The Patron Sprits Company Brand Snapshot Madeline White 05/31/17 Team Corthinos
Brand Snapshot: The Patron Sprits Company 05/23/17 Madeline White Ad Sales Intern Company Overview Headquarters: Las Vegas, NV Founders: John Paul DeJoria and Martin Crowley CEO/ President: Edward M. Brown Country of Origin/Produced In: Mexico Tagline: Simply Perfect Brands: Patron is the world s #3 tequila maker. The Patron Tequila is made in Jalisco, Mexico where the Weber Blue Agave plant grows. In addition to their traditional types of tequila they also have the below brands. PYRAT Produced from nine different Caribbean rums that are blended and then aged up to 15 years in American sweet oak. ULTIMATE VODKA A vodka produced in Poland which is made of three different sources potato, wheat and rye. PATRON XOCAFE Patron silver with the taste of coffee, a dry liqueurs great for sipping on and in deserts. PATRON CITRONGE A lime liquor that is sweet and fresh. 1
Competition: http://www.hoovers.com/free-trial/thank-you.html Major Players Diageo North America: Captain Morgan Rum, Crown Royal Canadian whisky, Johnny Walker Scotch Whisky, Smirnoff Vodka, Ciroc Vodka, Tanqueray Gin, Chalone Wines, and Guinness Beer Mast-Jägermeister: Jagermeister, St. Vivant Armagac, and Barengager Honey Liqueur Cabo Wabo: 110-proff Cabo Wabo Tequila 2
Small Batch Tequila Patron Extra Anejo 7 Anos Two years ago Patron launched their oldest tequila, which is a seven year old tequila that is the equivalent of a 50 year old scotch. There are only 30 barrels or 700 cases of this tequila because it was created by accident. It was made in the highlands of Jalisco, and was only supposed to age for a year but was left for 7 years. Ed Brown, CEO of Patron Spirits, says that he could have charged more for a bottle seeing as it is almost impossible to replicate, but he wanted it to be accessible to all fans of luxury spirits. 7 Anos retails for $299. Patron Anejo A tequila produced for sipping, it is aged in Oak for over 12 months and distilled in small batches. Roca Patron Anejo Aged for about 14 months, and produced in small batches with hits of wood, nut, raisins and grapefruit. Gran Patron Burdeos A luxury aged tequila that is finished in Bordeaux wine barrels, produced in small batches retailing at $500. 3
Social Media and Brand Positioning Patron continues to position themselves as a premium tequila. They emphasize their superior purity of ingredients, and aging process. One social trend in spirits industry is promoting at-home consumption and experimentation with the products, to drive sales. For Patron this translates into posts about how customers can create their own custom cocktails using the Patron products. This way consumers are engaging in the brand and have an incentive to follow Patron on social media Mintel: Base 30k mentions of cocktail recipes 2015-2016 4
Social Media Continued Featured on page 4 is Patron s most recent Instagram home page and post. Many of the posts do align with the at-home initiative. Including their most recent twitter campaign using a new program in Twitter called chatbots. They call themselves Bot-Tenders (instead of bar tenders) and they talk with you directly through messages to help you create the perfect drink using Patron. Not only does this promote at home sales, but it also allows customers to interact with the brand in a new way. Patron was one of the first companies to use this new addition to Twitter. 5
Patron Social Club Patron also has a section of their website called the Social Club. This is equivalent to Patron s blog where they write stories, publish videos, and even create buzz feed style quizzes. There are eat, drink, create, and do tabs on the page. Customers can subscribe to be a part of the social club and get these articles sent to their inbox. Videos Patron s Vimeo and YouTube page features beautifully designed videos of both their TV commercial advertisements and other videos they make to be featured on their website or social media pages. There are virtual tours of the distilleries as well as educational videos about how the products are made. All of the videos focus on Patron s tagline Simply Perfect. 6
Previously aired commercials: Patron has focused heavily on their premium quality, and perfection of ingredients. Throughout their most recent campaign, the commercials are very slick featuring white backgrounds and clean images. Some of the commercials focus on the bottle, the agave, the meaning of perfection, and even the all of the places patron is shipped to (as pictured below). Every commercial ends with the tagline, Simply Perfect. Additionally there are commercials about the Patron race car, where the perfection of the vehicle and the tequila are compared. Finally, the race car is featured in another Ad about drinking responsibly, encouraging customers not to drink and drive. Ed Brown, president and CEO of The Patron Sprits Company. He now races in the Tequila Patron s Extreme Speed Motorsports 7
Other Initiatives: Patron has also coined National Margarita Day February 22 nd. This year in 2017 they held a tequila themed bash where seven of the best bar tenders around the globe competed to win the title of Margarita Of The Year. Consumers were encouraged to go to Patron s website and vote for their favorite margaritas, to be entered into the contest. Every year that margarita is featured at many participating bars on Cinco de Mayo GTR (global travel retail) Patron is focusing on their international sales and marketing in global travel retail, airports specifically is a great way to gain international consumers. Examples of this include samples, displays, and advertisements throughout the airports. They are trying to regain the niche market for super premium aged spirits. Some of the displays feature an authentic Mexican themed design. John Kilmartin, VP GTR at Patron International https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2017/05/bestchannel-to-widen-tequilas-audience-is-gtr-says-patron/ 8
GfK MRI (media audience measurements) Spring 2016 9
https://www.gfkmrismartsystem.com/universityrepo rter/report.aspx 10
The Patron Consumer+ Patron prides themselves on changing the way that people perceive tequila. Tequila was originally thought of as something to be quickly drank in the form of a shot, and had no luxury associated with it. Patron has introduced premium tequilas to the marketplace that can be enjoyed on the rocks and in mixed drinks due to its complex flavor profile. The Patron drinker is someone who enjoys luxury and premium spirits. They are someone who tastes the difference between cheap and high quality tequila, and by purchasing Patron they are outwardly associating themselves with a brand that ensures perfection. Due to the fact that there are many other cheaper options for tequila, Patron drinkers are affluent people. Therefore one can assume that Patron is not marketing to the early 20 s right out of college millennial, rather a upper class sophisticated individual. There is a significant difference between the aged small batch tequilas and the Tequila Silver and Tequila Gold. The small batch tequilas are priced fairly high (all over $100), and would be drank by someone who also enjoys premium scotch, whisky s, and malts. Areas For Growth Patron is still fairly new to the marketplace and is still lacking in shelve space and product visibility. Patron is still having a hard time getting premium spirit drinkers to engage with their brand, as other types of liquor have a stronger history in the market. Patron has also acquired Pratt Caribbean Rum and Ultimate Vodka. These brands are lacking in marketing, social media, and overall sales. Although they are fairly new acquisitions they are still a part of the Patron Spirits brand. Currently the Patron website and brand is highly centered around tequila. This is slightly concerning seeing as they now have different types of alcohol as well and may need to change around their website and brand image slightly to accommodate these new brands. 11