Patron has an elegance to its packaging and product design that stands apart from other tequilas (I live in SoCal, so I, ahem, know a thing or two about the category).
This site does an excellent job of maintaining the brand aesthetic. There’s a beauty and simplicity to it. From the content architecture to the design, on through to the animation.
This site’s purpose is that of a marketer trying to stir up some communal interaction among consumers. It’s something every brand should be attempting in one form or another. The premise of the site -- debating -- feels like an excellent starting point towards that objective. Reader comments on sites ranging from HuffPo to YouTube are at times the most compelling aspect of the content.
So I feel like the core concept of this site has big potential. That in itself is an accomplishment.
What I’d offer in terms of improvement would be a quicker path to immersion. I’d hedge that the average visitor will only be really interested in a couple of the categories. And that’s fine. You only need one or two hits to pull someone in on this. But I felt the navigation method for perusing the various topics to debate was too time-consuming. Helping visitors more quickly find the debates of interest to them will increase their odds of getting involved in the site.
Beyond the site itself, there seems to be a lot of marketing potential around this idea. As I mentioned, the practice of debating on the web is already proven. By aligning the debate platform with sites covering highly-charged subjects, if the right "conversation" breaks out, they could be on top of a viral hit. (Perhaps this is something they have in the works.)
Overall, I really like what’s going on here. I think they tapped an interesting concept with a lot of legs. That’s what big idea thinking is about.
-- Doug Schumacher, president/creative director, Basement, Inc.
Click Here's Patron site sets out to engage its audience by drawing them into debates on pop culture phenomena. The approach works. I spent a good deal of time noodling around and reading debaters opinions on burning issues like "boxers or briefs," "Caddyshack or Animal House" and "football or fantasy football."
For aesthetics and ease of use, I give the site good marks. The visual frames for the debate topics mimic liquor bottle labels, and the layout is sparse enough to make the whole site approachable.
The site would be even more satisfying if the content of the debates was written with greater entertainment value in mind, and more clarity on Patron's spirits offerings would activate the audience to look for them on their next liquor store visit.
-- Steve Megargee, creative director, Refinery
