LOCAL COLLABORATIONS
Part two of three
e m a G t n e r e f f i D A P l ay i n g
F
or the big producers, operating on a national or international scale can create barriers and other challenges that make it difficult to collaborate with other brands to develop new products for co-marketing efforts. As a craft distillery, we have the ability to be more nimble, sometimes more experimental, and more collaborative because many of those barriers simply don’t exist for us. Over the years, we have sold our barrels to a local brewery to release collaborative barrel aged beers and ciders. We have worked with a gardening club who used our spent gin botanicals in gardens to repel unwanted pests. We’ve partnered with a local chocolatier to make infused ganaches and chocolate bonbons. Strategic collaborations aren’t just fun, they’re good for business as they present opportunities to reach new and different audiences — and to make a real connection with them. These partnerships can be a great point of differentiation. If you’re new to creating innovative partnerships for co-marketing, here are some important points to keep in mind:
Pick the right partner
We spend a lot of time and money trying to gather our audience. When you collaborate with another brand, you’re also lending out your audience to them — and borrowing theirs. This is why picking the right partner is so important. The result of the collaborative product can positively or negatively impact your brand.
Elevate both brands
Finding the right partner means partnering for fit, not necessarily scale. Remember: they need you as much as you need them. Choose partners that are at your level and in a situation where both parties bring equal value. If there are three breweries in your town and one is a massive, state-wide operation that has been around for 50 years and the other two are five-year old breweries with a similar scale and social media presence as your distillery, approach the two that are the same size as you. It’s easier to begin a collaboration working owner-to-owner and, in theory, you have similar capabilities with someone of that size. If you attempt to partner with a brand larger than yours, you may have to navigate a complex marketing department and they will have to work the collaboration into their marketing plan. This could take a lot of time. On the other hand, if the potential partner is too small, consider what they bring to the table and how much they will help you reach new audiences. We try to work with partners that are the same size, and often run in similar circles. W W W . ARTISANSPIRITMAG . C O M
Think local
According to the Annual Craft Spirits Economic Briefing (December 2022), medium-sized craft producers do the majority of their business in their home state; and 92 percent of the business of small craft producers takes place in the home states. Local producers often have a strong and loyal local consumer base. Tap into that by partnering with other businesses right there in your home state. Think local with your collaborations.
Get it in writing
Once you know who you’re going to partner with and have developed an idea for your collaborative product, get a written understanding of what you’re both going to do. Set expectations upfront and be aware that it probably won’t be perfect. Consider details like pricing, production, launch date, promotion details and more. Write down due dates, delivery dates and other tasks. Once this is written down it becomes much easier to execute because both partners know what to do and can hold each other accountable. Putting details in writing will also allow you to consider the smaller details that might be easily overlooked and review expectations you have with your partner to avoid surprises. We set the parameters and ask our partners to do the same as us.
Space out partnerships in similar categories
Recognize that you can work with more than one brewery or cidery, but you want to space out the launch of new products to avoid releasing competitive products in the same month. Attempt to drive partners to create different collaborative products. For example, one can do a stout, another a brown ale, etc. Consider reaching out to a partner in the next city over so you can bring your brand to that market and avoid having too many local partnerships in the same category.
Create a sense of excitement and urgency
Not every great partnership has to be offered year-round. Consider timing and ways you can create a sense of excitement for the release of the collaborative product. One of our most successful partnerships has been with a cheesecake shop. They make a bourbon cream cheesecake with our product that is only released for Mother’s Day and Christmas. It’s a very popular item and we could sell it year-round, but we limit it to those two holidays to create demand for the rest of the year. This builds anticipation and helps us sell 100 additional bottles of bourbon cream per year to families who take it to their family event. 37
A successful collaboration is an opportunity to elevate both brands
Written by Jason Barrett