L&A Social Media

Please describe your company and your position there.

In my leadership role as Marketing Manager I supported a team of Brand Managers to deliver and drive the brand objectives of our Beer, Cider, Spirits and Pre-mix portfolios. I lead the development of our strategic and creative Brand plans, including our social and content strategy.

For what projects/services did your company hire L&A Social Media?

We were looking for a social media partner and strategy team to support our lofty goals for our diverse brand portfolio and build deeper, more meaningful relationships with our customers.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to drive sales and deliver on our brand equity metrics. Our portfolio while offering world-class brands suffered from low brand awareness. We needed to create an integrated marketing plan to drive reach, engagement and conversions while communicating the brand proposition. We also needed a tailored approach for each of our individual brands within the portfolio, each with their idiosyncrasies and unique goals. Furthermore, it was really important to us to partner with a business that understood our team culture and worked collaboratively.

How did you select this vendor?

We selected L&A as a partner after reviewing their extensive portfolio of work and reviewing their pitch. It was clear they had the knowledge and experience we desired. Not only that we really clicked! It was critical that the right partner understand our unique business needs and could support our ways of working. We needed an energetic, engaged and nimble team which is what we found in L&A.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Our on-boarding process began with a series of brand immersion sessions to understand our business and our brand portfolio. The workshops were an opportunity to truly understand our brand DNA and build a strong foundation for our ways of working. L&A were tasked with managing the transition from our previous agency to ensure there was minimum impact on our brand metrics and customer experience. L&A then developed a considered approach to our social and content strategy to complement our existing annual brand plans.

What was the team composition?

I worked closely with both the CEO and director as well as the project leads. Due to the diversity of our portfolio we had assigned a unique team for each brand so we had the highest level of support and a diversity of thought.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Pleasingly we saw a significant sales uplift, increased brand recognition and purchase intent for our brands managed by L&A. We fostered deeper, connections with our audience and grew a highly engaged following which were truly representative of the target market. Not only that, but we had fun doing it together!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The brand leads assigned were all responsive and easy to communicate with. Our team touch points involved a weekly WIP, weekly report and we were of course in touch over google meet, phone or email. The L&A team would join our existing integrated agency meetings when required.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

I was impressed with their industry knowledge and their expertise to push us to trial new industry innovations. I appreciated their patience as we pushed through established comfort zones to experiment with new platforms and technologies. Their passion for what they do was contagious and energised our team to do our best work.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We were very pleased with the demonstrable results and the L&A teams willingness to share their knowledge and expertise with the our business. We loved the opportunities for workshops and sharing sessions. We would love to do more of these in the future!

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the CEO of nudie (juices) from 2009 and 2015, we then sold the business in 2015. Nudie is the number player in chilled juice in Australia. The business started in January 2003. I then took the CEO role of Allied Pinnacle in September 2015 till October 2019. Again, we sold the Allied Pinnacle business and I then left. Allied Pinnacle is a $1bn+ revenue flour, pre-mix and frozen bakery business, employing over 3,000 staff across 23 sites around Australia.

For what projects/services did your company hire L&A Social Media?

We hired L&A both at nudie and then at Allied Pinnacle to develop and manage our digital strategy across all social media channels.

What were your goals for this project?

To develop a strong connection between our brands (nudie, happy cookie company) with our consumers to drive brand engagement, launch new products and increase sales.

How did you select this vendor?

We met with many digital media agencies and briefed them on our objectives. Once we concluded the process, we felt that based on L&A's credentials, our aspirations and their understanding of our brand/s that they were the best fit.

Describe the scope of their work in detail.

Developing, launching and managing our digital media presence across various social media platforms in aim of driving brand awareness, consumer engagement, product information and sales in Australia, NZ and Hong Kong. L&A took on this project and met all our expectations.

What was the team composition?

Gina was the lead and had several members of her team assisting her. They worked directly with our Marketing Director and their respective team.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Within 2 years, nudie had over 100,000 followers on facebook and 20,000 followers on IG. It delivered a great channel for us to launch new products, brand initiatives and also drive sales.

At Allied Pinnacle, we used our digital platforms to launch many new products and thanks to the awareness generated we saw an instant uplift in sales and consumer trial. The platforms that L&A helped us create became a critical part of our brand and product strategy and central to our success.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

We were very lucky to have very strong Marketing Directors both at nudie and Allied Pinnacle. Along with their teams they worked very closely with the L&A team. This was done through a variety of ways; emails, meetings, phone calls etc. Whenever worked needed to improve all the team wasn't aligned, L&A were very receptive to feedback and made the appropriate changes.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The L&A team genuinely cared about our brand and what we as a business/team were trying to achieve. They took the projects very seriously and worked tirelessly to ensure we achieved our objectives. Gina, the founder, was always available when we needed her to get involved and/or assist us with challenges.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Not that I can think of.