Helping beer go digital (GR)

Happy man having glass of beer in bar

Helping beer go digital (GR)

Despite a 70% market share, this world-famous beer brand in Greece had a dangerous blind spot in digital. When their CMO contacted us, almost every Euro in the Greek marketing budget was still being spent on traditional media – resulting in rock bottom ROI. Our advisor had to fill in the knowledge gaps, bring the brand teams up-to-date and help them move forward into digital.

We recognized the challenge

It might have been easier for this CMO to bury her head in the sand over digital – many companies do. Indeed she faced reluctance from every level in the organization including the CEO. The company practised innovation only as a rapid cycle of new product development and launches – with frequent product withdrawals. Sales were heavily reliant on direct relationships with bars, pubs and clubs; any online marketing activity would have to be closely integrated with sales. A new mind-set was needed, not a new website.

We made digital accessible and inspirational

The CMO did not ignore the problem; she called us. In a one-day session with the marketing team and brand managers, we presented the digital world in a way we knew they could relate to. We showed them what they could do in digital, how they could do it, how much it would cost and, most importantly, why they should do it. We included best practice examples from the drinks industry and beyond and we shortlisted the available tools that suited their immediate and long-term needs.

Mentoring brand teams

Halfway through our one-day session, we gave the brand managers a lunchtime task: to integrate digital into their marketing budget for the following year. We used the afternoon session to review and adjust their plans, giving specific, practical advice to each brand team in turn. We showed them how to transform small tactical activities into a multi-channel approach and how to marry sales and marketing efforts more successfully.

Result: by the end of the day, each brand team had a digital strategy for the coming year – one they could understand, one they could execute and one they had created themselves.

Leaving our expertise with you

We know that the hardest part of innovation is in the execution; that’s why Futurelab likes to hang around until new strategy becomes new reality. For close to a year our senior advisor spent one day each month on-site in Athens with the brand managers to ensure ground-level activities are on strategy. We also helped the teams review the proposals and deliverables they’re getting from local agencies: learning how to correctly commission, specify and evaluate digital campaigns can save a lot of wasted time and money.

We’ve also helped this Greek beer client with other marketing and product innovation projects. If you have a knowledge gap in your team – digital or otherwise – please get in touch for an informal chat to see how we can help.

People

Stefan Kolle