As liquor sales stagnated last year for nearly the first time in two decades, one segment of the market actually grew by a whopping 29% YoY: Pickle-flavored spirits.
If you’re like me, your first question was, “What the ever-loving fffff-?” But your second question is, “What are they doing right?”
So I sat down with the marketing director for the top-selling pickle liquor to find out how this small startup is beating the trend and outmarketing the market.
Meet the Master
Erin Quinn
Marketing Director, The Original Pickle Shot
- Fun fact: Was an extra in two different "This is SportsCenter" commercials when she worked as a stats analyst at ESPN.
- Claim to fame: Once ordered $3,000 worth of “Pickle Slut” friendship bracelets.
Lesson 1: Research your opportunities a year out.
Most people don’t think about National Pickle Day. Like, at all. But to Erin Quinn it means a lot of green. And that green is money. And also, presumably, dill.
“It was our biggest earned media impressions surge,” she says. “There are a lot of national news outlets doing National Pickle Day coverage. And from an online sales standpoint, it was definitely our biggest surge.”
But that never would have happened if Quinn hadn’t been looking down the whole length of her calendar.
“Look at the full year for what opportunities might be relevant for your brand,” she advises. Now, your brand may not be connected to any gimmicky holidays, but there will be conferences, trade shows, festivals, and fairs. The lesson remains: “Identify a few that look relevant to you. Then take a look at how those have been covered in the past by the news media.”
And it’s not just about news media, but social media, too. Quinn recommends doing social listening around the events to see which ones already have your audience catching a buzz.
Those will make the most rich opportunities for seasonal campaigns.
But this isn’t an “If you build it, they will come” kind of exercise. Which brings us to lesson two.
Lesson 2: You have to have news to be news.
“Media outlets aren’t going to cover your brand for the sake of you existing. You have to have news to get attention.”
News outlets could have just as easily reached out to Vlasic or Frito Lay for content about National Pickle Day, right? So why did they cover this small, upstart liquor brand instead? Because Quinn gave them a reason. Two, actually.
Two big, pickle-green, mid-calf, 100% genuine leather reasons.
Quinn says her team asked themselves, “Who’s an unexpected brand that we can partner with to do something cool that’s going to get people talking?”
The answer was Texas-based luxury boot company Miron Crosby. And the one-of-a-kind, pickle-themed cowboy boot sweepstakes was born.
Though that makes it sound a lot easier than it was.
“We really wanted to design a custom pair of pickle cowboy boots,” Quinn recalls. “But I was met with a fair amount of silence.”
By a stroke of luck, Miron Crosby was looking to target the same audience as The Original Pickle Shot. But luck isn’t a long term strategy, so what’s a new brand with a small audience and limited budget supposed to do?
Lesson 3: Collab with brands you can grow with.
Quinn offers two pieces of advice for how emerging brands can stretch their budget and amplify their reach.
First, “Identify brands that are complementary to yours,” she says. “Brands that have a similar presence, that are looking to grow, and you can grow together.”
Together, you can split the costs of campaigns and share each other’s audiences. She gives the example of how The Original Pickle Shot partnered with flavored-salt company Twang on a product giveaway. Quinn’s team handled the logistics, Twang donated products, and both companies shared the results with their social networks and influencers.
The second piece of advice is to consider what else you bring to a collaboration besides reach.
“We might not be able to offer a huge social following yet, but, hey, we’ll run the sweepstakes, we’ll pay all the fees, if you make a collab post.”
No matter the size, every brand needs good content. If you can provide relevant, eye-catching content, that can make you an attractive partner for a bigger brand with a wider audience.
“When you’re an emerging brand, sometimes that’s what partnerships have to look like.”
And, if you’re wondering, National Pickle Day falls on Fri., Nov. 14 this year. Govern yourselves accordingly.
Lingering Questions
Today's Question
What’s one marketing mechanism that will generate the most revenue quickly for a startup? —Jennifer Waters, Co-founder, 7 Figure Dojo; Executive sensei, Seigler's Karate Center
Today's Answer
Quinn says: I know it’s annoying to say “it depends,” but my recommendation for quick revenue growth would likely vary depending on the startup.
For example, paid social is likely to be a cost-efficient and impactful choice for a budget-friendly DTC skincare brand targeted towards Gen Z. (There’s a reason that paid social is the first and only paid media that many brands invest in!)
Promo codes, rebates, and couponing can be an important add-on to said campaign, as these tactics provide an extra incentive for conversion and you can use redemption as a KPI.
No matter the business model, my most important “do this before anything else” recommendation would be to spend time on your consumer target, positioning, and brand identity development so that you are targeting the right people in the right place with the right messaging and creative. It won’t drive revenue in the short term, but it should increase the likelihood of long-term success.
Next Week's Lingering Question
Quinn asks: What’s the most memorable advertisement (commercial, print ad, OOH, anything!) you can remember seeing, and why do you think it has stuck with you?
