MARCH/APRIL 2020
The Voice of Craft Brands
Tom Vess, CEO Pretoria Fields Collective
Brewing with a (re)purpose How Pretoria Fields Collective in South Georgia is making a difference in our time of need Photography by: Austin Smith, Crooked Window Photography www.crookedwindowphotography.com
PLUS: Moment critical Go mobile or Go home...
contents
VOL. 4 : ISSUE 2
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BREWING WITH A (RE)PURPOSE
How Pretoria Fields Collective in South Georgia is making a difference in our time of need
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IN EVERY ISSUE: 3 EDITOR’S NOTE Your role in these moments of change 4 INSIGHTS Industry News
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MOMENT CRITICAL
5 tips to help you lead & experiment in times of change
GO MOBILE OR GO HOME...
Your guide to being seen, available and everywhere using digital delivery solutions
editor’s note
Your role in these moments of change “One of the extraordinary things about human events is that the unthinkable becomes thinkable.”
D
— Salman Rushdie
Do you remember where you were when the world stopped spinning the way it was supposed to? Can you recall the exact moment when the very things we take for granted—say, hugging a family member or best friend—seemed like the wrong move? This is the world in 2020. I am not here to remind you that life— and everything you do, everyone you know and love, all of it—has changed. You already know that. You are living it. We all are. If you are like me, in those fleeting moments when you reflect on just how simple things used to be, you probably ask yourself why. Why us? Why now? Just why? There are no easy answers. That notion is as easy and as complicated as that. I mean, what do you do when you are not sure what your next move is? I believe you start by looking beyond the questions with no answers. I believe you take a deep dive into the impossible and try to get to the other side with what is possible. The examples are everywhere, being done by decent, hardworking people who have decided, in this moment, to reach out and make the impossible, possible. > Our cover story — Pretoria Fields Brewery/Taproom in Albany, Georgia — making hand sanitizer at the governor’s request to help a community in need.
> The Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild developing a craft beer-specific map outlining the breweries and brewpubs offering craft suds to-go by area taprooms. > Wyndridge Farm in York County, Pennsylvania donating proceeds of its beer sales to help local pandemic victims > Marker 48 in Tampa, Floria offering take-out orders, hosting a farmer’s market and making hand sanitizer for local hospitals.
The choices we make in times of peril are the ones we live with long after the peril passes. Right now, each of you reading this are part of a community helping people as much as you may have been hurt. There are scores of small retailers across the country continuing to serve customers while respecting the social distancing and shelter-in-place guidelines. They are working as hard for your survival as they are theirs.
Michael J. Pallerino
These stories are everywhere. When the bottom fell out of our cultural and business lifelines, we had two choices: give in or push forward. The smart money is on pushing forward. None of us can make up for the choices, decisions and circumstances that took us to this place, this moment. All we can do is make the best of what we can, reaching out and grabbing hold of whomever and whatever we can until the storm passes. Remember, although I know it is hard, that this is just a storm— one that seems unrelenting and unconquerable in one moment, but able to deliver the best of us in the next. That is where I choose to stand. The choices we make in times of peril are the ones we live with long after the peril passes. It might be good to remember that when it is your turn to step up.
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insights
Build. Send. Repeat. 5 do’s and don’ts for boosting your craft email campaigns
Don’t ambush your mailing lists during peak times Do gradually increase your email outreach ahead of major seasons
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Don’t send the same email to everyone on your lists Do practice audience segmentation
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Don’t go rogue Do keep with what is working
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Don’t keep emailing to subscribers who are not engaged Do practice list hygiene
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Don’t forget about the competition Do craft compelling subject lines
What he said...
Why online reviews matter more than ever People can be a little judgy. That is just human nature. And in a time when than are spending more time online (we all know what is going on), they can be even pickier than normal. With taste testing a little hard to do today, word of mouth is going to have to be one of your go-to strategies. Enter the online review. People comment and people notice. Here are some reasons people leave good (and bad) reviews:
The Good 62% Help others make better decisions 61% Share an experience 56% R eward a company for good service
The Bad 52% Warn the online community 49% Help others make better buying decisions 38% Help the company to improve its product or service
Have beer will comfort “We hope to raise funds for the community for people that need it. I hope it puts a smile on someone’s face who can enjoy something during these times, where it’s tough and we were stuck at home.” — Angie Hartman, Director of Event Sales and Marketing at Wyndridge Farm, on the brewery's efforts to sell beer to raise money for eastern Pennsylvania pandemic victims
Book Rec
Billion Dollar Brand Club: How Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker, and Other Disruptors Are Remaking What We Buy By Lawrence Ingrassia Leading New York Times business writer Lawrence Ingrassia takes us inside how upstart brands are taking on empires that long dominated the trillion-dollar consumer economy. Sound familiar? There is Dollar Shave Club and its hilarious marketing. Casper mattresses popping out of a box. Warby Parker mailing five pairs of glasses to choose from. Their ads are everywhere. You either use or know someone who uses their products. Each has discovered that manufacturing, marketing, logistics and customer service have all been flattened, i.e., where there were once walls there are not anymore. Billion Dollar Brand Club sheds a light on the world of the entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and corporate giants battling over this terrain. It is a good resource to review as your contemplating the changes afoot in today’s changing business landscape.
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The Voice of Craft Brands
Brewing with a (re)purpose How Pretoria Fields Collective in South Georgia is making a difference in our time of need
Dr. Tripp Morgan Founder and Partner Pretoria Fields Collective
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By Jennifer Morrell
Tripp Morgan, M.D., grew up on the farmlands of Camilla, Georgia, a small town located deep in the southwest corner of the state. As a fifth-generation Georgian, his appreciation for the rich landscape of the South was instilled at a young age.
Morgan studied medicine, graduating from the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy in 1997 and Mercer University School of Medicine in 2001. During that time, he developed an interest in craft beer, even enjoying his own home brews while in school. Fast-forward 15 years, when Morgan sat on the porch of his family’s farmhouse in Albany, Georgia, with his father, Harris. As they overlooked their 200-plus acres of organic wheat, Morgan began to dream of brewing his own craft beer, while also creating a space for his community to meet and enjoy authentic Southern beers and local camaraderie. Pretoria Fields Collective opened its tasting room doors in downtown Albany in 2017. Morgan brought on Tom Vess as CEO in 2019 to run the brewery and expand their consumer reach. Vess brought more than 30 years of experience in the malt beverage industry to the Collective. As COVID-19 made its way into and across the United States in early-2020, Vess and his team saw an opportunity to help the community of Southwest Georgia and beyond. The process would not be an easy one, and it would come with a significant investment of time and resources as well as a mental shift regarding the brewery’s focus and purpose. We sat down with Vess in early-April to learn how he and his team were able to redirect their business model and implement round-the-clock production to help keep first responders, healthcare workers, law enforcement and the public safer.
What is the secret to creating a branding story that consumers will support? It has to be honest. Consumers are smart, and they know fact from fiction. They want to be part of an economic cycle that hears and understands them. That’s one of the reasons our company works so well.
Who is your demographic? Our core drinkers are young professionals and predominately male. We have recently launched Southern Harvest Light Lager and will soon launch four different seltzer flavors to increase our market penetration. We believe this will attract more female drinkers to our portfolio.
Customers in the community are able to walk up and purchase hand sanitizer and beer curbside at Pretoria Fields Collective.
What is your branding strategy? It’s less of a strategy, and more of a story. We are a collection of farmers, brewers and community members who are all working together to bring jobs and enjoyment into everything we produce. Our tradition as farmers is to focus on organic, sustainable farming and natural resource management. We support local agriculture across the region and partner with many farms to source most of the ingredients in our beer from local farmers. Our company is a proud partner of Georgia Grown, a division of the Georgia Department of Agriculture.
How does your taproom space integrate into your branding/marketing strategies? Our taproom space was created as a place for people to enjoy our beers and the company of friends and neighbors. It provides an atmosphere of comfort and home. We have an outside stage area for local musicians, and we welcome dogs. There are indoor and outdoor games for our patrons to enjoy while they are here. The taproom space is not just a space to drink beer, it’s a space created to also connect with those around you. It really goes back to our original purpose – to thrive in the community and for our community members to do the same.
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Pretoria Fields Collective
Do music and other arts play a role in your overall brand strategies?
focus primarily on the on-premise channel and large format stores. United Distributors represents our portfolio in Georgia and Alabama. Our intent was to expand into other states this year. However, given what has transpired over the last months, it may by 2021.
Absolutely. We actually have a local radio station broadcasting from our taproom. The Queen Bee radio station showcases local artists and is working to partner with larger artists. Music brings people together, and having a radio station in the taproom is an awesome experience for our patrons and staff. We are a Collective.
When and how did the idea of making hand sanitizer evolve?
What is your distribution model outside of patrons in the brewery? We have a staff of sales representatives who work with our distributor partner to increase our distribution and volume. They
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We were fortunate to have creative thinkers on our team, and our founder, Dr. Tripp Morgan, suggested making hand sanitizer to help our community and offset the loss of beer sales. Our Collective has a division, Pretoria Research, Development, and Manufacturing, that is managed by some compounding pharmacists and partners, including Will Coley, who helped create the formula based on FDA guidelines. We then made a decision to get into the fight. We used our fermenters to mix distilled ethanol with glycerin, hydrogen peroxide and distilled water to make a topical hand sanitizing solution. Our team tested the process in a small batch and then expanded it into bulk processing.
How quickly were you able to put your plan into action? After we received approval from the Department of Revenue, our team came together and repurposed the brewery, sourcing the chemicals and materials needed to move this project forward. Our brewery transformed into making hand sanitizer in fewer than 72 hours. The hurdle we face daily is that we are having to label and package the hand sanitizer manually. However, we are improving our production abilities each day.
How significant was your investment and how long before a ROI?
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The upfront cost was more than our brewery could manage on its own. We started doing business with new vendors that did not know anything about us, and they required payment up front or a deposit. This required many of us to use our own personal credit cards to source ingredients and materials to expedite what was needed to produce the hand sanitizer.
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Pretoria Fields Collective
We will have to replace all of our hoses, gaskets and other hardware when this is over. Until we get all of our expenses calculated, it is difficult to determine a ROI. We are only a little over three weeks into this project and believe we made the right decision to save some employees from being furloughed and help our community.
Can you estimate how many people you have helped with your sanitizer since late-March? I am confident it is tens of thousands. Our first focus was healthcare professionals, first responders and the police officers. We are now working with hospitals and the Veterans Affairs Medical Centers across the Southeast. Organizations are driving from as far away as Maryland to get our hand sanitizer. We never dreamed the demand would be this high and are truly blessed that we have the knowledge, equipment and staff to serve.
The conversations are focused on the ingredients of our product and story of Pretoria Fields Collective. We have been encouraging to all and stressing that we are all in this fight together. Everyone has been grateful and supportive of what we are now doing and is thankful we have hand sanitizer for purchase. Our entire staff is proud of what we are doing for the community, and I am proud of each of them for stepping up in a time of need.
Comment on the role your brand should play in being a leader in a distressed market. Dr. Morgan treats his employees like family, and he loves his community. He and Tony Carder, a shareholder, streamlined this project with our team, and it allowed us to save jobs and provide a necessary product to all in a time of need outside of our local neighborhood. A company or brand that has the ability and knowledge to convert their current operation to help others should always step forward without hesitation. It is important to demonstrate that we are not just a neighborhood brewery, but that we are all in this fight together and this is the time to step up and help those that need it.
Give us a snapshot of today’s craft brew market.
Pretoria Fields Collective workers practice safe best practices while labeling containers and filling orders.
Have you been able to retain employees because of your decision to redirect your equipment for making sanitizer? We have been able to save most of their jobs. However, we did have to furlough some Albany employees. The closing of our taproom and order by Gov. Brian Kemp to shelter at home left us no choice, unfortunately. It was a difficult decision, and we hope to have all of them back with us soon. The purchasing of the product and materials likely helped other industries retain employees.
What kind of conversations are you having with your customers? We are stressing the importance of social distancing to the general public when at the brewery to purchase hand sanitizer or beer. Most everyone has anxiety and is coming to grips with what we are facing globally.
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The craft breweries have closed their taprooms, lost all of the on-premise sales, and are struggling to keep beer on the shelves. The outlook is worrisome for all of us. It is with a heavy heart that I believe there will be several small breweries unable to weather this pandemic and reopen their doors.
What’s likely to happen next for your brewery? After we, as a country, have turned the corner on COVID-19 and can get back to some sort of normalcy, we will continue with our normal business plan. We would like to expand our production brewery and taproom into Pretoria Fields Farmhouse Brew Pubs. Our first location will be in Locust Grove, Georgia. This will allow patrons to get the Pretoria Fields Collective experience wherever they’re drinking our beer. Increasing our distribution into other states is high on the list. We are in the process of opening a hemp processing plant and producing CBD products. Our first CBD store opened in McDonough, Georgia, in March. Our hand sanitizer is being sold there as well. These projects and our sales team will provide the platform for continued growth in the years to come.
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CIRCLE NO. 51
leadership
By Melanie Parish
Moment critical
5 tips to help you lead & experiment in times of change
These are crazy times we are living in. As a leader, during a crisis (this one included), it can be hard to find your feet and feel confident in your path. You may feel inadequate, unsure and out of your depth. That is to be expected. This is leadership like we have never seen before. So many businesses are closed or trying to find new ways of doing things. Almost every organization feels like a start-up right now. Uncertain times need new kinds of leadership. We do not have the answers, only questions, and still we are asked to be leaders. Being experimental in your leadership approach will help you try things, learn from them and figure out your next experiment. Here are some tips that will help you find a new center for yourself as a leader:
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You are not responsible
It should go without saying, but this is not your fault. This is a global challenge that does not have clear answers. Your people may want you to have answers, but you will not and cannot. They will want certainty about their jobs, their income and their lives. You cannot promise them the future. Encourage them to do their job today and let them know
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you have compassion, but cannot be the answer to their future. Give up being an all knowing leader and be human. Practice compassion and be collaborative to help your team makes sense of the crazy.
Get bad news out of the way fast
If you have layoffs and reorgs to do, do it quickly. Make a plan—even if it is a bad plan and clear this from your “to-do” list. You will be a better leader with clarity. Kudos if you can be compassionate while you do it. There are some businesses that will not survive this. Do not hide your head in the sand like an ostrich. Embrace information and communication even if it is bad news. Work on being a good leader in bad times. Figure out what being a good leader means to you. Kindness goes along way when you are delivering bad news. > Think about timeline > What is important one week from now? > What is important one month from now? > What is important one year from now?
them to be achievers right now—today. You can deliver grounded-ness and purpose as long as they are working. There can be compassion for the challenges they face (kids at home, new environment, etc.) but do not let them off the hook. They are being paid to provide work. Your insistence on them delivering work is part of the work of leadership right now.
Practice extreme self-care
You are your own strongest asset. Experiment to strengthen your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Reach for the salad and smoothies instead of the martinis and chocolate cake. Exercise. Sleep. Meditate if that works for you. Journal or sit and think. Pause. Ask for help and love from friends. Schedule a virtual happy hour with friends
You are your own strongest asset. Experiment to strengthen your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.
Some companies need to be extending their timeline (How will we emerge from this crisis?) while others are busy changing to meet day to day needs (What do our customers need today?). Make sure to orient your thinking daily and consider multiple time frames. Make time to consider your leadership path before you face a day of decision making and are faced with the feelings and challenges of others. Find your own true north as a leader.
Be kind and firm
Your team members may be spinning and afraid. Be empathetic, and then ask them to get back to their jobs and produce good work. Having meaningful work is a privilege in these times and you can ask
or colleagues. Try and go deeper than you ever have before with your self-care. You have never needed to care for yourself as you do today. Experiment with giving yourself what you need. You will get through this. You will learn from this. You will do your best and you will do your worst in this. As an experimental leader it is important that you stay engaged in the struggle of leadership. Try and fail and dust yourself off. Figure out the change you want to see and what the barriers are. Figure out an experiment. Collect data. Figure out what you just learned. Ask, “What is my next experiment?” And then go experiment again.
Melanie Parish is a public speaker, author, and Master Coach. An expert in problem solving, constraints management, operations, and brand development, she has consulted and coached organizations ranging from the Fortune 50 to IT start-ups. Parish also is the author of “The Experimental Leader: Be A New Kind of Boss to Cultivate an Organization of Innovators.” For more information, visit www.melanieparish.com and connect with her on Twitter @melanieparish.
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social media
By Lorenzo Hickey
Go mobile or Go home... Your guide to being seen, available and everywhere using digital delivery solutions We live in an amazing time. With all the technology we have at our disposal, communication barriers have been eliminated. I am convinced that to change your business world, you must adapt to the changing world as a daily practice. The evolution and constant change in the marketing landscape is a fulltime job. Staying ahead of the options is quickly becoming impossible so we hope to give you some core ideas for each reader no matter what your business situation is. So, what do you do? React as quickly as possible, which will help you from being eliminated by the competition. The competition is not always the business or person you think of normally. The new competition is the massive influx of print and digital media on the myriad platforms available to us. The core question is always how and where do you spend your time and hard-earned money when it comes to marketing options. How do you stand out? Let us look at the traditional ways for marketing your craft brands: > Print media & advertising > Mailing & flyers > TV advertising > Social media platforms > Word of mouth > Websites Each of these has a conversion rate that, at one point in time, was acceptable, but today are not as effective in reaching every customer where he or she lives and plays. So, where is the silver lining and how can we help? “Go mobile or go home.” Think about it. The No. 1 disruptor for
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the unforeseeable future is the mobile phone. There are more smartphones today than computers in the market. Mobile phones and apps are the fastest growing technology ever. Did you know the average person spends more than three hours a day on the phone? In fact, 90% of that time is spent on an app. With the pandemic wreaking havoc, that number is climbing above the four-hour mark. If customer engagement and conversion is what you are focusing on, then what I say next will be an eye opener. These number can be adjusted based on a stronger following by some individuals or companies, but in general, the thing to pay attention to is the GAP between email versus mobile.
Impactful Influencer
The first step in being seen is to be visible, which includes becoming
an Impactful Influencer. We each have our own unique stories and special qualities that make us who we are. Each of us can make a difference in some way with those who need to hear the stories and the wisdom we gained because of the life lessons that brought us to where we are today. Becoming an Industry Influencer takes time and learning about the tools available to us to help navigate getting our message seen and heard. Our motto is “Be Seen ~ Be Available ~ Be Everywhere. Fortunately, there are certain things you can do to speed up your learning curve. For example, the following are five proven strategies to expand your circle of influence in your market. Try any of these and you will speed your way to being viewed as a respected, knowledgeable and influential industry leader.
EMAIL MARKETING *PUSH MARKETING (Mobile)
Opt-in: 1 to 3 % on a good day *Opt-in: 60 to 80% Open Rates: 15-20% and what I see is more like 10% *Open: 80% + (are seen) Click Rate: 2.5% *Click: 15 – 40%
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1. Create a Facebook Group
Start and manage a Facebook group. The important part is how you manage that group: > Be active daily, even if it is only for a few minutes. Share, like and respond to comments and posts made by your group members. > Set aside one day a week for a one or two-hour question and answer session. > Post lots of video and infographics because they receive much more engagement than textbased posts. > Provide valuable freebies or steep product discounts, and always think about what your market wants as opposed to what you are trying to accomplish.
2. Optimize your “About Us” page
There are two things you should know about improving your industry influence by optimizing the "About Us" page on your website or blog: 1. Every day, more than 200 million people search for someone's name on Google. 2. On the majority of websites and blogs, small and large, personal and professional, the "About Us" page is the No. 1 or No. 2 most viewed. Why? Because human beings are more attracted to, and view as trustworthy, people rather than companies. Make sure your full name and all your industry
accolades are listed on your “About Us” page. > Include a lot of content that uses industry keywords and phrases. > Talk about your achievements from a viewpoint of how they have helped your customers and others in your market. Do not just scribble a few lines on this very important page. > Add tons of valuable content, and make sure you have an opt-in form so you can grow your email list, and your circle of influence, on this critical web page.
3. Join LinkedIn
LinkedIn has more than 550-plus million business professionals as its members. Of all the social networks, this is the most business-oriented. There is no fooling around on LinkedIn. Everyone is there to seek and provide value, and make business connections. Once there: > Optimize your profile to the fullest > Use as many words as LI allows when filling out your profile, and > Immediately join any LI groups which apply to your industry
4. Publish content off-line
Sharing your content online is easy, quick and very effective for sharing your message. But it is important to note that most businesses, entrepreneurs and small
business owners ignore off-line media as a marketing channel. Newspaper, radio and local television station managers are often starved for value-rich content. You can provide press releases, reports, industry tips, how-to interviews and other valuable pieces of content to these and other local media organizations. This can quickly grow your local influence and could lead to a regular weekly or monthly television or radio show, or newspaper column.
5. H ire someone else to do all the hard work
You may be busy running your business. If so, there are not enough hours in the day to handle all of your personal and professional obligations, much less taking on more. Companies like Dynamic Signal, Key Person of Influence, HubSpot, and Influence & Company can handle multiple aspects of content creation, content delivery and brand marketing for you. If you are looking for good reading material, check out “Become A Key Person Of Influence: The 5 Step Sequence to Becoming One of the Most Highly Valued and Highly Paid People in Your Industry," by Daniel Priestley. If you want to learn more about how you can become an Impactful Influencer, check back with us next issue.
Lorenzo Hickey is the founder of SHAPESHIFT World, a highly skilled consulting team with specialties in website, social media, funnel, podcast and overall business vision. For information, contact him at lorenzo@shapeshiftcompany.com.
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