Working with the Brand and Marketing team
When possible, work closely with the brand manager and the marketing team to gain a deeper understanding of the "why " behind their decisions and the goals they need to achieve for the upcoming year.
The best practices to achieve this are:
Attend brand meetings to better understand how the marketing team operates, their decisions for the brand's future, and what events or ideas might align with their strategy. Ask to be included and take notes.
Review the Marketing Plan. Understanding the marketing plan will give you the big picture of what the brand is trying to achieve and how they plan to achieve it. It will provide you with the "why" to their decisions and guide you to make better choices with the activations and ideations you bring forward.
Driven by strategy, the marketing plan is the execution roadmap to help the brand achieve its marketing goals. A practical method will identify the target audience, determine the brand's tactics to reach them, and set realistic expectations for their efforts.
WITHIN THE PLAN, TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING:
1) Mission Statement
A mission statement should state the overarching goal the brand is trying to accomplish with the business & therefore, why the brand or brands exist.
It is generally summarized into one sentence and will be used to inform everything you do, including your marketing strategies, your internal processes, and how you project your company's values to the consumer.
Example: At The Fred Spirits Company, we're on a crusade to bring craft quality spirits to the masses
2. buyer personas
A buyer persona details the specific qualities and traits of the customer most interested in buying your company's product or service.
Buyer persona research seeks to answer questions like this:
For Example, a luxury gin's target market may be:
- Professional men and women ages 28-45
- Living in metropolitan cities.
- They appreciate cocktails, visit high-end cocktail bars,
- Dine out 3-4 times weekly in the upscale dining establishment and cool gastropubs.
- When not drinking cocktails, they drink wine or craft beer.
- They have limited time to shop in stores and purchase most items online.
- They like to drink quality spirits, so understanding how something is made is essential.
The market research determines they can find target customers in:
- Gastropubs, fine dining establishments & cocktail bars
- Social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
- Subscribers to business and lifestyle media such as Forbes, Inc., Robb Report, The Atlantic, etc.
Describing these individuals helps marketers determine which marketing channels are best for reaching them and where to focus their marketing dollars.
As a BA, all your activities should align with the wants and needs of the target customer.
3. CHANNEL SELECTION
A marketer will use research to determine which marketing channels will be the most effective and the best practices they should operate within each channel to produce the desired results.
As a BA, understanding which channels the marketing team is focusing their efforts and budgets towards will help you better understand why and how they have you spending your time.
i.e., for example, if they are trying to grow their brand awareness with consumers, you will be more successful as an Ambassador by helping them to achieve this.
EXAMPLES OF CHANNELS ARE:![]()
4. MESSAGING
A brand must decide on its core messaging and ensure consistency across all channels.
i.e., Copalli Rum: Clean Rum from the heart of the rainforest. Copalli is an organic, sustainable rum made from three simple ingredients: sugar, water, and yeast.
i.e., As an Ambassador, you should communicate this prime message in everything you do.
5 BUDGET
Your marketing budget is how much you spend executing your marketing plan. Budgets set the boundaries for how much marketers spend on a program, ultimately determining which marketing channels they implement in a strategy.
As a BA, knowing where the Brand and Marketing team has decided to spend their money will help you focus your activities in the right place to help them achieve their goals.
6. MARKETING GOALS AND KPIs
The final stage of the marketing plan is to break down how you'll measure success. KPIs and goals ensure that marketing plans meet the company's expectations and provide data on what to improve in the future.
You increase the value of your role by helping the brand and marketing team achieve their goals.
AT THE END OF YOUR MEETING, YOU SHOULD HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE FOLLOWING:
Programming:
- What programming have they planned for consumers and the trade?
- The markets it will be executed in.
- Can you utilize this programming to support your accounts on the off and on-premise?
- The type of activities that will align with their marketing plans & sales goals.
Fiscal:
- What fiscal year do they operate within? Some companies use within a standard calendar year Jan - Dec, others between July of one year into June of the following.
- When they start brand planning for the following year. This is helpful so you can pitch ideas to them at the right time of year to be included in next year's budget. ( many brand teams start planning for the following year up to 6-8 months beforehand)
Brand Messaging:
- The main message that they want you to communicate and why.
- The key visuals that identify with the brand, i.e., Color, images, garnish ( i.e., Hendricks cucumber)
Target Audience:
- Trade or consumer? Who is their primary target audience? What is their primary goal to achieve with them?
- Their primary target account type? Dive bar, Gastropub, Fine dining, etc
- The variety of events they feel will align with their marketing plans & sales goals.
Increasing your knowledge of the marketing strategy will help you become more valuable to the team and provide you with the information needed to develop programs at scale.