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Top 10 spirits marketing moves in April 2019

Last month’s top marketing moves included Martell Cognac’s new interactive talk show, the “world’s first” Old Fashioned vending machine and an augmented-reality app from Jack Daniel’s.

Martell Cognac’s interactive talk show highlights creatives in the worlds of music, art and entertainment

In our latest marketing round-up, we take in Aperol’s “vibrant” Together We Joy campaign, while spiced rum brand Sailor Jerry partnered with the Tattoo’d America attraction to showcase the work of tattooist Norman ‘Sailor Jerry’ Collins.

Tonic water brand Fever-Tree fights against malaria in a social media push and Havana Club rum focused on Frozen Daiquiris for a new multi-market campaign.

Over the following pages, we name our top marketing moves launched in April 2019.

Pernod Ricard

Cuban rum Havana Club has partnered with independent creative agency Impero to launch its multi-market Daiquiri Days campaign, which focuses on its Frozen Daiquiri signature serve.

The campaign will embrace Havana Club’s Cuban roots, bringing to life the “raw, lo-fi and DIY attitude” of Cuban street style.

As well as a multi-market poster campaign, Havana Club will target social media with “bright, summertime visuals” complete with “glam, kitsch-cool models”.

The campaign aims to help retailers, bartenders and brand managers identify drinking occasions, such as ‘weekend vibes’.

Aperol

Italian aperitivo brand Aperol has launched its Together We Joy campaign, which it hopes will “bring people together”.

The campaign centres on Never-ending Connections, a film directed by French duo Greg & Lio. The 45-second film, which features the song Cut a Rug by American singer Myles Parrish, aims to communicate a “vibrant and joyful” mood.

Andrea Neri, managing director of Italian icons and gin at Campari Group, said: “Greg & Lio have done a brilliantly creative job of expressing the character of Aperol and the connectivity it brings to consumers, which is reflected in a visually engaging and memorable piece of content, which we are really proud of.”

The Woodsman

Whyte & Mackay has created the “world’s first” Old Fashioned vending machine, which will dispense complimentary cocktails at festivals and events in the UK.

The Woodsman Vending Machine made its debut at the Underbelly Festival on London’s Southbank, and allows drinkers to build their own Old Fashioned cocktail by pulling levers and turning wheels. The machine seeks to challenge the notion that whisky cocktails can be complicated to make by serving a “quality Old Fashioned to drinkers in a flash”.

Rod Gillies, head of innovation at Whyte & Mackay, said: “Everyone loves a good Old Fashioned… but what would make it even better is being able to get hold of one wherever you are, on demand.”

Sailor Jerry

William Grant & Sons-owned spiced rum brand Sailor Jerry has partnered with the Tattoo’d America attraction to showcase the work of tattooist Norman ‘Sailor Jerry’ Collins.

Tattoo’d America opened at Pop Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip, showcasing tattoo designs from a host of US-based artists. The event will run until the end of May.

As part of the display, work by former Navy veteran Collins will be on show, including tattoo flash sheets and photographs of his work.

Ashley Thomas, Sailor Jerry brand ambassador, said: “Norman ‘Sailor Jerry’ Collins is the godfather of the traditional tattoo and he lived his life unapologetically and outside the lines, and to be able to share that work with old-school and new-school tattoo fans is what Sailor Jerry is all about.”

Martell

Pernod Ricard-owned Martell Cognac has launched an interactive talk show to highlight creatives in the worlds of music, art and entertainment.

The new series, Martell Home Live, features episodes filmed around the world, each highlighting a variety of creative pursuits.

The first episode in the series, which was filmed in New York, asked: ‘What does it take to leave a legacy?’

With a focus on legacies in music, dance and entertainment, episode one included performances and interviews with musician Charli XCX, American rapper Princess Nokia, musician Big Freedia and dancers including Javier Ninja and Archie Burnett.

The show is available to watch on Martell’s YouTube, Instagram and Facebook pages.

Slingsby Gin

Spirit of Harrogate-owned Slingsby has been named the official gin supplier for Chestertons Polo in the Park.

From 7-9 June, Slingsby will host a gin bar and exclusive ‘chill out’ area at London’s Hurlingham Park, where the three-day festival is set to take place.

Over the course of the event, Slingsby will also distribute branded fans and Panama hats.

Co-founder of Spirit of Harrogate, Marcus Black, said: “This year marks the 10th anniversary of Chestertons Polo In The Park, and we are really happy to be a part of the prestigious sporting event.”

The sponsorship deal will also see Slingsby Gin served up at other bars on the site, including the Fever-Tree Garden.

Nemiroff

Nemiroff vodka has enhanced its partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) competition.

The partnership was first announced in September 2018 as part of a multi-year deal between Nemiroff and the UFC as “both brands share a common DNA – a fighting spirit”.

The vodka brand has now created content for UFC’s audiences and incorporated its logo at live events and in the fighting octagon.

Nemiroff and UFC are also developing video content to play during the fights.

Irina Zhygunova, global chief marketing officer at Nemiroff, said: “Our audience is free-spirited, strong and energetic and they relate well to the UFC fighters.”

Fever-Tree

Tonic water brand Fever-Tree has created a social media campaign called Raise Your Glass, Erase Malaria, which it hopes will accelerate the fight against the disease.

Until 31 May, Fever-Tree is calling on drinkers around the world to raise a glass to malaria’s demise and share an image of the moment on social media, tagging @FeverTreeMixers and #MalariaMustDie.

For every photo shared across Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, Fever-Tree will donate £5 (US$6) to UK charity Malaria No More.

Rhum Fest Paris

At this year’s Rhum Fest Paris, organisers launched an online rum marketplace that connected buyers, producers and distributors ahead of the festival.

The Rum Market Place launched in the run-up to the festival, giving guests and exhibitors an advanced preview.

Through the online platform, visitors were also able to organise meetings in the dedicated Market Place Zone at the festival. Based at Parc Floral de Vincennes in Paris, the festival showcased more than 170 brands from 55 countries.

This year, the Parisian rum festival doubled in size, and featured rums from Africa, Madeira and North America for the first time.

Single cask and long-fermentation, high-ester rums were also on offer at the event.

Jack Daniel’s

American whiskey brand Jack Daniel’s has launched an augmented-reality (AR) app that transports users to its distillery in Tennessee.

The app presents a series of pop-up book-style dioramas that feature more than 10 minutes of content to educate whiskey fans about the history of the brand.

Jeff Cole, modern media director for Jack Daniel’s, said: “In today’s world, it’s important for us to reach fans and consumers where they are.

“That means sharing content that’s unique, interesting and relevant though a variety of digital mediums. This new AR experience is taking our brand storytelling to the next level.”

Once consumers have downloaded the app they can point their phones at any Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey bottle to uncover the animations.

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