Public relations strategy for Zapata's Azul premium vodka launch

Company Background
The Zapata Distilling Company is Mexico’s leading alcoholic beverage producer and distributor. With decades of experience in the premium beverage markets, Zapata is uniquely situated to bring new products to market, particularly in the premium beverage sector where prestige and brand status remain salient. Zapata also has the distinction of being a family company. CEO Emilio Zapata?is the son of Enrique Zapata, who started the company from his small distillation and distribution warehouse business in the 1950s. Several of Zapata’s family members are active in the organization, helping to solidify the brand’s status as a family-owned, independent, and niche market elite producer in the Mexican market and beyond. In fact, the success of Zapata’s brand is linked directly to its ability to transcend boundaries of culture, language, and national identity.
Finding common ground in vodka is in fact easier than it is for traditional Mexican distilled beverages like the agave-based premium products like mescal and tequila. The decision to enter into the competitive high end vodka sector was not taken lightly. Zapata’s management team carefully considered ways their vodka could penetrate the global market without sacrificing its core Mexican character and identity. The result of their brainstorming was Azul, which will become the first ever premium vodka produced in Mexico and sold on the global market.
Zapata’s management team has retained the company’s competitive edge by anticipating consumer trends and segmenting their market. Whereas the company initially had a more diverse portfolio of products at different price points, now Zapata features only premium and premium-plus spirits, as well as craft beer. With the Zapata name synonymous with luxury spirits in Mexico, Azul has already made waves at the trendiest bars across the country. Now is the time for Azul to break ground in new markets, which may be experiencing brand fatigue from the likes of Grey Goose. Yet Azul is not a product designed to have a short life span in the minds and memories of young, professional, and progressive drinkers. Rather, Azul is positioned to become an established product that will be used by the world’s top mixologists.
The strength of Zapata’s core business is a combination of its strategic focus on premium products, a tight production line, and especially an intelligent management team that anticipates crises or challenges before they become problems. The CEO, CFO, management and operations teams at Zapata have honed razor-sharp focus on what really matters in the food and drink industry. Zapata recognizes that their customers want products that reflect their discerning taste, their commitment to craft products, and their dedication to supporting brands and business that emphasize family and culture as opposed to mass-produced generic products.
Fact Sheet
· Zapata is a household name in premium alcoholic beverages, the leading producer of alcoholic beverages in Mexico.
· Azul is a new product launch from Zapata, and the first premium vodka produced in Mexico.
· Azul is made from potatoes grown in Monterrey, making Azul a craft or artisanal beverage.
· Azul will reflect the core values of the Zapata brand.
· Azul is a premium product that will potentially out-seat Grey Goose and other brands because of the romance of the new brand and the willingness of consumers to try new craft spirits.
· The strength of Zapata remains its dedication to supporting Mexican farmers through an ethical production line.
· The budget for the 6-month PR plan will be US$600,000
· Target market includes men and women between 25 and 40 earning upwards of $75,000 per year.
· Zapata also covers its own distribution and marketing, making the financial costs feasible as the company breaks into new and possibly volatile and fickle markets in North America and Europe.
Management Biographies
Emilio Zapata, CEO. Emilio Zapata is the son of erstwhile liquor magnate, Enrique Zapata. Zapata senior has a rags-to-riches story that captured the hearts of Mexicans, which is how his company’s name became a household word. From a simple still in his home garage to a multi-million dollar firm, Enrique passed on to his son a wealth of knowledge and access to supply and distribution chains. Emilio has made several important changes to the Zapata team that has enhanced the value of the company over the past decade. One thing Zapata has done has been to shift Zapata’s focus toward the premium market. Another has been to expand Zapata’s reach beyond the shores of Mexico. Zapata’s foray into vodka fits in perfectly with the company’s finely honed portfolio.
Agustin Garza – CFO. Since he was recruited from a rival firm in Mexico, Garza has worked as Zapata’s CFO for 5 years. Garza’s contributions to the company cannot be underestimated. It was Garza’s analysis of the company’s financial reports that initially led to the decision to divest the standard brands of alcoholic beverages, allowing Zapata to easily become the leading brand of Mexican premium products. Garza has anticipated risks related to entering new markets, and has withstood competition from domestic firms as well.
Maria Estevez – Vice President Marketing. Originally from a small town in Oaxaca, Estevez has long understood the significance of branding in the premium beverage sector. Estevez comes from a family of mescal producers who have themselves achieved a strong niche market following. Bringing her family’s product into the Zapata portfolio led to steady growth, eventually securing Zapata’s position as the top brand of Mexican spirits. When it comes to marketing Azul, Estevez has her finger on the pulse of what wealthy and powerful GenXers from around the world are looking for, and how to bring Azul to their glasses.
Gonzalo Nunez – Vice President – Operations. There is a reason why day-to-day management of Zapata is in the hands of Nunez. With barely a hiccup, Nunez has ensured that production, distribution, warehousing, employee, and client relations are all as smooth as the products they sell. The operational considerations, including cost analyses and projections, led to the decision to produce Azul from Monterrey potatoes—a critical choice given the need to create a product that reflects the ethics and values of the Mexican firm. With entrenched connections in the distribution network, Nunez manages a national team that can successfully bring Azul into new markets in Europe and North America.
Press Release
Mexico’s First Premium Vodka Poised to Become World’s Best
Zapata’s latest product, Azul premium vodka, beats Grey Goose and other leading brands in blind taste tests.
Mexico might be known more for its agave-based spirits, but stalwart beverage company Zapata recently teamed up with Monterrey potato farmers to create the country’s first premium craft distilled vodka. Azul is the latest product in the Zapata lineup, which includes best-selling brands of mescal and tequila, as well as Mexican craft beer. With Azul, Zapata stands poised to raise awareness about Mexican distilled beverages in general, and to outdo competitors like Belvedere and Grey Goose with the uniqueness of their product.
Triple distilled, Azul is already winning the hearts of spirits taste testers. In one renowned international competition recently held in Lima, Zapata’s Azul beat all other vodka brands. Azul is also already the favorite in Mexico, where the vodka is the top selling brand. Now, the world is ready for Azul.
Emilio Zapata, CEO and son of the founder of the company, will personally testify to the quality of his product by touring with the product launch in North America and Europe. Visiting top bars around the world. Zapata will showcase the flexibility of Azul, which can be enjoyed neat or in creative craft cocktails using local ingredients.
Strategic PR Plan
Overview
The brilliance of Azul needs to be shared with the world. Our Strategic PR Plan aims to educate the fine food and beverage industry about the promise of the first premium 100% Mexican vodka. Through its familiarity with the story of Azul, we will remain certain that knowledge will permeate the minds of the general public, creating an unquenchable thirst for more. Azul’s versatility as a spirit, and its undeniable quality are the core messages we will focus on, but when communicating information about the features of the vodka, we must always remember to focus on the story: the people, the history, and the journey from farm to table.
The strategic PR plan for Azul includes generating our own content marketing such as a dedicated Azul blog and corresponding social media presence. In addition to our own content creation, we aim to partner with local and national media in the food and drinks sector, as well as standard news media sources. Presentations, case studies, and public speaking opportunities at industry events will also be critical to the Azul public relations plan. Our target market right now focuses on industry professionals in the food and beverage service sector as well as in the retail sector. For this reason, we need to collaborate with the food and drink media.
Goals
· Position Azul as a top shelf global brand of premium vodka, transforming the name into a household word.
· Inform bartenders, mixologists, and specialty liquor stores in target markets about the range of uses for Azul, and especially about the story of Azul being a quintessentially Mexican product that is made from ethically sourced Monterrey potatoes.
· Tell the Azul story through multiple media channels, without veering from the core messages of the PR campaign.
Strategies
· Write a case study biography of the product, telling a story about the business. Adapt the case study/biography for various media sources and audiences, including industry and trade publications as well as consumer magazines.
· Share our story with Drinks International, The Spirits Business, Beverage Industry, The Drinks Business, and other critical industry publications.
· Share our story at industry conferences, requesting specifically that Zapata will speak personally to the trade industry.
· Develop a cohesive social media and content marketing campaign with unified messages and language used to engage consumers.
· Work with select food and drink media, including magazines and periodicals, top bloggers, and television shows specializing in food, drink, and travel. Examples include Food & Drink, Wine Conoisseur, Conde Nast Travel, and New York Times (both food and travel sections).
· Invite superstars in the food/beverage sector to do a television episode showing how Azul is made. Cover the farmers whose families have grown the potatoes for generations, showcase the beautiful interior of the distillery, and show how the bottles are filled and distributed lovingly.
· Cultivate a team of brand ambassadors who will lead events at the hippest bars in target cities including Milan, Berlin, London, New York, Los Angeles, and Montreal.
Audiences
The audiences will be segmented into two main groups: industry/trade and consumer public. Those two main groups will be broken down as follows:

Industry/Trade:
· Hospitality and Travel Sector
· Food and Drink Service Sector
· Alcohol Retail Sector

Consumer Public:
· North America (USA and Canada)
· Europe
· High income and/or upwardly mobile professionals
· Hipsters/trendsetters
· Foodies/Craft spirit enthusiasts

Timeline of Action
1-2 weeks: Schedule Zapata for speaking events at drink industry conferences for appearances over the next year. Solidify the social media and content marketing team, which will develop the “voice” of Azul and maintain continuity of content among various social media and formal media publications. Write the biography/case study of Azul, and finalize copy to share with industry.
2-4 weeks: Collaborate with industry insiders and trade publications, issuing press releases first. Then, work with established drinks writers and bloggers to compose quality journalistic pieces detailing the Zapata/Azul story for publication in major media outlets including New York Times, but also in-flight magazines, and food and drink magazines.
4-6 weeks: By now, the buzz should be building. Now is the time to send brand ambassadors only to premium liquor stores, and to have brand ambassadors lead events in key cities in target markets including Milan, Berlin, Miami, New York, and Los Angeles.
6-8 weeks: Assess the PR strategy and make adjustments as needed.
8-10 weeks: Now is the time to work with food and drink celebrities on the food and travel networks. Develop the Azul story with directors and videographers who can document the painstaking process of cultivating Azul from the ground up. Profile the family, the community, and the product. Incorporate outtakes of the video shoots into social media.
Further Comments and Recommendations

To stick to the $600,000 budget, and to appeal to the broadest possible consumer base abroad, the use of celebrity endorsers will not be necessary. If a celebrity does wish to be associated with the brand, the selection of that individual must be delicately chosen, someone who is well respected in the arts community. Even without any celebrity attached to the brand, Azul can be easily positioned with panache to a target audience that is interested in fine dining and the arts. To ensure the PR campaign maximizes its resources, it will be important to network with fine dining and drinking establishments, as well as develop a cohesive press/media relations plan. Working with entertainment guides like Time Out, as well as newspapers with a broad readership like The New York Times, it will be possible to stay within budget as well as within deadline.