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110
new market launches
170+
different original ideas
20+
years, and still going strong
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GOIN' LOCAL...
LEAVING IT ALL BEHIND
Maker's Mark has spent the better part of two decades producing clever and witty outdoor and display advertising that leverages it's trademarked wax-topped bottles. As the brand begins to expand beyond its core markets into emerging geographies, however, this creates some problems:
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The superficial use of the red wax in the advertising is at odds with Maker's new 'Premium, yet unpretentious' positioning.
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As a result, if Maker's Mark continues with this approach the brand risks looking trite and superficial (to consumers who were seeking 'seriousness' and 'authenticity').​
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Moreover, emerging markets aren't steeped in bourbon lore. Bourbon history? Pithy bourbon comments? Inside jokes for bourbon drinkers? All of this meana Maker's will be entering these new markets talking about things that potential customers don't understand...or don't care about. ​​
The catch: For this assignment, there is no budget for research. So, I'm left to seek inspiration wherever I could find it.
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Little did I know, that inspiration would come from Rick.
"WE UNDERSTAND OURSELVES."
Rick is a hippie waiter I meet at a dive bar outside of Easton, Pennsylvania. I have arrived in town a few days ahead of some research we're doing for another client. With a little extra time on my hands, I figure I'll go into this bar, sit down, and order a Maker's on the rocks. Then I can quietly brainstorm a new direction for Maker's emerging markets.
Who knows? Lightning often strikes when you least expect it, right?
"That Maker's Mark is great stuff," Rick, the waiter, eagerly congratulates me on my choice. "We love it around here. And, you know, it's made right here in Pennsylvania!"
Wait...what???
I immediately snap out of my brainstorm. Kentucky bourbon crafted in...Pennsylvania? By this time, our Maker's Mark team has completed more than a thousand interviews with brown spirits drinkers all across the country and I've never heard anything like this. So, when Rick returns with my drink, I don’t correct him.
Instead, I interview him.
Rick isn't exactly sure where Maker's Pennsylvania distillery is (possibly somewhere in the rugged mountains, southeast of Pittsburgh or west of Allentown), but he talks passionately about the brand's connection to the people, places, proud history, and strong character of the region. Generations of miners at the core of Appalachian/ Allegheny mountain culture. The families of the craggy mountains, who have carved their lives out of the bare rock. He speaks of personal identity, authenticity, and community pride. Most of all, Rick talks about the importance locals place on brands that embody those traits - attitudes, beliefs, and values that shine through in the region's events, customs and traditions. Brands like Maker's Mark, he explains, are central to that identity.
"The outside world might not understand us,” Rick explains, “But we understand ourselves.”
WINNING THE AUTHENTICITY GAME...BY NOT PLAYING THE AUTHENTICITY GAME.
For years, bourbon brands have relentlessly sought to connect their drinkers to the bluegrass state - "Our bourbon brings Kentucky to you"...or "Our bourbon brings you to Kentucky." But heritage and source authenticity are messages designed for a past generation - the bourbon of our fathers and grandfathers. Up-and-coming bourbon consumers care far less about the heritage of bourbon and far more about their own heritage, their own lives, their own culture, and their own social experiences.
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"It's no longer about how the consumer fits into the brand story," I explain, as I outline the fundamental change that is needed in the way Maker's Mark connects with its consumers. "This is about how the brand fits into the consumer's story."
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"Maker's Mark," I continue, "needs to go to where this consumer already is. It's not about them embracing Kentucky, our heritage, or our values." Just like my experience with Rick in Pennsylvania, I continue, "It's about showing them that we embrace what's valuable to them. And it's not enough to be in these places...we have to show that Maker's Mark is OF these places. A shared kinship. Common DNA. Here. Now. In the moment. Local. Contextual. Current."​
Could the answer really be that simple?
"COMMONALITY CREATES COMMUNITY"
This new direction really captures the enthusiasm of the Maker's Mark team at Doe-Anderson. Accordingly, emerging from the agency's jump ball development process, dozens of creative concepts fill up the conference room walls.
While most of the ideas are interesting, fresh, and new, there is one lone concept in the corner that really catches my attention. Presented by writer Bob Barnwell and designer Paul Gosselin, it is a Maker's Mark bottle with the trademark wax - however, this time, the wax appears in the proud colors of the Texas state flag. The headline simply reads, "Fiercely independent."
Sure, it's another clever way to use the wax...but this is understated. Powerful. Confident. Local. Not celebrating ourselves, but celebrating our (Texas) drinkers for the culture and values that we both share.
This is it!
From there, it is game on! The creative teams grab at everything that makes sense. Local landmarks and the things our target communities celebrate - from the proud Italian heritage of Boston's North End to the famed districts of San Francisco. Further, it isn't just about places, it's also about culture. Manhattan is traditions and nightlife while Southern California is Hollywood, fashion, and cosmetic surgery. It's about current events, too - placing the brand smack in the middle of (sometimes tough) conversations. Pop culture. Politics. Sports. Everything from scandals on Wall Street to Global Warming to Janet Jackson's notorious wardrobe malfunction.
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LEVERAGING MOMENTUM
A couple of fun side notes...
Creating collectors edition advertising: When the Texas flag ad runs, hundreds of Texas bourbon drinkers descend on package stores seeking out the Texas Flag Bottle. Since actually creating the Texas wax-topped bottle just isn't feasible, we counter with the next best thing - downloadable PDFs of the different ads in the campaign, available online (this also ties into loyalty program recruiting). As an indicator of how well these messages speak to consumers, tens of thousands of downloads are completed, which also creates a huge and durable spike in Ambassador program membership. Well before social media campaigns are a thing, we also ask for and receive hundreds of photos of consumers alongside their new "Maker's Mark art" - in their offices, garages, workshops, and even one guy on his houseboat.
Creating collectors edition packaging: The ideas keep coming. At one point, during a workshop, this demand for market-specific designs gives birth to several 'collector's edition' wax topped bottles. For example, with targeted regional distribution, one series of bottle and wax combinations 'just so happens' to feature the colors of local professional football teams. Meanwhile another extremely rare red-white, and blue version celebrates U.S. resolve and solidarity after the 9/11 attacks.
...this strategy, this idea, and this campaign are all still going strong!
POST SCRIPT
It was the middle of 2001 when I first met Rick at that Pennsylvania bar.
Two weeks later, I was leading the 'jump ball' session that would evolve into this work. At the time, I knew the campaign was almost limitless in the way it could connect with people. Indeed, the only thing that can end 'current events' is the end of time.
Four years later, Maker's Mark was sold. By 2011, that holding company spun off their spirits group under the management of Jim Beam, Inc. In 2014, Japanese giant Suntory purchased Beam Inc. and all its assets, including the Maker's Mark brand.
Yet...
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Across all those different owners...
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...And featured in about a dozen countries outside of the United States...
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...And over 20 years later...
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