Industry
Tourism/Destination
Service
Brand Development
Social Media
Making a Splash Launching Fee Brothers
Fee Brothers makes fine bitters, botanical waters, mixes, brines, and cordial syrups for distribution around the world. They have been family-owned since 1864, one of few U.S. companies to see a 5th generation. Their initial outreach to 29 Design Studio was to create a Brand Book, for which the creative agency has received the Communicator Award of Excellence from AIVA.
The Challenge
Despite their successes in almost 160 years in business, Fee Brothers have historically done very little marketing. However, as the brand grows globally, they acknowledged the need to review their positioning, reintroduce themselves to their audiences, and engage on digital platforms.
Fee Brothers had previously used a passive marketing strategy, fuelled by distributor relationships, user-generated content, word of mouth, and the exceptional recipes of their products to propel the brand forward.
Through surveys and discussions with distributors initiated by the Fee Brothers team, the company learned the audience was seeking new flavor experiences. Furthermore, the new leadership, aware of the brand’s reach and intent on being responsive to fans, saw the potential in reaching wider-ranging audiences. These audiences extend beyond North America and include the home mixologist culture fuelled by the pandemic.
The brand had existing profiles on Facebook and Instagram. However, their presence on these channels was fractured by accounts they no longer, if ever, had access to.
29 Design Studio, the first marketing agency that Fee Brothers have ever hired, began by taking inventory of the visual brand, developing a marketing campaign for the launch of their new Turkish Tobacco Bitters variety, and creating a robust strategy to move forward in promoting the company and products.
The Results:
publications shared the news of Fee Brothers new Turkish Tobacco Bitters.
potential audience for Turkish Tobacco Bitters launch.
Facebook engagement rate during initial launch. (Sprout Social suggests the average average engagement rate for the food and beverage industries is 0.04%.)
increase in cumulative total page reach over the previous year on Facebook
increase in page impressions over the previous year on Facebook
Increase in impressions on launch week across both channels.
– An increase of 1,713% in engagement across both channels
How we did it:
29 Design Studio worked with Fee Brothers to develop their brand research, creating a comprehensive Brand Strategy to guide the company forward in positioning, public relations, marketing, and brand identity.
29 Design Studio developed a Social Media Strategy to direct digital marketing tactics on Facebook and Instagram, outlining personality, tone, and messaging for each.
The initial marketing campaign, created from the foundations of the Brand Strategy, launched the 20th flavor of Fee Brothers Bitters into the world resulting in selling the product out in 4 short weeks. A press release for Turkish Tobacco Bitters was distributed nationwide, a digital campaign teased and announced the new flavor, and 29 Design Studio compiled and managed a list of over 100 influencers who received a complimentary bottle in exchange for real opinions and user-generated content.
The Turkish Tobacco Bitters press release was picked up by 378 media outlets, including BevNet, Trend Hunter, and MarketWatch, reaching a potential audience of 245.9M. The social media channels were revitalized with the release, and user-generated content continued to roll in 3+ months after the launch.
29 Design Studio continues to work with Fee Brothers on an ongoing basis, providing overall marketing services including social media management and packaging design, as well as sell sheets, website design, and continued public relations and influencer marketing support.
About the Client:
Fee Brothers makes fine bitters, botanical waters, mixes, brines, and cordial syrups for distribution around the world. They have been family-owned since 1864, one of few businesses to see a 5th generation.
