Elisabeth Osmeloski, co-owner of Scion Cider Bar in Salt Lake City, has worked in marketing for over two decades. She sat down with Cidercraft to share how her experience can translate to action for cider businesses, from developing branding that attracts the right customers, to employing email marketing that tracks and converts, to garnering engagement and loyalty through strategic partnerships.
On Branding
Osmeloski recommends cidermakers tactically narrow their focus when it comes to product creation and, from there, cultivate branding and packaging that reflects that focus. In this way, they can target their key demographics. She suggests thinking like your key demographic and then speaking to their needs and desires through branding choices. If your cider focuses on capturing the attention of wine drinkers, for example, Osmeloski suggests considering adding tasting notes to labels. Alternatively, if concession stands are your brand’s target accounts, try packaging products in cans — a move that reflects many venues’ glass-free beverage requirements and the end user’s desire for portability in the environment where they’re consuming your product.
Furthermore, creating a cohesive brand identity that speaks to your target audience can help with decision making. “If you take the time to fully define your brand identity, values and mission, you will always have those guiding principles as your North Star to determine if a campaign, event or related activity is truly a good fit and representation of your brand,” Osmeloski says.
On Email Marketing
“Email marketing is hands down one of the most effective tools,” advises Osmeloski. Relatively inexpensive and impactful, email marketing offers a strong return on investment. It can be a powerful tool for everything from boosting event attendance to increasing online sales. Osmeloski recommends focusing on growing an opt-in customer email list and then sending regular emails to that list. Doing so can help keep high-value customers engaged while being reactive to lapsed customers.
Osmeloski has seen email marketing’s possible return firsthand at Scion. “Our email newsletters regularly outperform industry standard open rates by an order of magnitude,” she says, “and there’s a correlation to increased bar visits and revenue in the weeks when we send out newsletters.”
On Partnerships
“Giving cider a bigger stage as a natural alternative to beer, wine, seltzers and flavored malt beverages is critical,” says Osmeloski, who explains that cider businesses at every size have an opportunity to cultivate and benefit from strategic partnerships.
For large brands, partnership opportunities can look like high-profile sponsorships of music festivals or sports events, but Osmeloski encourages mid-size brands not to count themselves out of the running when it comes to participating in large-scale events. “There’s typically room for negotiation,” Osmeloski says, and local brands can prosper in this arena in part by offering a sense of authenticity and place that larger organizations or venues may value. “There are several good examples of moderately sized cider brands that have found success as the ‘local’ option in major sporting venues such as Treehorn Cider in Atlanta’s stadium for NFL and MLS games or Stormalong Cider as sponsor of New England’s Major League Rugby team.”
On a more intimate scale, aligning with other small or mid-size businesses can also be a profitable approach. At Scion, for example, Osmeloski hosts a regularly sold-out Plant & Pour workshop series alongside a local, female-owned plant shop called Thyme and Place. Crossover events like this, she explains, help expose both brands to new customers and offer unique ways for them to engage core audiences and engender loyalty.
