Most innovative spirits marketing campaigns in April

A host of famous faces were recruited to star in the latest batch of innovative marketing campaigns launched across the spirits industry.

The stars of Entourage are among the famous faces which took spirits marketing by storm last month

Diageo and rap star Sean “Diddy” Combs revealed the first digital campaign for their recently launched ultra-premium Tequila brand DeLeón Tequila, while Jack Daniel’s asked an LA rock band to take over the British countryside.

Beautiful actress Diane Kruger was also named as Martell Cognac’s new brand ambassador and will be taking charge of the brand’s France300 campaign.

The stars of hit US TV show Entourage lent their support to Johnnie Walker and “tough guy” actors Ray Liotta and Michael K. Williams ramped up 1800 Tequila’s masculine image in the next instalment of the Enough Said campaign.

Click through the following pages for more details of the top 10 spirits marketing campaigns launched in April 2015.

DeLeón Tequila

Former rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs and Diageo have launched the first full-scale digital campaign for DeLeón Tequila aimed at “fast-paced” Millennials.

The Next Level, as the campaign is called, encompasses six 15-second vignettes giving “media-savvy” consumers with a “short attention span” a look behind the Tequila brand.

Created by Sean Combs’ Blue Flame Agency, The Next Level will feature across digital, broadcast and social media sites as well as luxury online websites, such as Playboy and Complex. Furthermore, the spots will also be aired on TV during the final season of the hit series Mad Men, as well as various programmes on the Discovery, History Channel and Esquire networks. Blues artist Muddy Waters and musician Naomi Scott provided the music for the clips.

“We know today’s consumers – even those shopping luxury brands – want quick, enticing content,” said Combs. “You have to capture them with the first beat. These spots are designed to do that.”

Double Cross Vodka

Double Cross Vodka signed a sports sponsorship deal to become the official vodka of the 44th ANA Inspiration – the first major championship of the 2015 LPGA golf calendar. The event took place from 2-5 April and featured Double Cross Vodka as the signature Martini serve at the Pro-AM Gala Dinner.

Furthermore, the vodka brand was made available in all hospitality and concession areas serving alcohol, including the 18th Green VIP suites and clubhouse bars.

“We’re thrilled to be the official vodka for this historic championship,” commented Double Cross CEO D. Ross Arthurs.

Jack Daniel’s

LA rock stars Rival Son took over the rural UK town of Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, last month as part of the latest Jack Rocks gig, hosted by Jack Daniel’s.

In true rock star style, the band arrived by helicopter before spending the day exploring and meeting local residents and entertaining crowds with an evening performance that kick-started their world tour.

Jack Rocks is a country-wide campaign that aims to “celebrate the best of crafted, authentic live music” and the venues that host them.

The campaign has previously taken over venues including The Macbeth in Shoreditch, London, Clwb Ifor in Cardiff, the Camp & Furnace in Liverpool and the Dim Swn music festival.

Cachaça 51

Cachaça 51 threw a lavish bash at SXSW film and music conference to celebrate the launch of its DJ-51 app.

The free app has been designed to analyse the Spotify music libraries of people in a room and then create a playlist reflective of the collective musical tastes of all those involved.

More than 900 guests were in attendance of the launch party, which offered a selection of cocktails crafted by New York-based mixologist Gil Bouhana.

Revellers’ playlists offered a selection of more than 18,000 songs for the DJ-51 app to choose from, to entertain the crowds for the duration of the night.

Stock Spirits

Stock Spirits has agreed to sponsor the 13th Kinoteka Polish Film Festival. Set to run in the UK until 29 May, the event is an annual celebration of Polish cinema offering 57 film screenings alongside a range of events at five venues around the country.

“We are delighted to be sponsoring the 2015 Kinoteka Polish Film Festival,” commented Steve Smith, managing director, international, at Stock Spirits Group. “Poland is our largest market and, given the popularity of our brands, we are now looking to increase our presence in the UK.”

Stock Spirits showcased some of its top vodka brands at the launch last month, including Lubelska, Żołądkowa Gorzka and Czysta de Luxe. Stock Spirits will also feature at the festival’s closing gala.

Martell

Actress Diane Kruger was appointed as the new brand ambassador for Martell Cognac and will lead a new campaign for the brand as it celebrates its 300th anniversary this year.

The German star, who’s had roles in films including Inglourious Basterds, will front Martell’s French Art de Vivre through the brand’s France300 project.

Kruger will be tasked with identifying 300 “ones to watch” around the world whose contributions to gastronomy, art, fashion, mixology and entertainment “epitomise French Art de Vivre in the 21st century”.

Martell will run the France300 project in collaboration with French lifestyle magazine L’Officiel and Kruger, who studied at French private drama school, Cours Florent.

Martell announced Kruger’s appointment at the Palace of Versailles, where Mary McCartney photographed her. She said she was “delighted” to be part of the project.

Grant’s

Consumers have the chance to win their “ultimate” weekend through a new on-pack promotion launched by blended Scotch whisky brand Grant’s Signature.

Launched on 1 May, the new campaign is aimed at men in their 30s and 40s and hopes to encourage them to “reappraise” blended whisky.

Prizes on offer include driving the Monaco Grand Prix circuit, horse trekking in Morocco and white river rafting in Bosnia, with hundreds of leather weekend bags as runner up prizes.

UK supermarket Tesco will also run a promotional shipper and digital six sheet ads, while experimental sampling will be offered in-store to encourage consumers to interact with the promotion, try the brand and make a purchase.

“We’re continuing the significant investment on Grant’s Signature to demonstrate our commitment to the brand and the blended whisky category,” said Ali Cloudsdale, brand manager for Grant’s at William Grant and Sons UK.

Johnnie Walker

Diageo has released a Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky short film in partnership with a new Warner Bros. film based on the hit US TV show, Entourage.

The three-minute clip – titled Johnny for Johnnie – stars American actor Kevin Dillon as his Entourage character Johnny “Drama” Chase and was launched as part of the whisky brand’s Keep Walking campaign.

The script was written by show creator Doug Ellin and directed by Dillon’s co-star Kevin Connolly and is a continuation of Drama’s storyline depicting how passion, optimism and persistence can lead to victory.

The short film is available to view on the Johnnie Walker YouTube channel and fans are encouraged to share their thoughts on social media using the hashtag #KeepWalking.

1800 Tequila

“Tough guy” actors Ray Liotta, of Goodfellas, and Michael K. Williams, of The Wire, have both starred in the most recent instalment of a “masculine” marketing campaign for Proximo Spirits’ 1800 Tequila.

Each actor appears in separate video advertisements as part of the brand’s Enough Said campaign, which sees them depict their personal accounts of “struggle, toughness and triumph”.

Named as the 1800 Tequila spokesman in 2013, Liotta stars in the newest campaign video set in New York, while Williams features in the second episode.

“This video series champions the true spirit of 1800,” commented Greg Smith, CEO of The VIA Agency, which created the clips.

Deep Eddy

Deep Eddy Vodka has entered a sponsorship deal to become the official vodka of the San Diego Padres baseball team.

As part of the partnership, the brand has launched the Deep Eddy Vodka Hideaway providing a seating area and bar open to all baseball fans, that will operate throughout the 2015 Major League Baseball season providing refreshments including Deep Eddy Vodka cocktails using its Ruby Red and Lemon variants.

“Deep Eddy Vodka was created in Austin to celebrate classic American pleasures and nothing brings people together for classic good times like America’s pastime,” said Eric Dopkins, CEO of Deep Eddy Vodka. “San Diego’s laid-back lifestyle and thriving craft scene are a perfect fit with the Deep Eddy DNA.”