Maxime Willems
YOURS FAITHFULLY
Chapter 11
I started my 4 weeks tracking mission in mid-January. It took me some time to define the form and the substance, to define my target and to identify the brands. In that context I am going to quote Epictetus, (again a Greek...): "No great thing is suddenly created".
The same counts for brands; only brands that make sense, that have a reason why, that are the result of years of imagination with a strive to perfection, that take into consideration their customers, will last. They may not encounter immediate success but they should not lose faith on this long journey and stay true to themselves and create something coherent, the rest will follow. And this is the case for the 3 brands (HENDRICK'S and MONKEY 47 Gin and the still young FEVER TREE tonic), coherence on every level is the reason why customers like Virgilia turn into brand ambassadors. They do not just aim to increase the sales and thus increase the income $$$. All of them wish to provide a quality product, to increase their consumers' experience, to be part of their journey and vice versa.
As a result, Virgilia, just like many others, become their ambassadors by choice. Voluntarily she recommends the brand to others, explains her love and preference, captures her moments of consumption in order to share them with the world, influencing and initiating the audience to buy and consume. Though she has never been asked to do so and pays the same high price as anybody else. She follows the brand and the brand follows her in her day to day life. It's a relationship based on true love.
So it is not astonishing that in early January I find myself discovering and liking an Instagram picture by Virgilia, showing a HENDRICK'S Gin bottle with some FEVER TREE tonic next to a pool. She started the New Year 2014 with holidays in Marbella, Spain, in good company...
