Top 10 marketing campaigns in March 2016

Spirit brands looked to their inner adrenaline junkies last month with campaigns involving skydiving, speedboats and a spectacular 16-storey snowboarding display.

Jägermeister looked to both land, sea and air for its most recent marketing campaign, as part of its Ice Cold Gigs series, while Stoli took to winter sports for an innovative way to shake up a cocktail.

Meanwhile, Smirnoff extended its Sound Collective musical endeavours to the US as fellow vodka titan Absolut looked a little closer to home with its most recent marketing efforts.

In the UK, one gin brand re-kindled its partnership with Cheltenham Festival as a search got underway to find the nation’s most loved ‘craft’ spirit brand.

Click through to the following pages for the top 10 marketing campaigns launched in March. 

The Absolut Company

The Absolut Company joined forces with “smart” product design company Perfect Company to help consumers explore the world of at-home cocktail making.

First of all, consumers are encouraged to access the ‘Absolut Classics’ recipe pack to complement the Perfect Drink Interactive Recipe App, which includes recipes such as the Lemon Drop, Sea Breeze and Mule, with a mix of classic recipes such as the Espresso Martini and Elderflower Collins.

Cocktail fans can connect the Perfect Drink Smart Scale, created by Perfect Company, to the Perfect Drink App via Bluetooth in order to find their desired recipe.

The scale weighs each ingredient’s pour in “real time” and the app sends an alert when the user should stop pouring, thus creating the “perfect cocktail”.

Furthermore, the app allows for over-pouring by adjusting the other ingredients’ measurements to ensure the finished drink is still well balanced.

“We want to ensure that cocktail lovers have great experiences with our brands, in and out of the home,” commented Jonas Magnusson, innovation director at Absolut Vodka. “Collaborating with a company who also believes that the at-home experience can and should be just as perfect as if being served by a professional, makes sense.”

Quintessential Brands

Greenall’s Gin and The Dubliner Irish Whiskey celebrated their partnership with the Jockey Club last month as the official gin and whiskey at Cheltenham Festival.

Both Quintessential Brands-owned spirits, Greenall’s was busy supplying G&Ts and cocktails over the four-day horse racing event.

Meanwhile, The Dubliner Irish Whiskey has been a partner of the Jockey Club with The Dubliner Irish Whiskey Hot Toddy Bar, which served warm tipples such as The Dubliner Hot Toddy and other classic Irish whisky concoctions.

This is the first year The Dubliner Irish Whiskey has partnered with the Jockey Club.

Skyy Vodka

Flavoured vodka brand Skyy launched a 360-degree marketing campaign to support the addition of two new flavours to its Infusions range – Honeycrisp Apple and Tropical Mango.

The campaign includes national print, digital and out-of-home advertising, as well as a redesigned website.

Furthermore, to strengthen the brand’s on-trade focus for 2016, Skyy also created The Skyy Book, filled with cocktail recipes, bar tips and creative toasts.

The recipe collection was put together by Otis Florence and industry innovators in markets throughout the US, and has been designed to honour some of the most progressive places, interesting people and hidden gems in US cities.

“Flavoured vodka made a serious comeback in 2015, thanks to increased sales of ‘true-to-fruit’ flavours,” commented Richard Black, vice president of marketing, white spirits and cordials, Campari America. “It is clear that consumers and bartenders alike are looking for more authentic, fresh fruit flavours in their cocktails.”

Daffy’s Gin

Scottish gin brand Daffy’s signed a sponsorship deal with Formula 1 team Manor Racing, which made its first branded appearance at the Australian Grand Prix last month.

The Daffy’s Gin logo was displayed on the turning vanes of the Manor Racing team’s MRT05 race cars, and was designed by New York-based artist Robert McGinnis.

In addition, the gin brand also preparing to launch a limited edition Manor Racing Daffy’s Gin bottle in late spring, which will go on sale in selected Waitrose stores throughout the UK and via the brand website.

“There is a striking synergy between ourselves and Manor Racing,” explained Chris Molyneaux, master distiller and co-founder of Daffy’s. “In our individual fields, we’re smaller, independent players that aim and dream big.

“There’s a shared passion and love of life and travel, but also a steely determination to stay true to our end ambition and create something exceptional.”

Smirnoff

Smirnoff cemented its commitment to being the biggest contributor to electronic music by bringing its Smirnoff Sound Collective series to the US last month.

Hosted at South Beach from 16-19 March, the event focused on highlighting what makes electronic music the “most inclusive genre” with a range of musicians and DJs from different styles.

Performers and DJ sets included Zeds Dead, Gorgon City, What So Not, MK, Claptone and Tokimonsta to name just a few.

First founded in 2014, Smirnoff Sound Collective has showcased in markets such as Europe, the UK and Australia.

“Smirnoff has always believed in inclusivity and the overall vision of Smirnoff Sound Collective is to celebrate the inclusive nature of electronic music,” commented Justin Medcraft, Smirnoff global brand manager.

“Officially bringing the platform to the US with such a diversely talented group of artists and an incredible free experience for fans in Miami is a great way to set the stage for more to come.”

Jägermeister

Herbal liqueur Jägermeister hosted what it believes was the world’s first gig on land, sea and air last month.

The brand collaborated with Matt Tuck, lead singer of rock band Bullet For My Valentine to put on a three-part gig across Lyngsfjord, Norway, as temperatures fell to as low as -30 degrees. It came as part of the brand’s Ice Cold Gig series.

As part of the most recent gig, Tuck performed continuously while skydiving, on a speedboat and husky sledging.

“The Ice Cold Gig is a prominent feature of the JägerMusic programme, which supports emerging and established acts,” said Nicole Goodwin, marketing director at Mast-Jaegermeister UK. “This year we wanted to celebrate musicians giving back to the people who supported them from the very start; typically their best friends.

“Licensees can take advantage of this and provide the perfect Ice Cold Shot by stocking up on Jägermeister and ensuring it is stored in fridges or in Jägermeister freezers and served via Jägermeister tap machines.”

Smithworks Vodka

Musician Blake Shelton was present to toast the launch of Pernod Ricard’s new vodka brand, Smithworks.

Shelton unveiled the new brand in West Hollywood and was also part of the team behind the vodka brand, which is triple distilled and charcoal filtered to create a “smooth taste and clean finish”.

“I grew up in Ada, Oklahoma, and was raised on the values of hard work, humility and appreciation for the simple things that make up a good life,” said Shelton.

“As part of the Smithworks family, I’ve been involved in the development of the brand and I’m excited for everyone to finally taste what we’ve been crafting.

“At its core, Smithworks celebrates that moments in life are better spent with good people and great drinks.”

Hot Craft Spirits

Social media agency Clarity Comms launched a Twitter campaign last month to find the UK’s “most loved” independent spirits brand.

Consumers, producers and distillers were encouraged to vote for their favourite independent spirit brands using the hashtag #HotCraftSpirits.

The votes are then displayed on a Twitter powered leader board on the campaign’s website, hotcraftspirits.com.

The campaign will remain open until the middle of May 2016 when the firm will name the UK’s Hottest Craft Spirit.

Stolichnaya Vodka

Snowboarder Eric Willett created the “first-ever” Big Air Mule by Stoli Vodka cocktail at the Shaun White’s Air + Style Festival in LA.

Willett mixed the ingredients for the drink – Stoli Ginger Beer, ice and fresh strawberries, garnished with lime – in a cocktail shaker at the top of a 16-storey jump ramp at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

With the shaker strapped to his snowboard, Willett sped down the ramp into a backflip before a crowd of spectators and emptied the drink into a Stoli signature Mule mug. “I’ve successfully landed thousands of jumps throughout my career, but this was definitely one of the most unique. I knew a Stoli Mule as awesome as this needed an equally epic trick, so I went with an extended backflip to ensure the cocktail was shaken to perfection,” he said.

Stoli was the official sponsor of Shaun White’s Air + Style Festival, where fans were able to sip Stoli cocktails in the Stoli Style Lounge poured by Road Soda – a custom 1960s Airstream cocktail bar.

MurLarkey Distilled Spirits

MurLarkey Distilled  Spirits has agreed a deal to be the exclusive ‘craft’ spirits provider for the Jiffy Lube Live concert in Virginia, US.

The agreement means the full portfolio of MurLarkey Spirits will be showcased in its own bar within the Jiffy Lube Live VIP lounge, and mixed in an array of drinks and “designer” cocktails.

“This is an exciting opportunity for MurLarkey,” said Thomas Murray, founder and CEO. “With all the fine craft spirits produced in Virginia, to be chosen as the exclusive craft brand is quite flattering.

“I believe it speaks volumes as to the quality, taste and growing popularity of our spirits.”