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Blog posts tagged Bristol
Donut marketing
July 09, 2010
It was inevitable with a name like ours and the increasing popularity of franchises of a certain chain of donut makers that our website would take some hits from people searching ‘Marketing Donuts’.
I have an interesting tale to share with you all as to how one of these franchises has gone about announcing their arrival in Bristol and marketed their donut products.
Last month I watched the England versus Slovenia match in the centre of Bristol at the Football Fan Park facility. This is essentially a square in the centre of Bristol that has a giant screen and a fenced off arena where football fans can congregate to have their hopes and dreams of national sporting glory dashed once again.
During the second half of the encounter which saw us secure second place in our group and prolong the inevitable demise, there were people walking into the arena with boxes of sugar glazed ring donuts. The more people that came in with donuts, the more people left to seek confectionery
Outside the arena there was a van packed full of trays of donuts and a sizeable but orderly queue of people receiving a free box of donuts. By the time the final whistle had been blown, the crowd inside the arena raced to the exit to join what became a sickening display of greed. The scenes were reminiscent of an aid convey arriving in an earthquake ravaged town. (Responsibility for the welfare of the public on the part of the company was tossed in the air like the final few boxes of donuts as the polite queue fast became a scrum of over one hundred people.)
The cost of this exercise may have been sizeable for the company but the clever part has been the size of reach that they will have achieved. Hand out a single donut and you make one person happy. Hand out a box of twelve and you empower that one very happy person to do the leg work for you in sharing the product and news of the soon-to-be-open new store with others. Seeding the public with samples of donuts has raised awareness of the new addition to Bristol. Word of mouth never tasted so good.
How do you encourage word of mouth with your existing customers?
The wisdom is in the crowds – hic!
April 26, 2010
If you cast your mind back to the Budget in late March, you’ll remember there was a particularly unpopular proposal to raise the tax duty on cider by 10 per cent. In Bristol (where at least part of the Marketing Donut is based), the response to this suggestion almost amounted to civil disorder - and we celebrated mightily when the motion wasn’t passed.
Whether it was the result of people power or the simple fact that there wasn’t time to push the proposal through Parliament, we west country types considered this a major victory. Cider is a way of life in these parts and the threat to make it more costly is not something that will be forgotten quickly, as this picture taken on the day of the leaders’ debate in the city last week demonstrates.
There’s a lot more life in cider than you might think. We’re not just rural hayseeds up this way, but a surprisingly inventive bunch. Take local cider producer, Brothers Cider, who allow their customers to drive their brand through crowdsourced products.
Consumers usually vote with their hard-earned cash. Here, they’ve designed a product themselves. At last year’s Glastonbury festival, revellers mixed all the flavours sold by Brothers - Festival Pear Cider; Strawberry, Lemon and Toffee Apple — into an exotic cocktail.
Sensing an opportunity, Brothers turned to Eric — their ‘doctor of yeasts and fermentation’— and asked him to create a more refined and commercially viable version. In the same week that Tesco launched the curious chilli-flavoured cola as a summer beverage, Brothers unveiled Tutti Frutti Pear Cider.
We caught up with Matthew from Brothers to find out more about what makes them tick.
You’ve used surveys in the past to gather information on what customers think of your products. Have the results led to any tweaks in the recipes or suggested future flavour possibilities?
“Fortunately, there were no tweaks required in any of the recipes following our annual survey. Though it did show our consumer base is open to new ideas and flavours.”
Are there any other flavour suggestions from your customers that you have discounted for being just that little bit too ‘out there’?
“We welcome suggestions on our website and collate them together for our customers to judge in our annual survey. Understandably, Bubblegum flavour was not a popular suggestion at all!”
Do you think the ‘cider tax’ will rear its ugly head again at the next Budget, irrespective of which party is elected?
“It’s clear cider duty has now become an election issue and it is good that the associated issues are now being debated so openly and passionately. Whoever has the keys to 11 Downing Street after 6 May will have to address the cider duty structure.”
What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned about marketing activity since Brothers began?
“The advent of social media has turned the traditional marketing communications model on its head. Now the consumer owns the brand.”
Thanks, Matthew – and good luck with the Tutti Frutti!
How do you like them apples, eh?
March 30, 2010
As a resident of the West Country, I am accustomed to the fact that cider is a way of life round these ’ere parts. When Blackthorn changed their recipe last year and went for a big relaunch, billboards were defaced, Facebook pages launched and free samples through the local paper were rejected. Believe me, a Bristolian does not reject free cider readily. The resulting public campaign to return to the original recipe won through and the brand conceded defeat.
In Bristol there is a boat that has been converted into a bar that goes by the name of The Apple and sells the juice by the bucket load. There is also a small, tucked-away, gem of a pub in Clifton called The Coronation Tap - or to those more affectionate or slurred of speech, The Corrie Tap. Here they sell a cider known as ‘Exhibition’ and such is its potency they only sell it by the half pint.
Last week’s Budget heaped misery on the West Country, with dear Mr Darling making cider play taxation catch-up. A 10 per cent increase came into effect as of Sunday and in doing so brought cider in line with beer, spirits and wine for relative taxation value. While stories of queues stretching for miles — akin to a petrol price hike — are greatly exaggerated, it is the talk of the town.
Tonight the BBC’s ‘The One Show’ is filming a feature on the popularity of the drink at the fabled Corrie Tap (free samples from 6pm I hear). Will I see you there?
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