ROKU gin

ASSIGNMENT

The main goals of the project were to launch the ROKU gin brand on the market, introduce the brand to Czech consumers, and achieve the highest possible market position. We prepared a brand strategy through Instagram, influencer marketing, events and our own production.

Thanks to the right combination of these activities, appropriate content and communication, we successfully launched ROKU gin on the saturated market of gin brands and achieved a TOP 3 position.

From the originally planned summer campaign during the Olympics in Japan, when STOCK saw the potential of ROKU gin, we prepared a follow-up long-term strategy. For this premium brand, we succeeded in creating original social media content tailored to the needs of the brand and its fans in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In this communication we projected the brand’s story, the specifics of the production of this gin and the non-traditional ingredients from Japan. By involving an ambassador, we brought the proper presentation of ROKU gin and its preparation closer to ordinary consumers. Our communication raised brand awareness to the level of major premium gins in just one year, growing sales by 372%.

PRIMARY GOAL

The project’s goal was to bring ROKU gin into the awareness of gin brand fans and subsequently anchor it in a leading position in the premium gin market. As it was not possible to prepare a massive omnichannel campaign due to the limited budget, we analysed the target group and focused our strategy on its most popular platform - Instagram. In the campaigns, we relied on a combination of reach and post-engagement targeting (80:20 ratio) to ensure sufficient fan engagement through interactions and spread the costs to achieve the highest possible reach and impressions. In the creative, we incorporated in-house production and authentic content, competition posts, and connecting the brand with fans at events with an ambassador to activate CS.

TARGET GROUP

The target group for the ROKU gin brand is women and men aged 25-34. Their common interests are alcohol brands (especially gin), music, gastronomy and lifestyle. On the Instagram social network, the potential target group for the campaign purpose is 2.6 million users - of which the gender distribution is 1.4 million women and 1.2 million men. Through the campaign, we reached nearly 2.4 million users at a total annual frequency of 10x.

CHALLENGE

Given the limited budget (hundreds of thousands for annual communication), we had to choose an effective and efficient way to reach the target group. Analysis of the target group and its behaviour showed that communication on social media, specifically Instagram, was the best way to do this.

The target audience searches on Instagram for places to go for fun or drinks and then shares this information with their friends or followers. Hence it made a lot of sense for us to combine Instagram communication with influencers. The low budget meant we couldn't afford big influencer celebrities, so we chose medium and smaller, but authentic, influencers.

CREATIVE

We put together an Instagram grid of standard Instagram posts and typo posts, in which we presented interesting facts about ROKU gin. We focused on the history and specific production of gin, along with the unique ingredients from Japan. For each season, we selected posts with the botanicals related to both this period and ROKU gin. To do this, we harmonised the creative in the photos and succeeded in creating a colour synergy and compositionally balanced feed for winter, spring and summer. For the photos, we chose unique compositions with available Japanese elements and appropriate foodstyling. For the photo shoot, we chose a suitable setting that would be in line with the global strategy of ROKU gin and the local conditions.

RESULTS

The main parameter of success was the relatively fast start of sales and the securing of a TOP 3 position on the premium gin market (in terms of both awareness and sales). Today you can find ROKU gin in most cocktail bars and it is also readily available in retail.

Linking offline and online activation. Our brand strategy included producing our own photos and videos, and competition posts to activate the audience. We followed on from the first influencer campaign, and created for the brand long-term collaborations with influencers who accompanied ROKU gin at various events. At ROKU gin events, we provided live coverage, which we shared directly to our Instagram profile. We also added to the communication a brand ambassador who is the main face of ROKU gin, teaches its proper presentation through the Masterclass for bartenders, and prepares special drinks at pop-up bars and at regular guest bartending events.

METRICS

For the 7/2021 - 12/2022 period, we invested about CZK 600,000 in regular campaigns, Guest bartending campaigns and Influencer campaigns.

Increase in followers = 2,228 fans
Number of impressions = 28,913,905
Total reach = 2,379,832

Annual sales growth 2021 vs 2022 = +372% in litres sold
Annual sales growth 2021 vs 2022 = +380% in CZK

Year-on-year increase in brand awareness = + 200 %

We measured the results through Instagram metrics, awareness through Google's Share of Search, and sales through STOCK's audited results.

SUCCESS IN MARKETING COMPETITIONS

The cooperation with the LCG New media agency can only be assessed as very positive. The agency works with the brand in accordance with the global requirements to comply with the established communication pillars. Local content creation is always absolutely in line with the global direction of the brand. Adherence to tonality and brand image on social networks are a given, with associated creative content that easily adapts to the demanding requirements of our company. When creating content on social media, it is also a given that the agency adheres to the seasonality typical of Roku gin due to the ingredients it contains. We must not forget to mention the perfect pro-client approach and that building brand awareness and achieving brand goals with great content always comes first.

Katarína Foldváryová,
Distributed Brand Specialist STOCK