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Session Overview In today’s competitive environment, Brand Ambassadors have become critical to building premium beverage brands for both large and small companies alike. Brand Ambassadors add value for the suppliers, the distributors and the on and off-premise operators. This session will provide a detailed overview of the importance and role of an effective Brand Ambassador program. U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
Contents • The Need For Brand Ambassadors • The Role Of Brand Ambassadors • Effective Brand Ambassador Programs • Brand Ambassador Program Case Studies • Summary • Questions And Answer Session U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
The Need For Brand Ambassadors
The U.S. Three-Tiered Distribution System All beverage alcohol products are required to flow from suppliers to distributors to retailers to and then to consumers. U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
Today’s Market Realities • Consolidation has resulted in the top 10 suppliers and distributors • controlling over 60% of beverage industry volume. • Suppliers need distributors to get their brands to on and off-premise • retailers and ultimately to their target consumers. • Historically, suppliers focus their sales resources building their • brands in the most important on and off-premise retailers. • However, today’s distributors have grown so large that suppliers • now focus their sales resources on managing distributors. • Suppliers have turned to specialized Brand Ambassadors to for retail • account management and consumer activation. U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
Distributor Changes And Implications Yesterday’s Distributor World Today’s Distributor Reality • 5-8 distributors in all states • Local active ownership • Very few multi-state distributors • Distributors fight for brands, including small / new brands • Distributors make promises to suppliers on volume and distribution • Suppliers monitor distributor results with threat of moving to another distributor • Only 2 major distributors per state • No local distributor ownership • Large distributors control > 30 states • Suppliers struggle just to get presentation opportunities • Distributors focused on big suppliers leaving no time to for small brands • Suppliers must show how they will help sell and promote their brands with very limited assistance U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
Distributor Criteria For Brands • Quality Of Liquid • Unique, Attractive Package • Product Point Of Difference • Distributor Salesperson incentives • Merchandising – POS Support • Consumer Sampling (Product & People) • Dedicated Local Manpower U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
Brand Ambassador Account Management Directly managing the most influential on and off-premise accounts in key markets allows brands to control their own Brand Building Destiny “Influence The Few To Impact The Many” U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
The Role Of Brand Ambassadors
Why Suppliers Have Brand Ambassadors • Help identify and target key accounts at the grass roots level. • Provide a local, expert source of brand information. • Take the time required to hand-sell the brands at the account level. • Program brands on the feature drink menus. • Conduct staff trainings in key accounts to drive recommendations. • Sample the consumers to build brand awareness and trial. • To influence and inspire the local distributor sales reps. • To manage special, local community events. • To provide real time feedback on what does / doesn’t work. U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
Brand Ambassador Profile • Permanent extensions of the • brand placed strategically in key • markets to focus on brand building • and volume driving activities that • enhance the efforts of field sales • and the distributor teams. • Brand Ambassador Profile • Prior industry experience • Strong local market knowledge • Existing account relationships • Professional and passionate • Articulate, outgoing and engaging • 25-33 Years Old • Cool and sophisticated U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
Next Level Ambassador Profiles Each Brand Ambassador is specifically recruited to reflect the personality and image of their assigned brand and market. U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
The Brand Ambassador Role The most effective Brand Ambassadors focus on far more than promotions through a six-step brand building process. STEP 2 STEP 5 STEP 1 STEP 3 STEP 6 STEP 4 ACCOUNT RELATIONSHIPS BRAND VISABILITY TRACK & MEASURE PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION TRAINING & EDUCATION PROMOTIONS Tracking and measuring results vs. assigned goals on a systematic basis. Make sure the brand is featured on the account through POS placement, drink menus, features ads and displays. Bring the brand to life by sampling consumers and creating memorable brand experiences. Convert the account staffs into consumer brand advocates. Secure product distribution on the most influential accounts. Directly manage an assigned list of 100 key on and off-premise accounts. U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
1. Account Relationships Build brand relationships with key decision makers from an assigned list of on and off-premise key accounts. On-Premise Off-Premise U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
2. Product Distribution Secure brand distribution and shelf visibility in the assigned list of on and off-premise key accounts. On-Premise Off-Premise U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
3. Product Features & Displays Drive consumer pull-through with Drink menu feature in the on-premise and feature ads and displays in the off-premise accounts. On-Premise Off-Premise U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
4. Staff Training & Education Training and educating the key account staffs drives word of mouth recommendation and brand endorsement. On-Premise Off-Premise U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
5. Consumer Promotion & Events Consumer sampling to drive product awareness and trial while securing increased account support. On-Premise Off-Premise U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
6. Tracking & Measurement All Market Manager activities are conducted against measureable goals that are tracked and measured weekly. Weekly Quantitative KPI Tracker Monthly Qualitative Report U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
Effective Brand Ambassador Programs
Effective Brand Ambassador Programs Effective Brand Ambassador Programs require a structured approach to planning, implementation and tracking. Step 1: Brand Ambassador Support Plan Step 2: Set Program Budget Step 3: Set Brand Ambassador Goals Step 4: Determine Brand Ambassador Placement Step 5: Define Role & Recruitment Specs Step 6: Brand Ambassador Hiring Process Step 7 Brand Ambassador Training Program Step 8 Set Brand Ambassador Account List Step 9: Quantitative Results Reporting Step 10: Qualitative Results Reporting U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
1. Brand Ambassador Program Support Plan The industry best practice is to utilize outside agency partners to manage and support Brand Ambassador Programs. Outside Agency Benefits Brand Ambassador Support Needs • Funds headcount through marketing • budgets instead of overhead. • Lower program costs due to benefit, • recruitment and overhead savings. • Frees the supplier from back office • administrative burden. • More efficient hiring and exiting. • Comprehensive results reporting. • Shield supplier from activity liability • and potential legal claims. • Team recruitment, screening • interviews and job offer negotiation. • Administer team payroll, benefits, • insurance, credit cards, equipment. • Develop program policies, processes • and ways of working. • Provide on-boarding training, brand • training and continuous training. • Set clear budgets and goals. • Monthly results and budget reports. U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
2. Set Program Budget Brand Ambassador Program budgets must be planned to include all costs including salary, taxes & benefits, T&E, equipment and activity
3. Set Brand Ambassador Goals Brand Ambassadors are assigned weekly, monthly and annual goals that are tied to their assigned Account Activity budgets. U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
4. Determine Brand Ambassador Placement The Brand Ambassador Program markets are determined by each client to place dedicated manpower in the focus markets. BOSTON CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO LAS VEGAS NEW YORK ATLANTA DALLAS LOS ANGELES HOUSTON MIAMI U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
5. Define Role And Recruitment Specs The role of each Brand Ambassador must be defined in terms of expected time allocation in order to develop a comprehensive job description with the desired recruitment specs. Role Definition Job Description U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
6. Brand Ambassador Hiring Process The hiring process starts with candidate screening, phone interviews, final interviews with the suppliers, background and reference checks, and ends with the negotiation of the job offer acceptances. Interview Schedule Job Offer U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
7. Brand Ambassador Training Program Brand Ambassadors must receive comprehensive job training and brand immersion training as part of their on-barding process and then be provided with continuous training and development. U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
8. Set Brand Ambassador Account List Brand Ambassadors work to defined list of 75-100 key accounts that are assigned to them by their client sales team leader. U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
9. Quantitative Results Reporting Brand Ambassador results are tracked weekly with 24/7 client access to measure results vs. goals and to measure volume impact. U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
10. Qualitative Results Reporting Brand Ambassador results are tracked monthly on a qualitative basis to provide key lessons learned and share best practice feedback. U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
Ultimat Vodka Ambassador Case Study • The Situation: • When The Patron Spirits Company acquired Ultimat Vodka • Vodka it had little on-premise development or brand call. • The Challenge: • Building long-term, on-premise brand call would require • time consuming hand-selling and distract the Patron sales • team from selling Patron Tequila. • The Solution: • Developed a permanent team of 11 dedicated Ultimat • Ambassadors to drive on-premise brand building: • 15,000+ account calls per year • 1,200+ new distribution placements per year • 1,000+ drink menu features per year • 100,000+ consumers sampled • Driving 60-80% of brand volume in their markets. U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
Mount Gay Ambassador Case Study • The Situation: • Mount Gay had a strong consumer following in the seasonal • sailing community with little development beyond this base. • The Challenge: • Strengthen consumer and trade endorsement in base • markets while expanding reach to new accounts and markets. • The Solution: • Developed a permanent team of 5 dedicated Mount • Gay Ambassadors to drive year-round brand building: • 10,000+ account calls per year • 600+ new distribution placements per year • 1,000+ drink menu features per year • 6,000+ bar staff trained • 60,000+ consumers sampled U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
Skyy Luxury Brand Specialist Team • The Situation: • Skyy Spirits portfolio of ultra-premium, agency brands • required on-premise hand-selling in a lean sales structure. • The Challenge: • Skyy had limited experience with the Brand Ambassadors • but was facing pressure from their suppliers to deploy • Separate Brand Ambassador teams. • The Solution: • Created a permanent team of 7 Luxury Brand Ambassadors • To focus on brand building for the Skyy luxury portfolio. • 6,500 account calls per year • 1,925 new distribution placements per year • 1,175 drink menu features per year • 10,000 bar staff trained • 150,000+ consumers sampled U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
Midori Brand Ambassador Team • The Situation: • Midori is a relatively small agency brands competing for • sales time against Skyy’s larger company owned brands. • The Challenge: • To create on-premise buzz and excitement, strengthen • bartender support and increase consumer call for Midori. • The Solution: • A team of 7 dedicated Midori Brand Champions focused • on increasing brand visibility: • Developed Midori branded cars for team • 9,000+ account calls per year • 1,000+ new distribution placements per year • 600+ drink menu features per year • 200,000+ consumers sampled U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
Remy Louis XIII Brand Ambassador Team • The Situation: • Rémy Louis XIII Cognac is the epitome of luxury with a retail • price of $1,500 and up to $200 per glass on-premise. • The Challenge: • Selling Louis LXIII requires a great deal of sophistication that • can only come from a dedicated Ambassador. • The Solution: • Created a three person team of experienced, passionate, • highly trained Louis LXIII experts to manage the most • Prestigious accounts throughout the country: • 3,000+ account calls per year • 5,000+ waitstaff trained per year • 15,000+ LXIII Consumer Experiences created U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
Summary • Today’s distributors can place products at retail but they can’t • make them sell or succeed without supplier support. • Suppliers must control their own destiny with local manpower • focused on key account management and consumer engagement. • Brand Ambassadors are the most effective and long-term way to build • brands in the most important accounts and with the influencer • consumers to impact the entire market. • Brand Ambassadors Programs must follow a disciplined approach with • clearly defined goals, budgets and results reporting. • The most successful Brand Ambassador Programs are fully integrated • into both the supplier sales teams and the distributor sales teams. U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
Thank You! U.S. Drinks Conference 2011
