Marketing Today

Maker's Maker Thoroughbreds and Redheads 2009

This weekend I attended the 8th Annual Thoroughbreds & Redheads event in Kentucky.  This is an event that Maker's Mark runs each year for their loyal customers.  And, I thank them for doing it because it's a first class, truly fun event for a product that I already like.

The Maker's Mark Mile

On Friday, April 10, we  headed out to Keeneland, a Thoroughbred race track in Lexington, KY, the heart of Bluegrass country, to mark the 13th running of the Maker’s Mark Mile.  This is Maker's Marks  very own Grade 1 Stakes Race - and it's a big deal.  As a Maker's Mark Ambassador, I was able to get tickets to the reserved section which had us sitting with other Maker's Mark fans under an awning (which was key as it was a day full of heavy rains).  When we got to Keeneland, we checking in with the Maker's Mark team and received a Maker's Mark hat, two programs, and commemorative pins.  Our servers wore black top hats dipped in red wax (like the bottles).  The ninth race of the day is the Maker's Mark Mile.  It's a race run on turf that carries a $3000,000 purse.  I'm happy to report that my $5 bet on Mr. Sidney to win turned into about $21 for me.

Post Race Party in Lexington

Because I was with my folks (who wanted to get home to their dog?!), I'm sorry to say that I missed the opportunity to head over to downtown Lexington the way "Capone took Chicago" back in the days of prohibition.  This year the Maker's Mark folks did something a little different and they charged $10 per ticket, with 100% of the proceeds going to a local charity. They asked their Ambassadors to visit their blogto vote for the charity that will receive the proceeds.  While I was sorry to miss the party, I was able to follow the fun through @jasonfalls and #makers on Twitter on the drive back to Louisville.

Trip to Mecca, a.k.a. the Maker's Mark Distillery

Maker's Mark runs Ambassador Homecoming Day on the Saturday after race day. Guests are invited for a little bluegrass luncheon at the Maker’s Mark friends in Loretto, KY.  With the distillery just a mile up the road from my 92-year-old Grandmother's house, I've been there too many times to count.  This year I skipped this event to spend the day with my grandmother, but I was there in spirit.  In years past when I've gone, many Ambassadors stop in to check on their "batch bottles" to pick up bottles from their special batch and plenty of Maker's Mark bottles head out to the car trunks of happy customers.

I was amazed to see all of the new warehouses being built to store Maker's Mark on the land across from St. Francis church and alongside of my old Grandaddy's store.  As times change, and people are less dependent on family farms and the local general store, it's nice to see a successful business like Maker's Mark expand in the town where so many members of my family live.  Thank you again, Maker's Mark, for a lovely weekend!  Even though I missed half of it this time around, I was there in spirit and will be back next year!

Marketing Maker's Mark Bourbon

Maker's Mark believes in building the brand by building the brand enthusiasts.  You do this by nurturing your loyal customers and distributors and making it easy for them to help spread the word.  I love watching their success doing this for three reasons.  One, I'm a marketer.  Two, Maker's Mark bourbon is made in Loretto, Kentucky where many members of my family have lived all their lives.  And, three, I'm a Maker's Mark customer and an ambassador.  Here are a few ways, Maker's Mark is successfully marketed:

Market the Distillery

Tens of thousands of people drive out to map dot Loretto, Kentucky every year to see the Maker's Mark distillery which is a national historic landmark.  I took the photo above at Thanksgiving and it shows the former gift shop decorated for the holidays.  The grounds are kept up beautifully.  There are tours of the distillery so that you can see how the bourbon is made.  And, there is even a small restaurant on site if you want to grab a bite.  The new gift shop is amazing and features a tasting bar (part of the tour) and many items fans would love such as golf items, t-shirts, cigars, and glassware.  If you are out in Lexington or Louisville, I recommend the hour drive down to Maker's Mark to experience this.

Build An Online Presence and Keep the Content Fresh

The Maker's Mark website features the history of Maker's Mark, national, local, and industry press Maker's Mark has received, recipes, a blog, and an online store. The site is written so that it tells the tale of the seven generations of Samuels who created Maker's Mark and it keeps up that specialness of the distillery and the people who make the bourbon.  It's a place to learn more and stay up to date.

Reward Your Customers with a Loyalty Program

I'm a Maker's Mark ambassador.  This means I get regular e-mail updates from Maker's Mark from time to time with information they think I'd find useful.  I get gifts every year around the holidays like coasters, cocktail shakers, or this year, it was wrapping paper which was very nice.  Most importantly, I get invitations to special events that are held in Boston where I live and to the annual Thoroughbreds and Redheads weekend held in Kentucky in April.  This event starts on a Friday at Keeneland where horses run the Maker's Mark Mile followed by a party in Lexington, KY and then a luncheon and tour of the distillery the following day.  I have gone the last two years and have enjoyed it.  Hopefully, my schedule will allow me to make it down again this year.

And, There's More

Maker's Mark has always run creative ads in print, billboards, and throughout the Louisville airport (at least that's where I've seen them) and the distillery is going green.  I can't comment on any changes to the percentage of print based ads to percentage of marketing focused on social networking as I'm not privy to the company marketing strategy.  I'm just an observer and a satisfied customer of the brand who tries to promote it wherever I can.  I'm very grateful for all they do for Loretto, Kentucky and the Commonwealth of Kentucky through their generosity and the strength of marketing the brand.

Maker's Mark and Hilary Clinton - Branding at Its Best

It's not every day that my world's collide.  Here on Beacon Hill in Massachusetts where I live, we've got Senator Kennedy at Massachusetts General Hospital under observation after suffering a seizure yesterday at his home on Cape Cod.  In Loretto, Kentucky where many members of my family live, Hilary Clinton was campaigning at the Maker's Mark distillery when asked to give remarks about Senator Kennedy.  I couldn't believe it when I was watching NBC national news yesterday and there was Hilary Clinton standing in front of several barrels of Maker's Mark bourbon making comments on Senator Kennedy's many contributions to health care in this country.  My first thought "now there's branding at it's best."

I called my 91-year-old grandmother who lives about a mile down the road from the Maker's Mark distillery and she knew all about Hilary's visit and had seen the many cars headed up Highway 52 for Senator Clinton's "community picnic".  My aunt and several cousins were on site.

A quick search on Google for articles about Hilary's stop in Loretto, Kentucky show a video and photos of her dipping a bottle of Maker's Mark into the famous red wax.  I'm sure proud to see "Loretto, Kentucky" on most of the stories filed yesterday on the Clinton's tour of Kentucky.  According to Rick Pearson of "The Swamp" when asked about the tour and the experience of dipping the bottle, Senator Clinton said "It was very interesting," adding that she had never realized each bottle was individually hand dipped.  "I think they're going to give me the bottle because it dripped some," she said. "I'll get to take that one home, which is not a hardship, you've got to admit. There's some benefits for running for president, every so often."

Pearson's article went on to say that even "members of the Secret Service detail assigned to Clinton's visit also got into the, ahem, spirit of the distillery event. Several of them were sporting black ties that portrayed the tilted neck of a Maker's Mark bottle and bourbon pouring down into a rocks glass."  Now, if that's true (and why wouldn't it be if it's in print?) that's really branding at it's best when you get the Secret Service to wear your brand on a campaign stop.

Time for Thoroughbreds and Redheads

It's time for the 7th Annual Maker's Mark Thoroughbreds and Redheads event and I can't wait!  When 90% of your family lives in Kentucky, you learn to appreciate whisky, college basketball, horse racing, cornbread, and fried chicken.  And, when most of your family lives in Loretto, Kentucky which is home to the Maker's Mark distillery, you just love Maker's Mark.

So what's this got to do with marketing today?  Well, four years ago (I know this because I just got an anniversary e-card), a Boston friend of mine who comes to my Kentucky Derby party every year, signed me up to be a Maker's Mark ambassador.  My responsibility - get free gifts from time to time, attend cool events, and tell my friends about Maker's Mark.  No hardship there.  While I've seen this brand of whisky that I've got a personal connection to on the top shelf behind the bar in London, Boston, New York City, and all sorts of places, it was amazing to me that Boston yuppies were joining the Maker's Mark loyalty program and spreading the good word.

The Thoroughbreds and Redheads Event

As part of being an ambassador, I get invited to a wonderful two day event that Maker's Mark runs in Kentucky.  Last year, I attended the 6th annual "Thoroughbreds and Redheads" for the first time with my folks who have retired to Louisville.  Boy, did we have fun!  On Day 1, we headed out to Lexington, and took a drive around the horse farms before heading over to Keeneland where Maker's Mark was rewarding their loyal fans with a day at the races complete with Maker's Mark giveaways and our first bet already paid for!  The best part of the day - the Maker's Mark Mile - a one-mile horse race on turf for horses four years and older.  I even managed to leave the track $28 ahead!

On Day 2, my folks and I headed out to Loretto - home to Maker's Mark and the town my mother grew up in.  We picked up my 90-year-old grandmother who lives a mile down the road from the distillery and we headed over for lunch and a tour of the distillery.  Having lived in Loretto since she was married 70 years ago, my grandmother (known to others as "Miz Grace") is like an empress as she knows most of the folks who work at Maker's Mark because she watched them grow up.  We had great fun eating Kentucky ham and listening to local bluegrass band "Kentucky Blue" who sang that crowd pleasing favorite "Always Marry an Ugly Girl" (because when she leaves you, you won't care) and "The Good Old Mountain Dew," an ode to moonshine, before we took our tour.

My dad and I had a chat with the event coordinator, Emily, about the crowd.  She said that almost 4,000 people signed up for the two-day event from all over the United States - even as far as Boston (we know who that was).  As my dad and I stood in the gift shop line, we struck up conversations with a few folks who were shifting stacks of t-shirts, specialty cigars, and golf jackets in their arms.  Most of them were empty nesters who loved Maker's Mark and didn't mind driving down from Chicago or Cleveland or Indiana to have a fun time at this two day event while drinking some Maker's Mark along the way.

This year, it looks like the event will be even bigger.  I know that I'll be bringing three friends with me who can't wait to go.  Not sure if they think they're headed to Green Acres or Mayberry, but it will be interesting to collect their impressions through out the weekend as we head from event to event.  And, I know my grandmother is looking forward to it as well.

Old Brand Tries New Media

And, for me, it's interesting to watch a brand like Maker's Mark, which has been a part of my life for a long time, branch out into new media and loyalty events.  This past February, Maker's Mark started a blog which I really enjoy reading.  They've always had great ads, but some of their new guerrilla marketing tactics - like wrapping a soda machine at an airport like a Maker's Mark bottle with a "You Wish" message at the top make me chuckle, and I even use the recipes they send me via e-mail from time to time.  And, have you heard DaDip?  It's a rap video posted up on YouTube about dipping a bottle of Maker's Mark into red wax and it's pretty clever. 

As an ambassador, I've event got a whisky barrel with my name on it somewhere in Loretto.  When it's time to bottle that whisky up, I'm going to get an e-mail so that I can buy straight from my own personal batch.  But for now, it's off to the races for me!