RedHeads

Social media case study

The strategic challenge

RedHeads had an established but small presence on Instagram and LinkedIn in the UK. However, they were keen to engage their audience and grow their following with an organic content strategy.

The brand also asked Submerge to generate a social media presence that reflected the brand’s laid-back, relaxed attitude to wine enjoyment and captured the essence of South Australian living, with a focus on sustainability and their unique wines.

Direct Wines planned to launch certain RedHeads bottles into the North American wine markets, so they required a new Instagram presence created specifically for that market. We also worked on enhancing their brand presence and awareness in the US, where perceptions of Australian wine required careful consideration.

Our talks with the RedHeads team led to a number of key tasks, With a limited budget, we planned to:

• Generate a new visual identity for the brand that reflected its relaxed attitude
• Create a new account for the US market
• Generate new image and video assets for both Instagram and LinkedIn
• Create a monthly social media content and management schedule
• Grow their following and reach across both markets

Our Approach

Our first task was to give RedHeads a fresh, authentic online identity, which would inform our content creation process. We created mood boards to demonstrate the new content we would produce and refreshed the brand’s existing LinkedIn and Instagram profiles, making them easier to read and more appropriate for the platforms.

RedHeads already had an asset library full of high-quality shots of their products and winery but needed more variety. On a limited budget, the Submerge team produced images and footage with a more informal approach, reflecting RedHeads’ relaxed attitude. We also liaised with the winery team in Australia to incorporate current shots that would keep the content calendar more aligned with their winemaking schedule.

We worked closely with the RedHeads team while designing and scheduling the brand’s monthly social content. LinkedIn and Instagram required different approaches – Instagram was B2C focused and directed customers to the Laithwaites’ RedHeads page, while LinkedIn was B2B, with a focus on helping the brand make connections in new markets.

The LinkedIn content centred around three aspects of RedHeads – their individual bottles, their wine knowledge and the company’s commitment to sustainability. We highlighted individual bottles that were available to a global audience and created infographics regarding various wine grape varieties and regions relevant to RedHeads. We also showcased the winery’s sustainability efforts and certifications.

For Instagram, we designed graphics that included food pairings and curated playlists tailored to specific RedHeads wines, fostering a more sociable approach to enjoying their wines. These were interspersed with product shots and Reels produced in a signature stop-motion style.

The UK Instagram strategy also involved collaborations with British influencers across a variety of niches (wine, food, lifestyle, alternative fashion, sustainability) to increase the brand’s reach and awareness, and showcase the bottles in authentic, relatable contexts. We also ran competitions and promoted various deals and bottles throughout the year to encourage faster follower growth. The brand new US account took its lead from the UK, with adjustments allowing for market and cultural differences.

Across both platforms, we conducted proactive outreach and engagement, interacting with relevant accounts and businesses.

The result

Submerge was able to successfully grow RedHeads’ brand awareness through strategically scheduled, brand-centric content, carefully chosen influencer collaborations, and combined organic and paid strategies.

Over the course of 19 months, we increased RedHeads’ UK Instagram follower count to over 3600, with a workable engagement rate steadily hovering around 1.1% (increased from 0.2%). The UK influencer strategy resulted in 18 pieces of content from 15 influencers, with a combined reach of over 2.4 million.

Over the course of the 2023 festive period, our paid efforts generated an average of 182 clicks per sponsored post.

The US Instagram count grew to over 370 followers almost entirely organically, with a steady engagement rate of 1.3%, using a blend of infographics and stylish product shots.

The RedHeads’ LinkedIn account was grown organically due to LinkedIn’s stringent policies on paid advertising for controlled substances. The Submerge team increased the brand’s follower count by 10% over the course of the project, with page views and impressions increasing by a minimum of 35% month on month.