Case Studies

Jim Beam Apple Watch

ABOUT THIS STUDY
In 2015, Jim Beam released Jim Beam Apple, a flavored line extension that quickly became the most successful line extension in Jim Beam’s history, and the No. 2 innovation in the entire spirits industry during 2015. A year later, Jim Beam Apple sales continued to climb steadily, but like any new product, it still faced an awareness deficit compared to established competitors. The brand was looking for a relevant way to get in front of the millennial drinkers drawn to flavored whiskeys.

WHY?
Millennials obsess about tech news, and Jim Beam Apple's key fall season coincides with major product rollouts and innovations. So, in order to take advantage of a moment when our target drinkers were paying attention, we created the Jim Beam Apple Watch, a stylish timepiece that doesn't actually tell time – but does put a shot glass on your wrist. To promote it, we created a pitch-perfect parody of a product-launch video, complete with the usual white background, CGI product rotation and executive voiceover (swapping the usual British accent for the Kentucky drawl of Beam's seventh-generation Master Distiller Fred Noe). The video touted faux features like "an adjustable tweed strap" and a dial "that serves absolutely no purpose."

We made a limited number of the brushed-steel watches and listed them for sale at Jim Beam's online store. And, of course, we told influencers and media, targeting leading outlets in the technology, men's interest, food-and-beverage, business and entertainment verticals as major fall tech events approached.

RESULTS
The Jim Beam Apple Watch was an instant phenomenon. CNET heralded "wearable whiskey." The Next Web called it "revolutionary and magical" and Mashable (which assigned a reviewer to spend a day wearing one) declared that "it's real, and it's awesome." Similar raves followed in outlets as diverse as Fortune, Total Frat Move and ET Online, generating more than 70 placements and 263 million entirely-positive media impressions in less than a week.

Other national outlets jumping on the story included Yahoo, Fast Company, Adweek and Thrillist. Not surprisingly, all that traditional-media attention fueled significant chatter online, where there were more than two million video views, nearly 5,000 social posts and a total social reach of 51 million. And, not surprisingly, all that buzz prompted quick sellouts at the Jim Beam Store.

Fortune tech writer David Z. Morris called it a "marvel of branding," declaring: "I cannot but stand upon my soapbox, and declare the Jim Beam Apple Watch the Greatest Product Ever."

Makers Mark
Give Cozy, #GetCozy Campaign

ABOUT THIS STUDY
The 2015 Maker's Mark "Give Cozy, #GetCozy" Truck Tour was a fully integrated, 360 campaign which included executions of social media, public relations, paid media, and event activation. The goal of this campaign was to prove there's a lot more to making spirits bright than expensive gifts and extravagant parties. For this activation, we partnered with One Warm Coat and a number of very caring people to collect and donate gently used coats to help make this the warmest holiday season for some people who really needed it. After traveling across seven states, covering over 2,100 miles and passing out about 5,000 cups of hot chocolate, we were able to help over 20,000 people with the coats and funds that were donated.

Program Tactics:

• Facebook (paid and unpaid truck tour-specific content)

• Twitter (paid and unpaid truck tour-specific content and real-time event photos)

• Instagram (paid and unpaid truck tour-specific content and real-time event photos)

• Website (refreshed multiple landing-page category-title images to reflect the tour locations and donation information)

• Public Relations (truck tour promotion, how to donate / where to donate information, PR team on-site at truck tour stops)

• Paid Media (video seeding of Give Cozy, #GetCozy kick-off and recap video)

• Event Activation ("Give Cozy, Get Cozy" truck traveled around to seven states covering over 2,100 miles)
  

Event Activation:

• Truck setup in high-traffic locations and street team handed out hot chocolate, gingerbread cookies and bottle sweaters to help spread the Give Cozy, #GetCozy holiday cheer.

• Street team wore matching pajamas to promote Give Cozy, #GetCozy holiday theme

• Maker's Mark truck wrapped in Give Cozy, #GetCozy creative

• Live-tweeting event donation information, locations and photos of event participants

• Kick-off video created and promoted to be used to inform fans and customers about tour locations and objective

• Multiple stops in each city to increase visibility and provide more donation opportunities

• Text-to-donate initiative activated via One Warm Coat partnership

RESULTS

• Over 10.5 million reached and over 26.41 million impressions across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

• Gained 40,700 new followers/page likes across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

• Live tweeting resulted in 4.6k retweets, 14.9k likes and 3.29k mentions.

• Give Cozy, #GetCozy kickoff video had a reach of 2.3 million.

• Received 59,147,143 impressions for all trade, national and local GCGC coverage.

• Engaged with more than 200,000 consumers who experienced the activation in some capacity.

• Shared 5,000 cups of hot chocolate.

• Handed out over 3,500 gingerbread cookies.

• And most importantly, ensured that more than 20,000 people received a cozy coat this winter.

MEDIA

FORTUNE
https://fortune.com/2016/09/10/jim-beam-apple-watch/
MASHABLE
https://mashable.com/article/jim-beam-apple-watch-wearable
THE NEXT WEB
https://thenextweb.com/news/magical-and-revolutionary-jim-beam-apple-watch-doesnt-have-a-headphone-jack-either
THRILLIST
https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/jim-beam-apple-watch-drinkable-wearable-whiskey-tech-watch

Conceptual Design
& Modeling