Top Marketing Strategies to Successfully Promote a Gin Brand

In our early days of setting up Stranger & Sons, we encountered so many brands based on a vision of India that we knew very well had never been a reality. To add to this, there wasn’t any other quality home-grown product that was conveying the story of India from our perspective so we decided to change that. Stranger & Sons is a brand born in India that is progressive yet rooted, and designed to celebrate it! Our spirit celebrates the familiar flavors of India, presented in its own unique & ‘strange’ way and in turn acknowledges the diverse and nuanced traditions of this subcontinent. Our label, bottle, liquid and every brand experience was designed to speak to a discerning Indian consumer as well as a global audience.

Step one for marketing the product is always recognising the target audience. For brands who are into gin business, the primary target audience is consumers who are willing to step out of their comfort zone for more experimental choices with a comfortable spending capacity to consume good quality cocktails made with good quality spirits. These brands also went after the target group that resonates with today’s bold and layered India and created these spirit as a fitting representation of the same.

Step two – these brands integrated storytelling through branding, packaging, events and experience as they can never resist a good story and as Indians, storytelling is in our genes.

Next, events are a large part of us coming closer to the consumers and getting them to experience these brand and product, first hand. Building experiences through storytelling has been at the core of the marketing plan; from the smallest to the largest format of events. Narrating stories by creating fictional characters as an inspiration to the cocktail menus, the brand should always ensure to layer every experience with curiosity to leave a lasting impression on every consumer that interact with them. A few things to keep in mind while marketing an Indian brand and taking to a global audience-

A. Conceptualizing experiential events with exclusively crafted experiences and cocktails: a lot of effort, brainstorming sessions, debates and research that help one identify what the consumer wants vs what message we want them to go back with.

B. Identifying the objective keeping the consumer demand/choice in mind; this is the crucial part to begin the planning for a promotional activity. Finding the right venue, concept, experience, cocktail menu follows as the next step.

C. Lastly, having an execution plan and the right team which is in fact the most important part of this exercise that helps us ensure that the consumer has a seamless and memorable experience and leaves as a loyalist.

Another important aspect for these brand is picking the right brand Ambassadors who constantly keep themselves updated on new industry trends while striving to innovate and create something unique in the cocktails space at the same time. This allow them to have a direct pulse in the industry and their expertise guides the brand in partnering with different restaurants and building brand equity amongst the trade in various capacities.

Next, collaborations play a prominent role in growth, reach and innovation and it is important to look for the right kind of synergy with brands. Perry Road Peru, India’s first distilled bottled cocktail was conceptualized right from the start as an expression of their shared love for local and seasonal and a celebration of the city. Furthermore, it was their thirst for innovation which led the teams at Stranger & Sons & The Bombay Canteen to create something unique and entirely new for India’s cocktail and gin enthusiasts. Trading Tides and Spice Trade Gin, our collaboration with Four Pillars Distillery, Australia were created after many distilling sessions over Zoom and has a story that goes beyond flavor–one of a mutual connection with the coasts of the Indian Ocean. They exchanged ideas, emails, and traded spices to make this creation happen! These collaborations help us experiment as well as recruit more consumers into our world and introduce them to our products. Ultimately, there is a great amount of brand equity that is built and garnered through such collaborations.

For these kinds of brand, innovation is a key driving force and they are always thinking of how to go a step further. These brands want to address the gap in other spirit categories as well and not just gin. For eg: we recently launched Short Story - A portfolio of a classic London Dry Gin, a Grain Vodka, and an Indo-Caribbean White Rum. Much buzz and hype has been generated about the ingredients and the technique that goes into the creation of some of these home-grown brands.

Lastly, digital marketing plays a key role in increasing awareness and reaching a wider audience. Social media is also a tool to excite our consumers into our world and directly engage with our core community that helps to bring them closer to the brand.