Launching a new breed of bourbon

Red Stag by Jim Beam® features the classic Jim Beam® Bourbon recipe infused with natural black cherry flavors. This "Different Breed of Bourbon" aimed to engage new Bourbon drinkers while appealing to existing Jim Beam® fans.

With limited advertising support for the launch, this had to be accomplished through strategic outreach to blogs and online media. The Padilla Speer Beardsley team was charged with generating consumer buzz and awareness for Jim Beam®'s first new product in more than a decade.

Padilla developed an entertaining, high-profile approach to the launch that put the product in the hands of influencers and encouraged trial among consumers. Driven by a tiered social media-relations strategy, the approach yielded one of the most successful spirits launches in years. More cases of Red Stag by Jim Beam™ were shipped in the product's first six weeks than Jim Beam® had expected to ship in all of 2009. In addition, the coverage was almost uniformly positive, generating 90 percent positive tone among the 527 stories that reached an audience of nearly 56 million.