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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/504798
www.cheersonline.com 31 May 2015 • The Beam Suntory brand is overseen today by chief operating officer Rob Samuels, Bill Sr.'s grandson. The first batch of Maker's Mark was ready in 1959. Marge Samuels, Bill's wife, came up with the name, hand-torn label, bottle shape and idea to hand-dip each bottle in red wax. She was recently inducted into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame, in recognition of her connection to the industry and the Maker's Mark brand, being instrumental in everything down to the look and feel of the distillery. "Our initial brand positioning hasn't changed much over the years—we stayed true to a single-minded focus," says Gigi DaDan, Maker's Mark's senior marketing director. "Bill Samuels was a pioneer in the hand-crafted bourbon category because he wanted to create a bourbon he could enjoy drinking that was also approachable." The number of consumers approaching the whiskey category has increased in recent years, especially as women and the younger generation have embraced bourbon. "Maker's Mark is getting our fair share of the women coming into the category," DaDan says. "You see an increased interest across the board in premium and superpremium products—not just in the U.S. but around the world, which is really driving interest in the bourbon category." Maker's Mark also benefits from the renewed interest in cocktail culture, which matches the brand's marketing efforts. "We're educating a wider pool of drinkers and bartenders now," DaDan adds. "That's really how we've built the brand over the years—through the bartending community, relying on them to influencing consumers' drinking behavior." And finally, the brand is benefiting most from the importance of authenticity to today's consumers. "What you see when you go to the distillery is that through every part of the process, we have people working on the brand," DaDan says. "It's a hand-crafted process that people can see for themselves. Visitors can come down and see the men and women hand-dipping every single bottle, which is now well over a million barrels per year." MAKER'S MARK GROWTH BRANDS HALL OF FAMERS SKYY VODKA Campari America 18 Growth Brand Awards 2014 Cases sold: 2.81 million Since it was created in San Francisco in 1992, SKYY vodka has challenged conventional wisdom in the vodka category. Known for its limestone filtration and cobalt-blue bottle, the brand has introduced a number of innovations over the years, including SKYY Infusions and the recently released SKYY Barcraft. In just 23 years on the market, SKYY has received 18 Growth Brand Awards. "As vodka has become more of a commodity game, and many of the top players battle for shelf space by pulling the price level, SKYY is trying to stay out of the fight by building brand equity," the company says. "We're laser-focused on building and affirming the vodka's core truths of quality, innovation and style, with everything from bold, new advertising, to marketing activations, to upgrading our bottle." SKYY has especially benefited from the craft cocktail movement and re-imagined classic cocktails. The brand is fostering the belief that you can make a terrific cocktail with a few fresh ingredients and without too much fuss. To stay relevant for bartenders and consumers, SKYY is developing programming that will emphasize great- tasting cocktails simplified, such as SKYY Barcraft. The brand was acquired by Gruppo Campari about five years ago. "The acquisition put us in the position to be able to drive our own destiny," the company says. "SKYY's focus is leveraging the amazing portfolio of brands, including Wild Turkey, American Honey and Forty Creek. Our brands mean something. Each has an interesting story, and every single one of them is exceptional."