distillery news
steve wheen
We’ve refreshed our brand. Here’s one thing you ...

Invisible branding is the unseen elements that come together to create something that feels coherent, and sets the tone for the visual identity and personality that you eventually see. Join us as we take you behind the scenes of our own distillery brand refresh - and reveal how much more there is to branding than meets the eye.

We’ve refreshed our brand. Here’s one thing you will see - and four things you won’t.

Industry Insight

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One Moment please

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On Tuesday 15th December Twitter unveiled a new feature - Moments. A brand new tab on your homepage which delivers up-to-the-minute curated content direct to your timeline. Read more about them on Twitter’s blog.

Naturally we were ecstatic when we had the chance to join in the fun with none other than Eric Lanlard, here are five things we learnt while we had a Twitter Moment.

1. Be Seasonal

As it is the festive season, we wanted to share a special recipe with a twist… Tweet-sized Mince Pies! It’s always best to take into consideration the time of year, the cultural climate and any other current issues when creating content. You never want to be thinking in a vacuum, content lives on the internet which is always buzzing with news and opinion that link to each other so make sure your content has a place in the internet ecosystem.

2. Be Diverse

Each tweet we published was a another step in the recipe, but we didn’t limit ourselves to one type of media. Moments look better when there is a range of different types: pictures, videos, gifs and text - they do say variety is the spice of life! Moments was designed to be viewed on mobile so we kept this at the forefront of our mind when creating the content - everything was orientated in portrait (even the video!).

3. Be Interactive

One thing we were really keen to do was make Eric’s moment feel like a live event, where viewers can have a tangible effect on the outcome of the event. What better way to involve everyone in the action than using Twitter’s Poll feature? This allowed our viewers to choose what Eric would enjoy his mince pies with.. and we were able to collate results real-time and release the relevant media - an interactive experience. 

4. Be Engaging

In all of the excitement of new features here and there, it’s to forget that on the other side of the twitter handle is a real person. So make an effort to converse with your followers - especially if they are asking questions ! During our Twitter moment we made sure to reply to everyone that was engaging with our content, smiles all round!

5. Be Platform Agnostic

At Distillery London HQ, we’re all about the multi-platform approach. It just makes sense… You don’t use just one social network in isolation, so why should your brand? The people that follow Eric on Facebook aren’t necessarily the people that follow Eric on Instagram or Twitter, so why not invite them join in on another platform. We did this by posting a video directing viewers to the twitter moment right at the start.

Something exciting is happening on twitter today... I'll be sharing my festive mince pie recipe !! All the fun will start at 3PM GMT ! Here is the link: https://twitter.com/i/moments/678943074110808064

Posted by CAKE-BOY on Monday, 21 December 2015

So there we have it! We had loads of fun using Twitter moments and are already itching to use the feature in new and exciting ways… You can check out the full moment from Eric below:

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5 Things To Think About When Introducing Snapchat To Your Brand

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Today, Danielle Lauren shares her experience of using Snapchat for brands. 

Danielle Lauren worked as a multi-platform creator and strategist for over 16 years. From traditional TV projects to innovative digital concepts. she has used her love of authentic storytelling, creative thinking and lateral problem solving to add her fingerprint to each project she works on. Her credentials include MTV, Sony, United Nations High Commission For Refugees, Sydney Opera House, Bacardi, Disney and Microsoft.

I recently completed the Social Media strategy and implementation for Sky’s first Asian Reality Drama Series Desi Rascals. Our narrative played across multiple social media platforms but one of our most successful was Snapchat. Every time we would release a SnapChat Story it would receive thousands of views, our audience loved it and it was by far our biggest growth area for Social Media Engagement. So the question is why?

Firstly, you need to think about what Snapchat is. For those still discovering this medium, Snapchat is a collection of short Snaps aka photos / videos / texts which are only live for a 24 hour period before they vanish into the internet ether. It’s immediacy makes it an alluring space to play in because if you don’t catch the feed early enough, you’ll miss it entirely. It’s particularly great if you’re working on a project that has daily updates or is based on an event that requires constant updating to be relevant. It’s an excellent social media tool but not every brand needs to use it. Depending where you are placed in the market will dictate whether or not you should be on Snapchat. Below are some things to think about when choosing to implement snapchat as part of your social strategy.

1. Know your demographic - Aim Low

Snapchat is not for everyone. According to TechInsider’s breakdown of Social Media Demographics, 45% of SnapChat users are aged between 18-24 in comparison to Facebook’s 16%.

What does this mean? Well SnapChat targets a younger audience. If you’re looking to get a tick of approval from teenagers and early twenties then you’ll most likely find them snapping away. If you’re representing a more sophisticated brand with an older skew, I’d recommend one of the other Social Networks.

Luckily for us, Sky 1 / Desi Rascals targeted families. Our ideal audience for Sky 1 were both parents and teenagers. What was wonderful about using Snapchat for our messaging, was that we knew there was a greater chance that the content we put out would most likely only be seen by our younger viewers, giving them a sense of exclusivity that they were slightly ahead of their parents when it came to Desi Rascals gossip. For teenagers who like to “know it all” it was a wonderful space to dabble because it provided them with an exclusive talking point with their friends where they could share with their parents content that wasn’t available anywhere else online.

2. Work with natural behaviour

When it comes to your brand, think honestly about whether it is a “natural” fit for SnapChat. What would be the daily stories? Why should people tune in? Are there already Snapchat users within your team who get the medium and can take advantage of it’s elements?

The majority of the Desi Rascals cast had their own Snapchat accounts before we started filming. Once we went to air, their Snapchat account followers sky rocketed significantly more than their Twitter and Instagram. It was becoming very clear that there was a natural audience who loved being able to access their instant stories. So we launched the “Desi Rascals Snapchat TakeOvers”. Instead of us curating the content, we allowed our show cast to “takeover” the accounts. We gave them the login details and guidelines and let them play. The by-product was our Snapchat accounts grew dramatically. Each time a fan tuned in for a story, they received a new cast member with an entirely new perspective. It was fun and intimate and paid dividends for us in terms of Social Media engagement. The best part was our cast didn’t need any training, they were naturals. We tried building the same level of engagement through Twitter and it wasn’t as successful because it wasn’t a space that felt “natural” for our cast to communicate on. Snapchat felt more intimate and private and allowed the Desi Rascals to feel they were opening up without as much public scrutiny as they would receive on Twitter. Of course this was an illusion but it worked well.

3. PLAY

On the day of our final episode we did a Snapchat free for all, where we gave all our cast members the Snapchat takeover and let them login whenever they wanted to upload stories. The results were fantastic. It was a “day in the life” of our Desi Rascals told by each of them chronologically throughout the day. It was a dynamic piece of Social Media which our fans LOVED that built significant amount of hype for our final episode. Social Media is meant to be fun, so I strongly suggest you play. One login does not equate to only one person holding the entire power over the account. Our most successful Snapchat days were when we handed over the keys to a group of people and let them use their creativity to tell their stories. It was profoundly brilliant as they drove the narrative and gave our audience a unique piece of content which they loved. This type of social media strategy would be particularly brilliant for an event as you could see all the elements come together on one timeline.

4. Cross Pollinate your messaging

On Desi Rascals we used our other platforms to promote our Snapchat. As our Snapchat methodology was “Snapchat Takeovers”, we would announce on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram who was taking over SnapChat for the day. This was useful because it guided our audience to tune in plus it encouraged a sense of missing out to those who weren’t already following us on Snapchat. Since our Desi Rascals community were highly engaged, they were very vocal about what they loved seeing and who was the best Snap Chatter. Nothing beats the personal marketing of your fans as their authenticity will resonate beyond any messaging you could provide. If you can win their approval you are set for success.

5. Leak your Snapchat

If a particularly brilliant piece of content was created for Snapchat, we would leak it onto YouTube and Facebook so that fans could see what they were missing out on. This should only be done occasionally if you want to get people tuning into Snapchat but it’s a brilliant way to maximise your content and its impact.

In conclusion

If you’re looking to implement Snapchat, set some time aside to explore the medium. Follow stories which resonate with your brand and borrow methods which will service your objectives. Most importantly have fun. Snapchat is a creative space to play and experiment so take the time to let your creative juices flow and get snapping.

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#Shaken Not Stirred

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We had the honour to speak at Brands2Global on Wednesday about our work with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and the Nepal Earthquake Appeal. 

Specifically, we talked about how utilising social video boosted the DEC's appeal to help the Nepalese after a devastating earthquake. We discussed how we used data to feed into a real-time video campaign, how we can reach that elusive youth audience for your brand, and how we build a stronger relationship with your brand advocates. You can check out the slides below: 

If you'd like to unlock the potential of social video to engage, encourage and celebrate your audience, then give us a shout for a chat over a stonkingly* good cup of coffee.

*Oh it's good. We promise.

Facebook vs YouTube: Video Platform Wars

There’s been a lot of talk recently about Facebook and YouTube fighting it out to be the top video platform… (including a very interesting piece by Hank Green)

We thought we’d join in with an infographic we put together with data from one of our recent multiplatform campaigns.

 
 

*Engaged views is a metric we coined - Facebook videos play automatically as you scroll down the newsfeed, meaning a user only has to watch for 3 seconds to register a view, whereas on YouTube a user has to keep watching for at least 30 seconds...There is some contention on the topic with the IAB saying only two consecutive seconds count (read more about that here). 

We also have James McConachie who very deftly puts into words the many (sometimes subtle) differences between YouTube and Facebook (read his original article here)

Take it away James!

Whether you've been calling it a video, a viral or a film, the only issue that really matters now is - where do you place it?

YouTube or Facebook?

Which platform will bring you the most views? And how many of these views will actually be from the demographic you're targeting? Here's how the platforms match up.

Attracting Viewers:

Facebook content is more discoverable, and its algorithms automatically reward a video's popularity by prioritizing it in its newsfeed.

Viewing Times:

Facebook video viewings peak quickly, then drop off. YouTubers engage for longer periods of time. Facebookers often have a snacking mindset, so your video needs to get quickly to the point. YouTubers have come to the platform to watch videos. So they're more likely to view yours to the end. YouTube mobile users now average 40 minutes per session 

Passing It On:

Facebookers have a more engaging, sharing mindset. YouTubers are more likely to view it for themselves and not share. Ratings On YouTube, someone has to watch for 30 seconds before it's counted as a view. On Facebook, it qualifies after just 3 seconds, and that timer automatically starts when users scroll down the newsfeed.

Adding Value:

YouTube's numbers are all viewed impressions. Facebook views include a high percentage of served impressions (the equivalent of cold calls). Facebook lets you re-target viewers, and due to knowing how long they've watched, you can deliver customized messaging.

So now you know. It's time to choose. Or why not just choose both?

If you want to see how we can help your brand do social video right on YouTube AND Facebook, come meet us for a coffee in Covent Garden...