Jim Beam / Beam Suntory.
Elevating Bourbon IQ

The backstory

Beam Suntory had a big challenge: how can we promote our portfolio of bourbons together while treating each brand uniquely to build affinity and likeability? We sought to find commonalities among the brands participating in a first-ever bourbon roadshow (Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark, Knob Creek, and Basil Hayden), while also reflecting the unique brand character of each. The client demanded tangible results across each brand and for the bourbon portfolio in order to move forward.

The idea

No matter which brands visitors came to try, no matter what their preference or level of knowledge, one universal truth about every bourbon enthusiast we surveyed was a desire to increase their knowledge about the craft and character that goes into bourbon. This insight became the common denominator among the four participating brands. “Elevate Bourbon IQ” became the driving KPI keeping Bourbon Boxcar on the tracks from city to city.

The result

Bourbon Boxcar took years to sell to the client. It wasn’t until we provided the key metric to measure that Beam Suntory signed off on the program. It started as a one-city event, but based on its popularity, spread to multiple cities. As for bourbon IQs, they were measurably elevated in every city our train pulled into the station.