Top 10 spirits marketing campaigns in January 2016

In this latest batch of spirits industry marketing campaigns, Hollywood actress Mila Kunis makes another appearance at the Jim Beam Distillery as Rémy Martin enhances its own star-studded platform.

This is our selection of the top 10 spirits marketing campaigns in January 2016

Inspired by Japanese culture, Melon-flavoured liqueur Midori launched its new ‘Moshi Moshi to Midori’ activation, which communicates the brand’s heritage and ingredients “in a lively, interactive way”.

Meanwhile, German gin brand Monkey 47 kicked off Chinese New Year celebrations by partnering with a Michelin-starred dim sum restaurant and industry newcomer Givinity gin created a romantic activation in the run-up to Valentine’s Day.

Click through to the following pages for the full list of top 10 marketing campaigns launched in January 2016.

Monkey 47

Monkey 47 collaborated with Michelin-starred dim sum teahouse Yauatcha to celebrate Chinese New Year 2016 – the Year of the Monkey.

To mark the occasion, the gin brand worked with the restaurant to create a limited edition menu paired with Monkey 47 cocktails and macarons inspired by the 47 botanicals used in the gin.

The two teams have worked closely to design three exclusive tipples: saffron gin and tonic; Pomelo Fortune, made using grapefruit, cranberry and mandarin bitters; and Pink Kumquat, using sloe gin and ginger liqueur.

Yauatcha head pastry chef Sarah Frankland has selected key botanicals from Monkey 47 to showcase in the macarons, including juniper, bitter orange and almond, elderflower and ginger, rose and rosehip, camomile, and gin and tonic with grapefruit.

Jim Beam

Jim Beam has released a new TV commercial in the US featuring the brand’s global partner, actress Mila Kunis.

The 30-second advertisement – called ‘A Look Inside’ – is part of the Bourbon brand’s Make History campaign and shows Kunis in the company’s rackhouse where barrels of Jim Beam have been left to age.

A Look Inside will be broadcast throughout 2016 across sports, late-night and Hispanic TV networks in the US, before being rolled out to other countries by 2017.

This commercial marks the first time Jim Beam has also aired a Spanish translation of an advertisement, the company said.

Label 5

Label 5 has released a new marketing visual to communicate the blended Scotch whisky as a modern, elegant and refined brand.

The new communication visuals focus on two locations – Brooklyn in the US and London in the UK.

These two cities will be key to Label 5’s visual activations throughout 2016, which are being undertaken in order to maintain the company’s international communication platform.

Givinity

Givinity gin has partnered with luxury retailer Harvey Nichols in the lead up to Valentine’s Day.

Givinity is available from Harvey Nichols at an RRP of £49.99. Each bottle will be gift wrapped in Givinity Valentine’s tissue paper, presented in a gift box, and accompanied by a gold-plated, heart-shaped Givinity key ring.

All Harvey Nichols stores in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh will be offering shoppers samples of Givinity gin and tonics due to the brand’s partnership with Double Dutch mixers.

Givinity is also sponsoring the Libertine at Chinawhites, London, Valentine’s party where guests will receive a complimentary Givinity cocktail, designed by bartender and Givinity brand ambassador, Rich Woods.

Alan Colton, founder and partner of Givinity, said: “The demand has been mind-blowing. We can’t make stock quick enough.”

Midori

Melon liqueur Midori has unveiled a new Japanese-themed campaign entitled ‘Moshi Moshi to Midori’.

The initiative invites cocktail fans to say moshi moshi, meaning ‘hello’ in Japanese, and was created by Ogilvy & Mather Chicago and Unit9.

The campaign communicates the inspiration the brand has taken from Japanese culture and the premium ingredients used to make the liqueur.

Moshi Moshi to Midori will be supported by social media, digital, public relations and retail extensions.

“The Moshi Moshi to Midori campaign touches on everything that makes this brand so unique,” said Brendan Lynch, senior director of rum and cordials at Beam Suntory. “We’re challenging people’s perceptions of Midori by educating consumers on its history and premium ingredients in a lively and interactive way.”

The Irishman

Walsh Whiskey Distillery has named its first ‘fellow’ for The Irishman as part of its programme to enable young drinks industry professionals further their careers.

Caroline Mullins has been selected to represent The Irishman alongside the distillery’s French distributor Dugas. Bernard Walsh, founder of Walsh Whiskey Distillery, said: “We congratulate Caroline on becoming our first ‘fellow’ for The Irishman in France and wish her well in representing us with Dugas.

“The French market is hugely important and one that she can both offer much to and learn much from.”

Walsh Whiskey Distillery’s portfolio includes The Irishman Whiskey and Writers Tears.

Rémy Martin

Cognac house Rémy Martin has launched a new website and engagement platform to support its One Life/Live Them campaign.

The campaign was launched in October 2015 as a “celebration of multifaceted personalities and Slash generation lifestyle”, and features actor Jeremy Renner.

The new site invites consumers to explore the stories behind the brand but without rigid navigation designs to put “the user in the driver seat”.

The layout has been designed to deliver a “continuous flow of experiences” through the different topics and areas on the site.

Augustin Departon, executive director of Rémy Martin, said: “It was absolutely critical for us to bring to life our promising tagline ‘One Life/Live Them’ in a way that would concretely expand people’s horizons.”

D1 Potato Vodka and D1 London Gin

DJ Limbrey, producer of D1 Potato Vodka and D1 London Gin, has launched a range of point of sale merchandise.

In an effort to showcase the brand to consumers in the on-trade, the marketing campaign will feature D1 skull ice moulds, a skull bottle cooler, an oak barrel, gin goblets and skull shot glasses.

D1 London Gin and D1 Potato Vodka are both relatively new brands, having launched in June 2014 and October 2015, respectively.

“The recent launch of D1 Potato Vodka has in part enabled us to build scale and synergies that afford simpler in-market investment considerations,” said Dominic Limbrey, managing director of DJ Limbrey Distilling Company.

“In combination with the launch, our creative PoS and merchandise give us a great message to take out to our on-trade customers.”

United Spirits

United Spirits Limited (USL) has launched phase two of its ‘Road to Safety’ programme, produced in partnership with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in India.

The scheme is part of USL-Diageo’s Sustainability and Responsibility strategy, and aims to encourage members of the public to never drink and drive.

Road to Safety will cover 22 cities across India’s seven states and hopes to reach more than 8,000 traffic police officers and 2,500 commercial vehicle drivers.

Abanti Sankaranarayanan, business head of luxury vertical and corporate relations, USL, said: “The United Spirits-Diageo ‘Road to Safety’ initiative aims to create the necessary impact to address the abysmal state of road safety in our country.

“We aim to take phase two of the programme to greater heights by encouraging more people to drink responsibly and put safety first.”

MGP Ingredients

MGP Ingredients, one of the largest third party distillers in the US, is celebrating its 75th birthday this year with nods to the theme ‘75 Years Strong’ throughout 2016.

Cloud L Cray Senior founded the company in 1941 and at the time was working as an investment banker.

“The history of MGP is a chronicle of strength, resilience, change and progress,” said Gus Griffin, MGP president and CEO. “Our story covers many chapters, the newest of which is a return to our core business of producing premium distilled spirits and speciality wheat-based ingredients.

“We are all positioned to deliver against macro consumer trends in the marketplace and our strong heritage provides a solid foundation and common theme from which to continue to build our legacy over the long-term.”