One thing is for sure, if you’re setting out to create a brand, you will need to know how to market like-a-boss. We’ve seen this brand shine in the online arena and so when they jumped on board for #RadLivin this Saturday, we knew it was a great opportunity to have a chat with them about how they’ve built such a genuine, lively brand.
Meet Nikki Langford, Marketing Manager for Rekorderlig Cider…
Where are you based?
Our offices are in Manly – A beautiful part of the world that I feel very lucky to be able to call home.
What are you extremely passionate about?
My job! If you don’t have passion for what you do, it’s time to find something else to do. I’m hugely passionate about spending time with friends & family and sharing great foodie experiences with them. This is always balanced with my love of crazy adventures – from marathons & 100km walks, to triathlons and anything in between.
Could you tell us a bit about your background and how you came about being in charge of the marketing for Rekorderlig?
I’m originally from the UK and studied marketing & languages at university (Many years ago!). I’m fascinated by design & I’ve always had a passion for discovering new food, restaurants, drinks and bars.I love the the excitement of sharing your discoveries & experiences with friends so, when I had the opportunity to work for Molson Coors, I jumped at the chance and have never
looked back – that was 16 years ago. During the last 16 years working in the drinks industry, I’ve worked with some amazing
brands from Coors, Grolsch & WKD, to a cider brand called Brothers that started its life at Glastonbury. I moved to Australia at the end of 2012 to take on the role of Rekorderlig Marketing Manager in Australia, using the skills and experience gained from building the Brothers Cider brand.
What does a typical day look like for you?
There is no typical day!
That’s what I love about working for Chilli Marketing and Rekorderlig Cider. We are a small, nimble & innovative team and an important part of my role includes, looking at the long term strategy for the brand, researching global trends and identifying
where the opportunities are for our next innovation. We’re the #1 favourite cider brand in Australia with the most engaged audience. We’re also the #2 alcohol brand on Facebook in Australia, so a lot of time is spent ensuring that we’re providing recipes & inspiration for new & interesting ways to serve Rekorderlig – From why we have a ‘Perfect Serve’, to simple cocktail ideas that are great to share with friends. A key part of my role is also spending time in trade with our sales teams to understand the key challenges that they face and opportunities that we can pursue.
What makes Rekorderlig’s marketing different from other brands?
We’re built around the single brand truth that we are ‘Beautifully Swedish’. Rekorderlig is a Swedish cider made at Åbro brewery in a small town called Vimmerby. The brewery dates back more than 150 years and is the oldest family owned brewery in Sweden.
We are a brand with innovation at our heart & we never compromise on quality, living by the mantra of “Try It. Love It. Buy it.”
We’re not about short term wins, we’re about long term strategies that excite consumers & we’re not afraid to do things differently to ensure this.
What advice can you give to someone who is starting out with the online marketing for their own brand?
Get inspired by researching other brands, not just in your own market or category but around the world and across different subjects.
Identify your USP to cut through the noise, don’t just copy what others do.
Understand that social is constantly changing and how consumers engage with brands is constantly evolving.
Be prepared – There will be negative comments from time to time and don’t be afraid ofthem – quite often they can provide valuable insightful for your future planning.
What are your top 3 tips for building an authentic audience on social media?
Audience/Community:
You need to be continually active and engage with your audience. The community that you build will have a relationship with your brand and essentially whoever is communicating with them. Listen to the conversations that are happening as they can bring great insights and can help you create/start your own conversations with your consumers. If you can afford one, get a community manager – We have a great partnership with an exceptional agency called Junkee who are specialists in their field.
Content:
Identify what your brand stands for and stay true to this.
Don’t allow trends to influence your content unless they are relevant to your brand. It may give you short term growth but won’t be enough to retain your audience. Content should be relevant, ownable and engaging.
Authenticity:
The tone of voice that you use on your social channels needs to represent the brand, give it the right personality and feel natural.
You need to be honest and responsive to consumers.
What advice could you give to someone who knows what they would love to do but haven’t yet gone for it?
Go for it!
One of my favourite quotes is “You’ll never regret the things you did, only they things you didn’t.”
