What does completing 150 years mean for the brand and the celebrations and marketing initiatives planned around it in India.
In 1866, exactly 150 years ago, Jasper “Jack” Daniel had the foresight to place his distillery at a source of iron-free water flowing from a cave spring in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Today, the quiet town in Tennessee still produces every single drop of the world’s Jack Daniel’s, proof that mastering a craft with a focus on quality can propel a brand beyond borders and cultures.
The year 2016 truly marks a landmark year for Jack Daniel’s as the distillery celebrates its 150th anniversary and as part of the celebrations, Jack Daniel’s is looking forward to delighting its fans all over the world in some very special ways. The planned initiatives include limited edition bottles, themed on-ground events, special duty free promotions and social media outreach among other initiatives. Headlining the celebrations will be the first-ever worldwide whiskey barrel hunt – the ‘Jack Daniel’s Barrel Hunt’, that will unite Friends of Jack across the world.
The worldwide barrelhunt, which is a massive activation campaign attempted on a global scale.
From July through September, 150 handcrafted whiskey barrels are being hidden in various regions across the globe at historic and cultural sites. The first Barrel Hunt took place at the home of the distillery in Lynchburg on July 1 and will visit more than 50 countries in 90 days. We’re excited that three of these barrels are coming to India and will be hidden at secret locations in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.
Clues and the password tied to the hidden location of the barrel will be provided on the Jack Daniel’s Facebook page and the barrels will be opened when the first person to arrive touches the barrel and speaks the correct barrel password.
Each hidden barrel in the scavenger hunt has been handcrafted from the distillery and used to mature Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey before being specially fabricated for the Barrel Hunt to house prizes, including an original, one-of-a-kind bar kit made with white oak from the barrels. Barrel Hunt winners will also receive the authentic Jack Daniel’s barrel they found along with prizes tailored to each region that participates in the Barrel Hunt.
India being a key market for Brown-Forman and the focus on the country
American Whiskies are seeing a renaissance globally. Consumers choose American Whiskey for the taste, quality and the values that resonate with the category. Some of the key factors driving this growth are the increasing disposable incomes, increasing aspirations amongst over 25 year old consumers to upgrade and increased exposure to global brands. The increasing cocktail culture, premiumisation of the retail environment and the lifestyle of consumers in India add promise to the future for the American whiskey category in India. Industry reports also suggest that American Whiskeys in India have been growing with a CAGR of more than 14% in the last decade, with Jack Daniel’s driving this growth. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey is the highest selling premium whiskey in the world and we’re confident of replicating our global success here. We are very proud of the popularity that the brand enjoys among consumers in India, making it the most popular American whiskey brand in the country.
How Jack Daniel’s is trying to enable the American Whiskey market to expand and grow in India?
We believe the choice of drinking an American Whiskey is more of a lifestyle choice. The well-travelled Indian millennial consumers are not very different than their counterparts across this digitally connected world. As more and more Indians travel the world, they are seeking brands which are authentic and have a legacy of craftsmanship. The Jack Daniel’s trademark is a powerful global brand which sells in more than 160 countries across the world, but every drop is made in Lynchburg, Tennessee which is a town with just two traffic stoplights. We are seeing a lot of millennial consumers choosing American Whiskey as their preferred liquor beverage choice as the versatility and mixability of American Whiskey makes it easy to drink and for them to relate to. We also see a lot of women, who traditionally have shied away from whiskey, now finding a suitable alternative in American Whiskey.
How Jack Daniel’s is trying to garner growth and market share in India, which is primarily a scotch market?
One of the foremost needs for us is to tell consumers what makes American Whiskey and Jack Daniel’s special and different to other whiskeys. For example, every drop of Jack Daniel’s is made in Lynchburg Tennessee, the place where Jack Daniel established his distillery in 1866. Jack Daniel’s whiskey is charcoal mellowed, a unique process to Tennessee and the reason why Jack Daniel’s is a Tennessee Whiskey and not a Bourbon. Jack Daniel’s whiskey is then matured in brand new American oak barrels crafted at our own cooperages. All of this is of great interest to our consumers and trade partners.
Music has been one of our key communication platforms globally, helping us take the brand’s core values to our consumers. Not many people know that our relationship with music goes all the way back to our founder Mr. Jack himself. He knew that good music and good whiskey had a way of bringing people together. To help keep the music going, Jack created his own neighbourhood band called the Silver Cornet Band way back in 1892. Today, for a generation of new musicians, Jack Daniel’s continues to be the spirit behind their music.
We also celebrate Mr. Jack’s Birthday in India during the month of September as it is done across the world, giving consumers a chance to know and engage with the brand better.
In addition to this, the mixability of Jack Daniel’s is a strong platform for us. Jack Daniel’s is a versatile and easily mixable drink and Jack and Cola is one of the most popular bar calls amongst new consumers. It also allows the bar tenders to experiment with different cocktails using Jack Daniel’s as the base. To tap into the increasing demand for whiskey cocktails in India, we launched a “Whiskey Cocktails – Made with Jack” festival last year and the response has been very encouraging
The introduction of new variants, such as Jack Daniel’s Honey, to include new people into the franchise
We are very excited about offering Indian consumers the opportunity to enjoy Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey. As well as giving our current fans more choice within our family of brands, it will also attract new consumers into the Jack Daniel’s franchise.
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey is crafted with world-renowned Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey and mingled with a proprietary honey liqueur of the distiller’s own making, resulting in a unique offering for a taste that’s one-of-a-kind and unmistakably Jack. Owing to its unique and distinctive characteristics, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey is perfect as a chilled shot or on the rocks. It also lends itself extremely well in cocktails. We also see a lot of women coming into the Jack Daniel’s family through Tennessee Honey.
With consumers greatly appreciating its distinctive and rich taste, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey has been a huge worldwide success and is the fastest spirits brand to sell one million cases since its launch. We are excited about launching this in India and the initial results have been very encouraging.