‘Starting small, thinking long’: Laithwaites Wine on the power of experimentation

Experimentation proved key to Laithwaites Wine making the case for brand building investment, as the business sought to move away from its “performance plateau”.

Laithwaites is a family business, founded with direct selling at its core, explained James Morrison, head of brand and partnerships speaking today (9 October) at the IPA Effectiveness Conference 2024.

The business has a well established system of effective direct selling, Morrison noted.

“The challenge with that is when you take a step back, and we did a couple of years ago, you notice that you’re not driving long-term value,” he said, speaking on a panel focused on the importance of experimentation.

Earlier this week, Laithwaites, alongside agency partners Adam&EveDDB and Medialab, were awarded an IPA Gold effectiveness award for their brand building work, alongside the special prize for Best Small Budget.

In a relatively small firm like Laithwaites, the marketing team had to make the case for brand building in a way that “made sense” to the business, Morrison explained. An immediate large injection of cash wasn’t an option  so the team embarked upon a regional test.

“We knew that starting small was important and thinking long,” he said.

From my perspective, there’s no excuse now. Business size and brand size is not a barrier to entry in the space.

James Morrison, Laithwaites Wine

The Laithwaites marketer was joined on stage by Simeon Duckworth from Melt Collective, a group of independent data scientists, who is one of the authors of the IPA’s ‘Making effectiveness work’ report published today. Explaining more about the IPA’s new model, Duckworth stressed experimentation is the “hallmark” of a strong effectiveness culture.

Experiments can be complex and detailed, Morrison added, but the key for Laithwaites’ team was to convey those outcomes in a simple way. That’s particularly important in a sales-driven business, where marketers need to bring stakeholders along on the journey.

“We need to convey complex methodology in a way that everybody gets,” he stressed.

Fellow panellist Becky France, OMD UK executive business director, acknowledged it takes “bravery” to experiment.

“There is an element of risk that comes in experiments, whether it be the cost of the modelling, whether it be turning activity off in a region in order to understand the effect somewhere else. There is a risk that is associated with doing any experiment,” she said.

Morrison advised brand-side marketers to take the leap and start experimenting. Speaking as a smaller brand competing against businesses with giant budgets, the most impactful decision a business can make is start on that journey, he said.

“From my perspective, there’s no excuse now. Business size and brand size is not a barrier to entry in the space,” Morrison stated.