Building a global brand requires very strict goals and repetitive assiduous attention to detail.
There is no room for mediocrity and everything must always be the same or better. Product, printing, pouch and people must be available. Day in and day out our business model is ensuring customer satisfaction, through our 'we care' service and the desire to maintain our goal of being the best in the category.
We had great plans, and then suddenly our daily routine of building a strong chain for our machinery and liquor brands was interrupted. We were rudely awakened by the global financial mess and its negative effect on our customers.
What a time for this to happen, because during the past month, despite all the bad news about greedy bankers and questionable political decisions, our company received news of several awards to celebrate.
Our machinery group, PPiTechGlobal received three awards. The first from the prestigious Inc. 5000, Best Private Companies competition, we were ranked number 2950. Then, runner up for the EDC Florida Manufacturing Companies Award and finally the Top Manufacturing Company Award in our hometown of Sarasota.
Considering these awards have occurred in the toughest economy in 50 years, it was a wonderful way to recognize this group of dedicated machinery people led by Stuart Murray.
The point of these comments is this, if you have a goal stick with it and adjust to meet the new conditions around you, even if the sky is falling. Branding is the identity of a business and our plan is for ShotPak™ brand to create loyalty and an emotional bond and with our consumers.
If we look at the Beverage Pouch Group, our ShotPak™ brand reached a commendable 10,000 cases sold in our first nine months, from sales in only seven states and exports to England. What is more of a feat, is that this has been accomplished with little advertising other than viral internet marketing and the support of the band, 'Early Pearl'. Promotion at local sports events from cricket to paint ball as well as golf has also helped our growth. The pouch was delivered to participants at each of these functions and this allowed sensory marketing (touch, taste, smell) of the product and that translated into purchases.
This 10,000 case success is phenomenal in the strictly controlled liquor industry, where everything is against the building of a major global brand by a small company.
These large incumbents mercilessly defend their turf where survival means total consumer support. The product and package cannot vary in any manner. Our aim has been to create a modern brand around our consumer's profile.
Remember BPG ShotPak™ also has huge responsibilities to support education and preventing underage drinking, and still keep our product awareness in the market place.
To this end we introduced the six pack box to ensure that at least $9.00 was needed for the retail purchase of our ready-to-drink cocktails and STR8UP's. All the literature we use refrains from any underage marketing practices and we promote within liquor stores to reduce youthful exposure to our product posters or product.
What concerns us greatly are the accusations that our patented StandUp pouches look like a soft drink box or fruit drink pouch for children. Wow, are the public being mislead by these comments. Our six and twelve multiple pouch boxes are totally different and have the 'alcohol included' message all over them and sold solely in liquor outlets. While bar sales are always one or two shots. Also, should negative references to our colorful pouches and their modern names be interpreted as adult drinkers should only be allowed to see dull and dreary packs? It makes one wonder who writes this stuff, and if they even believe what they have written. But more importantly would it stop underage drinking if ShotPak™ was sold in brown paper bags?
We believe that we must encourage parents to play a more active role in keeping alcohol out of the hands of our nation's youth. The liquor industry cannot do it alone.
Few people realize that the future of global brands is going to be based on the reading of demographic (people), industrial (money to spend) and social megatrends (parties and alcohol). A real Triple Bottom Line (TBL) that we must plan for.
This TBL simply means looking at how much of the disposable family income is available to purchase our BPG ShotPak™ and water products given the hundreds of choices available.
We continue to learn all we can about the TBL and will continue doing so. While at the same time we all can help rebuild our nation's financial infrastructure (through our tax dollars at work). We see this as an opportunity to also build our ShotPak™ and fortified water brand awareness in another dozen states, so that when the economy returns to normal, we will be ready to celebrate our success again.
Whoever said global branding was easy?
