Adrian Parker, Vice President, Digital Marketing at the Patrón Spirits Company and SMSS Dallas speaker, knows how to make a good drink – and digital decisions. It all comes down to the ingredients. With the right mix, Patrón’s social media marketing team, led by Parker, created a ‘simply perfect’ product launch for Roca Patrón. In his Case Study Keynote, Parker broke down the five ingredients his team used to launch that campaign and maintain their title as the top luxury tequila.
So what do you need to mix up a transformational digital strategy?
- Architect Your Team: To begin, start with building the right team and mindset. Your staff can be composed of both outsourced and full time resources based on the experience you need and the budgeted spend. Be thoughtful about the role you give outsourced teams and don’t let them make your decisions for you; this is your brand, you’re accountable for success. But success isn’t everything. Parker says that team leaders should assign themselves the role of CFO: Chief Failure Officer. “Tell your team it’s okay to make mistakes. For every one case study, I have a pile of failures.”
- Develop A Unique Strategy: “Strategy is something your competitors would not do.” When it comes to the Patrón brand, they avoid the traditional alcohol brand marketing strategies like “great moments.” “Go outside of your brand’s comfort zone and don’t limit yourself to marketing decisions based on previous customer behavior just because it’s comfortable,” says Parker. Growth and virality doesn’t come from comfortable campaigns.
- Create A Social Culture: The key to being a social business is to ask yourself, “Does my C-suite know our social media KPIs?” If not, don’t worry – it takes time, says Parker. “Your social media projects need to develop in maturity and execution before you can expect the C-suite to jump on board.”
- Drive Customer Engagement: Do you know why customers connect with you? You think you do, but you’re likely wrong. “Often times, there’s a disconnect between what a brand believes versus what’s really happening,” says Parker. To get the real answers, he suggests going into a retail location or listening online where your customers are. Talk to them and write your marketing brief from that perspective, instead of your assumptions.
- Treat Technology As A Treat: Science, like keyword recognition software and search optimization, can improve the experience for your team and customers. However, Parker encourages brands to think of technology as simply an accelerant, not a requirement. “It changes too fast for brands to keep up.” Don’t let yourself get bogged down by technology needs instead of focusing on execution.
In the case of Patrón, this mix led to 600,000 new fans on Facebook and Instagram, a 15% membership boost in their loyalty club and one million #Patron images posted on Instagram. If you’d like to mix up results like Patrón’s for your own company, stay tuned for more social media tips and follow #SMSSummit on Twitter.
You can see everything happening at the event on Flickr – click here.
Hiring the right digital team with different experience levels is critical to your success, says Adrian Parker Vice President Digital Marketing at The Patrón Spirits Company.