's first share some of the…

By Shared Spirits

Three Keys to Cocktail Program Visual Branding and Presentation

In week three of Mastering Restaurant Cocktail Program Marketing, we're discussing alcohol beverage visual branding and presentation. Some reader will find this material basic but remember, the new bar back, student mixologist, and those being transferred into the beverage program may find it helpful. Key One: In creation of visual branding, the creation of visual aesthetics in cocktail presentations is essential to attract and captivate your audience. Here are some tips to help you enhance the visual appeal of your cocktails: Glassware Selection:Choose appropriate glassware that complements the cocktail's ingredients and style. Different glasses, such as coupes, highballs, or martini…

By Shared Spirits

Crafting a Compelling Cocktail Menu

Crafting a Compelling Cocktail Menu Part 2 of Mastering Restaurant Cocktail Programming In this series we're covering the high points of mastering the development, roll out, and marketing of your cocktail program. Step One: Develop a diverse and innovative cocktail menu Developing an innovative and diverse cocktail menu can set your bar or restaurant apart from the competition and attract a wide range of customers. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you create such a menu: Understand Your Audience: Before you start creating your cocktail menu, consider your target audience. Are you catering to a specific demographic or aiming for…

By Shared Spirits

Leading the Target

Many of us grew up either hunting or playing video games or shooting skeet. The term, leading the target, simply implies that your anticipating where your target will be and against all intuition, you aim ahead of the target. It takes discipline and practice. This article shares the research gleaned from survey responses by 200 or so restaurant operators, GMs, and leaders. They detail their top initiatives and plans for the next few months. https://www.barandrestaurant.com/operations/results-are-our-state-industry-survey 25 percent cite enhanced marketing and new innovations as how they plan to solve the biggest challenges. When it comes to their biggest goals? How…

By Shared Spirits

Sampling Spirits and Wine. A Guide.

Sampling spirits and wine. A guide. I recently ask a simple question to a marketer of bourbon. "Does the brand care whether or not it has a relationship with the customer who actually drinks its product?" He immediately said yes. They had set aside a boat load of money to work the direct to consumer market. The way this is currently done is via legal shippers and delivery companies. Examples may include Drizzly or some other company that has built methods to compliantly ship. In other conversations I have been asking, how much do you spend to get someone to…

By Shared Spirits

Angel’s Share will apply to alcohol related investments not just distiller’s barrels.

Angel's Share will apply to alcohol related investments not just distiller's barrels. 4% to 10% of unfinished bourbon in the barrel evaporates away. This is known as the angel's share. $1.25 billion has been invested in alcohol related startups up to October 31st, 2021. Why would I suggest that these investments may not perform as expected or hoped? Let's take a look at some details. Online alcohol sales jumped 234 percent year over year in the early weeks of the pandemic, global data analytics company Nielsen Corp. reported in 2020. Months later, many Americans said they were imbibing 14 percent more…

By Shared Spirits

Spirits and wine sampling should deliver relationships

Spirits and wine sampling should deliver relationships. If it doesn't, why not? Over the course of writing this post, we are asking ourselves, and you, some tough questions. As a spirits brand, are you building relationships that do not require distributor personnel? Are you doing anything differently from the competition to enhance relationships with your key on-premise accounts? Doing things better or leading on price is a non-starter. What are you doing that is different? When the marketing people say they know who buys your product, how do they really know? Sure they know the distributors who buy. They know…

By Shared Spirits

Sampling as a Service ROI

A wine supplier recently asked us about our Sampling as a Service ROI. We thought it an odd question given the ROI of any supplier spend is largely unmeasured. Ultimately, case counts are the only measure being considered by the spirits and wine industry. However, when you're launching a new category, in our case digital activation, you have to educate people to new language. We're using this post to layout an example of sampling as a service ROI. In the graphic below, you see a table featuring hard metrics, these are measurable metrics. Soft metrics are important and in this…

By Shared Spirits

Customer Sampling. Big Liquor Budgets $10 to $15 per. But for What?

I was reading through a significant liquor supplier's marketing plan deck. It was a deck associated with a particular year's go to market plan. Customer sampling cost of $10 to $15 per sample to the consumer was the planned spend for the year. The difference between $10 and $15 was determined by the nature of the event or activation as we call it in booze marketing. Screen grab from a big liquor marketing deck This informs you immediately as to the extremely high cost of sampling customers in the spirits, wine, and beer industry. What are satisfactory metrics for these…

By Shared Spirits

In-Store Tastings with Engagement

Suppliers and brands in the spirits and wine business have been settling for less. They deserve in-store tastings with engagement. Engagement from the customers who frequent the retail stores and have the greatest potential to buy their products. The current in-store tasting generally occurs via an agency that sends out a young attractive female who spends more time on her phone than engaging with the consumer and proactively inviting them to the table to experience the brand and its story. A look across other industries is warranted. In Blue Ocean Strategy terms, this look across alternative industries is important because…

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