Imagine being handed the assignment of bringing a legend to life – that famous outdoorsman Yukon Jack. The mythical figure is just that, mythical. What does a mythical figure do, where does he do it, and most importantly, how do we use this brand heritage to motivate consumer involvement?
We assembled a group of outdoor-type consumers with our creatives. Once the sparks stopped flying and we pulled everyone off the ceiling, we discovered that consumers really had a strong desire to explore the legend of Yukon Jack. That legend involved a rustic lifestyle, with many rugged outdoor activities.
Then it came to us in a flash. What if we could immerse consumers in the actual environment that Yukon Jack conquered by sending them to his lodge? Of course, since he doesn’t exist, neither did his lodge. We had to create it. We partnered with one of the biggest hunting lodge builders in Yukon Territory, British Columbia, to build Yukon Jack’s Inconnu Lodge. With this came the strategy of implementing a national sweepstakes to make it possible for six winners and their guests to travel to Yukon Jack’s lodge for a week to Live the Legend. Participants could enter their local on-premise locations as well as off-premise.
We had the retailers covered. Now how could we create a bigger ripple? We found that Yukon Jack drinkers were inclined to participate in outdoor activities and to read outdoor publications. It was a natural for us to partner with Field and Stream. Illustrative, story-like ads would be the window providing consumers a glimpse into a day-in-the-life of Yukon Jack. The sweepstakes ran in the May and June issues and generated more entries than we expected. Success! We had just taken Yukon Jack out of his traditional arena and created brand exposure among a whole new group, who were likely to not only enter the sweepstakes, but to drink the product as well.
We know that consumers around the country have a desire to answer the call of the wild. So we are replicating the adventure of Yukon Jack’s Inconnu Lodge in bars and restaurants nationwide this fall, with woodsy on-premise materials including flannel shirts and earflap hats, bar items such as wooden shot glasses and Swiss Army knives, and point-of-sale materials. To make a splash outside traditional outlets, Yukon Jack’s Inconnu Lodge advertising in Field & Stream has been renewed for winter 1998.
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