Multiply Insider Interview: Mapping Out PR And Digital Strategies For 2021

Speaker 1 [00:04] Hey folks, it's Ray with Taste Radio, and right now I'm speaking with Dan Baum, who is the CEO of Multiply. Dan, how are you?

Speaker 2 [00:12] Good, Ray. Thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 [00:14] Great to see you and thanks so much for being with me today. Uh, Multiply, uh, what do you guys do? I know, uh, you're big into PR, um, but tell us, uh, what specifically differentiates you from, uh, some of the other PR agencies out there.

Speaker 2 [00:28] Yeah, so Multiply focuses on food and beverage. We have a very strong beverage practice, and we sit at the intersection of the digital world, social media, and the real world, public relations. And so we handle PR and social media for some of the world's biggest. Beverage brands like Beam Centauri and Molson Coors and EJ Gallo, but also some of the smallest, uh, but coolest, um, startups. So we work across the full spectrum of beverage brands and, um, you know, really love being part of the community and, uh, here at BedMt.

Speaker 1 [01:05] Very cool. Uh, well, that's a pretty wide swath of companies you work with, um, and you mentioned Molson Coors, which, uh, is as big as they get. And uh that was the company that you started working with this year, if I'm not mistaken. Um, can you talk a bit about that relationship and what you guys do uh to support their innovation and uh product strategies?

Speaker 2 [01:28] Yeah, for sure. I mean, Wilson Coors is making some big moves, as you know, across the board, but particularly in non-AC, so we're excited to be part of that and to be part of their team and, uh, you know, some great, great players with LA libations and, and they brought us aboard and we've just launched Huzza and we're going to be working across their non-AC portfolio in PR and social, and it's an exciting time, really great group of people.

Speaker 1 [01:55] Yeah, their non-alk uh beverage division is really growing pretty quickly. You mentioned Huzza, their probiotic seltzer brand, uh, really excited to see, uh, what that brand does and the traction for it in the coming year. Over this past year, however, uh, you worked with Arizona Beverage Company, uh, on some pretty cool campaigns. Can you talk about how, uh, Multiply worked with Arizona, uh, on some of its digital strategies?

Speaker 2 [02:23] Yeah, absolutely. First of all, I love working with Arizona. Many of your viewers may know this, but they're a family owned business, and the Voltas are a great group, and we've become good friends with them, and you can't, they treat you like partners. You come in, you think it's going to be a meeting, and all of a sudden it's a two hour lunch in their headquarters, and so we've really gotten to know them. And I think we've done two really interesting campaigns with them this year. One was we helped them crack into the cannabis space. We just saw that opening for them. They're a private company. They're, they're certainly not out there on the edge, but they're willing to take risks when the market is worth it. And so they, with Dixie Brands, uh, Arizona became the first major CPG brand to announce that they're going to have a cannabis consumer product. Uh, and we put that together for them. And then on TikTok, another really exciting emerging market, um, we've been doing some execution with them, really cool. The cool kids love Arizona, uh, and their demographic is on TikTok. They've really exploded there. It's great to be, to be part of that.

Speaker 1 [03:31] And you're an official TikTok agency. Uh, what does that mean?

Speaker 2 [03:36] Yeah, well, we got, we got lucky. We worked really hard with the team at TikTok to understand the technical side of their business as well as the creative side of their business, and ultimately they picked Multiply to be one of a very few official TikTok agencies. So that means that we can buy a little differently and deeper, that we have access to some of their APIs and pick up the phone and get them on the line, which is half the battle. So with TikTok, A lot of what I'm hearing is, hey, they're too young for my brand, or is this right for my brand? It's a bunch of teenagers. Same thing that people said about Instagram. So we think TikTok's going to continue to appeal to a wider demographic, and if it's not for some reason an illegal brand target right now, we'll be going forward.

Speaker 1 [04:22] Well, I have a feeling TikTok will continue to be relevant in a really big way in 2021. Speaking of next year, you know, what are some of the things that Multiply is focused on? In terms of working with uh beverage brands and what you're looking for in terms of partnership with uh some of these innovative and disruptive companies that we're seeing uh pop up every day.

Speaker 2 [04:42] Yeah, I mean, I think 2021 is going to be a really fascinating year. Uh, mostly, it's a good news year, right? It's a bridge from the very difficult 2020 time period with COVID into the future. It's just gonna be a dynamic, fast-moving year that marketers are gonna have to be fast-moving and you're probably gonna see spends really increase as you go into the second half of 2021.

Speaker 1 [05:04] Yeah, this has been such a great conversation. Thanks so much for taking the time to sit down with me. For folks who want to learn more about multiplying what you guys do, what's the best way to do so?

Speaker 2 [05:12] Uh, we are Multiply. Uh, there's a dot before Ly is our website, or you can hit me up. My cell phone 703-980-9640. Text call.

Speaker 1 [05:24] All right. Dan, once again, thanks so much for joining me today and uh hope to catch up again really soon.

Speaker 2 [05:29] Thanks a lot. Take care.