Value is table stakes, consumers want more

A good price is no longer enough for consumers, and Dan Murphy’s knows it.

Monique Holmes pictured at Dan Murphy’s. Photo by Sarah Marshall

Being known for value will only get you so far when it comes to brand building, says Monique Holmes, the top marketer at Australian liquor giant Dan Murphy’s.

From sustainability to authenticity, consumers are demanding more from the companies they use, with Ms Holmes adding that a level of bravery also has to be a prerequisite for modern-day marketers.

“There are higher expectations on brands and big businesses than we’ve seen with previous generations,” the head of marketing and loyalty at the Endeavour Group-owned business said.

“Customers are forever changing in terms of what they want and need and if you’re not in a business that leans into that, through that entrepreneurial thinking, which to me is usually a level of bravery, then you aren’t stretching and reaching high enough.”

At the end of January Dan Murphy’s launched a new brand direction, swivelling away from its mainstay of seasonal campaigns focused on more value-driven product benefits, and instead focused on the company‘s heritage.

By telling the reimagined story of the brand’s founder, Daniel Francis Murphy, via ad agency Thinkerbell, the goal is that people will lean into the authentic story and it will connect the brand with much more than value.

From Daniel Francis Murphy’s time in the RAAF, to creating an underground wine club, or being the first to import international wines by whatever means necessary, the ads transport the viewer to past times to see him in action.

Daniel Francis Murphy’s early life is said to have influenced and shaped the customer focused attitudes of Dan Murphy’s today.

In what Ms Holmes describes as the biggest campaign Dan Murphy’s has done in years, the Queensland-based exec, who has worked at the business since 2019, said the shift towards more storytelling and discovery was a long-term brand move. “Value is very important, but it‘s a bit of a table stakes as customers expect great value,” Ms Holmes said.

She said that while Dan Murphy‘s brand was well known, not everyone understood there was actually somebody behind the brand.

One of the reasons for the campaign, which can be seen across television, outdoor advertising, instore, press and online, was a data-led insight that came from analytical partners which showed if it put more money into the brand and invested for longer in brand health, then its return on investment for its short-term or performance-led channels would improve – as well as longer term.

Out of home advert in Fitzroy, Melbourne, from the Daniel Francis Murphy ad campaign

While most success metrics are longer term, Ms Holmes said initial reads show that in the first two weeks of the campaign YouTube is reporting a +12.7 per cent uplift in ad recall vs average of +9 per cent, and Facebook ads are achieving a view rate of 80 per cent vs industry average of 30 per cent.

“We have also seen a lot of favourable verbatims from store teams, which are just as important as customers, and also across social media,” she said.

Ms Holmes, who was head of marketing at Mecca Brands and spent nearly six years at Mattel in roles across Barbie, Fisher-Price and WWE action figures, admits it can be scary to roll out a new marketing move that doesn’t get the feedback for three to six months.

Monique Holmes

“You just have to hope that your strategy, the customer testing and all data and insights that led you to that point was the right call,” she said.

“It’s also a constant challenge for marketers in finding that balance between long-term brand health as well as short-term performance and keeping the lights on today.”

Ms Holmes added that in marketing and in ad agency land, there could be a habit of very formula-driven work, “a sort of a rinse and repeat” which was no longer enough for the discerning, increasingly experience-driven consumer.

Dan Murphy’s has been going from strength to strength throughout the pandemic as the stay-at-home measures meant people were leaning into not only drinking at home but drinking more premium drinks as they looked for ways to treat themselves. Its loyalty group also swelled to more than six million members.

Last week, in its first interim result since the Endeavour Group demerged from Woolworths in June, it was revealed that the group’s retail arm, led by Dan Murphy’s and BWS, delivered sales of $5.7bn in the first half, slightly behind strong sales in the first half of 2021 but up 18.4 per cent on a two-year basis.

Daniel Francis Murphy’s early life is said to have influenced and shaped the customer focused attitudes of Dan Murphy’s today.

On what’s ahead for the brand, Ms Holmes said it was constantly looking at how it represents itself in society in advertising across all of its channels.

Admitting that in the past the brand was probably more very male focused in its advertising, Ms Holmes said this shift had been playing out across varying channels and partners, such as via Instagram as it evolves its influencer strategy to become more encompassing.

“We have started to play into channels and use partners and talent that are more appealing to a female audience and a more broader audience, particularly on social media, and it’s something we’ll continue to work on,” she said.

Ms Holmes, who cut her teeth in marketing working for female entrepreneur and The Heat Group founder Gillian Franklin on brands such as Covergirl and Max Factor, said being given experience in managing profit and loss early in her career and having the importance of strategic and commercial marketing drilled into her, was what has made her the marketer she is today.

Ms Holmes said Dan Murphy’s has more than six million members in its loyalty group

Coupled with being exposed to the big global brand processes at powerhouse and heritage brand Mattel, and working under inspiring e-commerce visionary and Mecca founder Jo Horgan, she urges next generation marketers to ensure they are inspired by their boss.

“Whether it’s starting a makeup brand from scratch, learning all the wrestling moves to understand marketing to a nine-year-old boy, or having to unlearn all the traditional rules of marketing to be a marketer at a company with no advertising budget, the common theme for me and one of the reasons I am at Dan Murphy’s now, is always having that entrepreneurial leader,” she said.