By: Joshua Finley
Some brands continue to dominate the U.S. marketplace year in and year out, and they defend their market share ferociously. Nowhere is the battle for hearts and minds more ferocious than in the world of spirits. Given the size of the U.S. market for adult beverages, it’s a high-stakes conflict. The revenue generated by spirits sold at convenience stores and supermarkets in 2024 is in the region of $56.5 billion, and it’s expected to grow by 1.83% annually.
Lamar Romero, founder and CEO of Hire Dragons, is focused on taking some of that lucrative market for his customers. To do so, he’s quietly revolutionizing consumer engagement by focusing on telling a carefully sculpted brand story, an approach developed to wean buyers off their preferred tipples.
The Secret Sauce
Romero has an impressive track record of matching niche spirit brands with consumers who are increasingly demanding, highly educated and passionate about their brands. In fact, Romero might just have solved one of the vexing problems faced by marketers; how do you persuade consumers to abandon brands that have become part of their lives?
The key, according to Romero, is finding passionate brand ambassadors. It’s a skill that Romero has honed over the years, and the payoff has been highly effective consumer outreaches and thousands of brand activations across the US.
If there is one thing that preys on Lamar Romero’s mind, it’s time. He’s the first person to say that not only is time money, but it is also an asset that people guard very fiercely. For him, there’s a magic three minutes when you are engaging with the consumer at an in-store activation, and during that time you introduce them to a new brand experience and encourage them to step out of their comfort zone.
“The clock is always ticking,” says Romero. “And you have three minutes to tell a brand story that captures the consumer’s imagination. Of course, it helps if the product you are promoting tickles their tastebuds, but it’s a whole brand story condensed into a bite-sized message. That takes focus and creative thinking, which is the reason we spend so much time brainstorming with clients.”
Dragon – A Unique Selling Proposition
The story of Dragon began 15 years ago when Lamar and co-founder Laura Valentino Romero brokered an unknown tequila in Austin, Texas. Thanks in no small part to the husband and wife team, the brand became one of the top-selling premium tequilas in the city within a 12-month time span.
It was then that Romero realized that the traditional on-site brand ambassador model was flawed. He rejected the idea that spirit brands should be marketed by a young salesforce and embraced an approach that focused on consumer engagement with brand ambassadors with a passion for storytelling and a deep knowledge of the products.
Romero calls this approach the ‘Dragon Engagement Model.’ This model focuses on compelling storytelling and closing sales based on an emotional resonance with the product. It’s a process that Romero and his ‘Dragons’ (as he calls his staff) have honed to perfection.
“The model needs the right people, with the right knowledge to make it work. It’s why we’ve developed a Learning Management System within our propitiatory Dragon Engagement Network (DEN)™ that provides our Dragons with all the information they need to explain the brand promise. At the moment, the DEN has about 200 courses.
The Power of Going Small
Romero is a Texan native, he graduated from Texas A&M University in 1998 and will live or die by Texan barbecue. He’s the first to repeat the motto, ‘Everything’s Bigger in Texas.’ However, although Romero is a proud native of Lone Star State, his experience showed that the answer to disrupting brand loyalty and motivating purchases was to focus on the niche.
He bases his business model on targeting niche markets where consumers demand only the best and appreciate the heritage of leading brands. For new entrants into the American market, the key to snapping up market share is capturing that niche by telling the brand story quickly and effectively.
“In the spirit space, we’re seeing products from Asia, France, Australia, the UK and even from Africa, and each of those brands has a story to tell. They’re products of a unique culture and heritage. Savvy consumers love the emotional attachment they can form with these brands, and each of the brands has a story that can be told in three minutes if you’re focused.
In Romero’s opinion, too many marketers are fixated on the ‘America First’ approach.
“As a proud Texan, I’ll be first in line to hoist the Stars and Stripes. It’s possible to be red, white and blue to the core, but still be curious about the unexplored. My experience is that consumers like to take a walk on the wild side now and again. They’re naturally curious about the choices available from outside of our borders.”
“What we’ve found is that these customers buy into the story. They become brand ambassadors. They’ll tell friends and family about a top-shelf product and that has a snowball effect on the visibility of the brand.
“That means sales and a liquor store owner who sees that devoting shelf space to new brands isn’t going to eat into profits.”
A Passion for Products
There’s a saying attributed to Confucius that goes, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Lamar Romero is proof that this is a viable option when it comes to happiness. Romero is an avid Tequila and Whisk(e)y fan who has transmuted his love for spirits into a unique marketing operation.
As Romero says, “The idea of Hire Dragons came to me when I found myself at a tasting table providing information about a tequila brand to potential buyers. I was blown away by how interested these folks were in the brand story. I still attend our tastings, I love interacting with people and seeing them buy into a brand.”
If you would like to know more about Lamar Romero’s unique vision and services or want to find out how Hire Dragons can elevate your marketing efforts, visit his LinkedIn page or click through to his personal profile.
Published by: Nelly Chavez
