Dixie Spirit
With little to no advertising budget in place, Southern Comfort was looking for a strategy that would increase on-premise sales to the lucrative 21-and-over segment while building the brand to boot. USM&P suggested that Southern Comfort forgo the typical “try me” approach and create an on-premise event that would draw directly from the brand’s spirit. Fortunately, the brand was behind us 100 percent.
In an effort we dubbed “discovering brand spirit,” USM&P’s creative team headed off to New Orleans, the brand’s legendary birthplace. We found that Southern Comfort was being consumed with gusto in saloon-type establishments and being featured as the main ingredient in big, whimsically named cocktails that can only be described as party drinks. More than just a “sippin’ whiskey” for casual enjoyment at home, Southern Comfort was sold in countless locations where such concoctions as the Alabama Slammer, the Juicy Lucy, and the Gator Bite were enjoyed by young adults in a festive French Quarter atmosphere.
In order to recreate this experience around the country, the Southern Comfort New Orleans Roadhouse promotion (and Original Party Drinks menu) was born. The promo started with the creation of a keystone graphic that represented the look and feel of a Southern Roadhouse (roadhouse being the colloquial term for saloon in the South). This graphic was designed to be used consistently across all materials and promotion extensions.
Instead of standard point-of-sale, key accounts are provided “decorations” they can use to create their own Southern Comfort Roadhouse. Various menu devices – including the creation of signature drinks such as Madame Zelda’s Love Potion- and a bartender training program are included. More brand spirit is provided through the creation of interactive consumer activities including a one-of-a-kind New Orleans Fortune Teller drink coaster. Touch the coaster and it tells your fortune.
Recipe chalkboards (a mainstay in New Orleans accounts), table tents, T-shirts, hats, and temporary tattoos help staffers sell Southern Comfort. The program is further augmented by a Roll the Bones interactive bar game.
Coming in ’99 and ’00: A Southern Comfort Roadhouse Halloween for supermarkets and liquor stores and the Roadhouse Mardi Gras on-premise.
