AAR Partners has joined forces with Catapult and Winmo to help provide leads for new business opportunities based on the right timing.

But this time, we’ve put science behind the art of prospecting by using data from technologies like Winmo, Pathmatics, and Bombora.  This powerful combination helps increase the probability of reaching out at the right time to engage and eventually convert.

This month our research showed a surge of interest around “Creative Agencies” and “Creative Services” within the retail and CPG sectors.

While there are a host of brands/companies looking for creative help, we have isolated two opportunities, for our AAR Agency Growth Program Partners to evaluate, who may be in need of some creative help right now.

Please keep in mind that although the intent data shows “creative agency” interest, brands often start thinking about their media and digital needs as well once they’re thinking about their creative needs.

Retail:

Ben Bridge Jewelry Store

Ben Bridge operates a network of jewelry stores located throughout the United States. The company’s headquarters are based in Seattle, WA.  Recently, their spend has been in full recovery mode in H2 of 2020 and here in January.  In pre-pandemic 2019, Kantar has them listed at over $4M in total spend.  Their Creative AOR is DNA Seattle and Media is handled by Media Plus, Inc.

Key Contact: Stephanie, Engle

Email: sengle@benbridge.com

Personality Type: Enthusiastic, Open, Casual, Optimistic

Stephanie is likely to thrive in an unstructured environment and tends to act on intuition over logical analysis.

• Be casual and express enthusiasm.
• Keep it friendly and bring the energy.
• Speak with colorful language and enthusiasm.
• Share ideas and initiate collaboration.

Stephanie tends to be an optimist who works with energy and enthusiasm. Their passion can be infectious, and their excellent social skills likely make them a naturally persuasive person.

• Trusting someone quickly
• Independently generating new ideas
• Making hand motions while talking
• Feeling comfortable speaking to strangers

Stephanie prefers light-hearted, open conversation. They may have a hard time quieting down, but can offer plenty of entertaining stories. Use plenty of vivid language and metaphors when telling a story. Demonstrate creativity and innovation when sharing your ideas.

• Encourage their creativity
• Use self-deprecating humor
• Speak with colorful descriptions
• Use diagrams to explain concepts

CPG:

Bumble and bumble, LLC

Bumble and Bumble is a leading hair-care products company and salon. In addition to its cosmetic products the company also operates Bumble and bumble University, which offers classes for stylists and salon owners. Bumble and bumble, LLC is headquartered in New York, NY.  They currently work with Reprise Digital for their digital and social work.  They have also shown a high interest in CRM recently.

Key Contact: Erica Wohlwend, Executive Director, Marketing

Email: ericaw@bumbleandbumble.com

Personality Type: Confident; Bold; ambitious

Erica is likely to be an ambitious and persuasive achiever with a casual and direct communication style.

Erica is likely to thrive in the spotlight, since she is vocal, charismatic, and upbeat. She may eagerly pursue innovative solutions, often preferring to take swift action. Don’t be surprised if she avoids tasks or projects that simply don’t excite her.

When selling to Erica?

• Keep the discussion high-level
• Break your pitch up into bite-sized chunks
• Present exciting opportunities
• Ask about her goals and objectives

How to email Erica?

• Be direct and friendly
• Abbreviate where appropriate
• Be highly focused
• Give her a clear path to respond

Erica tends to make decisions quickly, so reach out to her with creative ideas and innovative solutions while avoiding getting into the fine details, especially in email correspondence.

AAR Partners – Want more insights on creating successful client-agency relationships? Visit www.aarpartners.com

Winmo – Need a comprehensive, one-stop shop, sales intelligence resource to help targeting marketing, advertising, and media decision makers? Visit www.winmo.com

Catapult – No time to build the pipeline? Catapult is the “agency for agencies” who need an outsourced solution for performance-based prospecting.  Visit www.catapultagencygrowth.com

I’m not sure that a day goes by without some variance of this question: What should I do to help gain more new business?

First, there is no one answer.  Second, it takes discipline, focus and commitment.

But what are agencies doing who are truly growing and profiting, especially during turbulent times?

There are some common threads to keep in mind to help you make 2021 a homerun.

1. New Biz Plan – a goal without a plan is just a wish!  Craft an editorial/activity calendar-related specifically to new business.
2. Focus on Your Forte – highlight your agency’s strength or strong suit and focus on that forte… showcase that expertise that you do better than anyone else.
3. Flexibility – flexibility is the key to stability.  Do not delay making difficult decisions or adjustments… if the numbers show change is needed, then change fast.
4. New Biz Exec + – stay the course with new business activity but ramp up stewardship by having agency CEOs, presidents or owners reach out to current clients to reinforce relationships.
5. The Power of NO – saying ‘no’ allows you to go on what’s more important! Know what you’re great at, what you’re passionate about, what you stand for, what you can grow with and what makes a successful client for you… And walk away from those that do not fit your checklist.
6. Offer Solutions – do not sell!  Offer solutions to marketing problems and make them relevant to your agency’s offerings and expertise… webinars, workshops and white papers are ways to amplify these insightful solutions.
7. Teach – find ways to teach to help businesses.  The more you teach, the more you build trust.  The more you build trust, the more you become a resource.  Remember, your agency is a potential liability to that CMO’s brand and his or her responsibility is to protect that brand while growing it.  Teaching builds trust!
8. Don’t Piss in the Wind – you read that right!  I had an old boss 25 years ago at Y&R (when it was Y&R) that always used to say that line and he was so right.  Be scalpel-like focused on brands you want to work with and know why.  That passion will shine through and it helps make an instant connection.
9. Confidence is King!  Every client wants an agency partner who is confident in their approach, counsel, views and business solutions.

Hopefully, these best practices will help make ’21 one helluva prosperous year…

Happy New Year, AAR Agency Growth Partner!

First – let’s hope that 2021 is full of peace, health and prosperity.

Second – welcome to year three of AAR Partners’ Agency Growth Program.

As part of your membership, I have been sharing with you sub-sectors who may need the help of outside agency expertise.  And to kick off 2021, here’s one sub-category that is truly exploding!

Source: Subreddit Stats

It’s been a while since kombucha and kefir hit the mainstream — but the fermentation space keeps rising.

A 2019 study reported a 149% YoY increase in US consumption of fermented foods. R/Fermentation subreddit subscribers doubled over the last year, to hit 100k this October. The global fermented food market is expected to swell by $58.15B in 2018-22.

Demand for alternative protein, which often relies on fermentation, is surging. Startup Solar Foods is set to launch their fermented protein, made using air, in 2021.

Interest in human microbiomes is also propelling market growth, as the r/Microbiome subreddit accelerates past the 20k subscriber milestone. The list of conditions affected by microbes is rising — from rosacea to autism — and the positive effect of probiotic-rich fermented foods on microbiota is well documented.

Companies focusing on fermentation technologies raised $435m over January-July 2020 — already outstripping the $274m for all of 2019. Funding has continued to flow in Q3 and Q4.

Sources: Crunchbase, PitchBook, Entrepreneur, Green Queen

Let’s break down opportunities in all things fermented.

Hard Fermented Drinks 

Americans indulging in tipple are veering toward healthier options: fermented beverages that are low-cal and gluten-free. And the rise of hard kombucha, an alcoholic version is receiving soaring interest (with crazy margins).

Hard seltzer, also brewed using fermentation, has experienced a similar spike in demand. Last year saw sales soar 200%+, climbing past $1.2B.

Source: Google Trends

And it’s not just a fad. The recent surge is forecast to be followed by healthy long-term growth: Market CAGRs of 16.2% (2020-2027) for hard seltzer and 42.4% (2021-2026) for hard kombucha are worth raising your glass to.

Entrepreneurs could develop offerings in this booming market. Take a look at the market leader, White Claw, and focus on gender-neutral marketing. The hard seltzer brand left competitors, with their ultra-feminine campaigns, in the dirt — and accounted for 54% of 2019 sales.

In line with the recent move of eastern trends to the West, entrepreneurs should take note of the spiking interest in Asian seltzer.

Chinese unicorn Genki Forest just tripled its worth in 9 months, and is now looking to export to 100 countries. You could provide hard seltzer (and kombucha) in a similar line, incorporating Asian flavors (Lunar just launched).

Fermented Products and Gut Health

Gut microbiome imbalances are linked to complaints like IBS, gastritis, and candidiasis — which are becoming increasingly common.

Source: Subreddit Stats

Interest in natural treatments is also rising. Pre- and probiotic pill supplements are leading the race, but fermented food and drinks are not far behind.

The opportunity could be leveraged by designing treatment lines beyond pills — think tonics, condiments, and meal plans.

There are also opportunities in personalized gut health. Startups like Viome and Thryve have launched microbiome test-kits for at-home use, and then deliver customized probiotic supplements.

Limited players leave room for competition, and value-adds, beyond the addition of fermented foodstuffs, might include:

• Relevance as a service: Monthly tests/surveys to keep up-to-date with consumer needs
• Focusing on the psychobiome, the next big thing as studies link mental and gut health (psychobiome-boosting stress tonic, anyone?)
• Leveraging the gut-skin connection and providing products to treat breakouts, eczema, and aging

Fermented Skin Care

 Studies now show imbalances in the skin microbiome can trigger conditions like acne and rosacea. The list of benefits associated with fermented skin care is seemingly endless — and firms are getting stuck in.

According to Mintel, 28% of “skin care products launched between December 2018 and November 2019 contained fermented ingredients.”

Mother Dirt, a probiotic skin care brand, has experienced double-digit sales and YoY growth since its launch in 2015. Azitra just raised $17m for the development of skin care products using fermented “wild-type bacteria.”

There is plenty of room to enter this nascent space and develop lines containing fermented ingredients: Think soybeans and mushrooms.

Source: Biophile Skincare

Following gut microbiome tests, skin microbiome tests might be next; and brands could offer a host of personalized follow-up products.

Product and Service Innovation

Demetrix has just announced their success in producing rare cannabinoid CBG via fermentation. This September, Bond Pets released the first faux-meat chicken. Perfect Day, creators of animal-free dairy, is considering an IPO.

There is massive opportunity for product development, or with suppliers to leverage their end products (e.g., using new cannabinoids in seltzers, or even creating fermentation-focused eateries).

Millennials in particular like to discover unusual foods, and new fermentation trends are continually popping up. A recent example is koji fermentation, which uses a specific bacteria to produce things like vegan charcuterie — and the trend is soaring.

Source: Google Trends

Kits for consumers to make fermented products themselves is spiking too. Google search volume is high, according to Keywords Everywhere:

• “Kimchi recipe”: 135k searches/month
• “Kefir grains”: 27.1k
• “Cheesemaking”: 12.1k
• “Kombucha kit”: 6.6k
• “Tempeh starter”: 4.4k
• “Yogurt starter”: 1.6k

The Opportunity? 

There is nothing sour about digging deep into fermentation and reaching out to help rising brands add a little heat to this sub-sector that is truly brewing with no end in sight… 

Remember, don’t stalk!  Don’t hound.  Don’t send a myriad of messages about yourself.  What do you do?

Build trust fast by offering ideas to help with their operations, manufacturing and distribution dilemmas.  Share your expertise and show how it’s relevant.  Just… don’t… sell!

Prospect smAARt, pitch with passion and most importantly, with purpose.

Always remember to pitch with passion.

Have a wonderful first week to a brand new year and I hope it’s filled with lots of new business!