The Father Of Bourbon
Gets His Groove Back

Problem

Bourbon sales in the US have surged by 35% annually over the past decade. Despite Elijah Craig's popularity among bartenders and trade leaders, the brand failed to fully capitalize on this growth.

Recognizing the need to enhance the brand's shelf presence, our clients approached us with a perceived marketing issue. Our analysis revealed that marketing alone wouldn't suffice. What it needed was a multi-year strategy to restore the brand's prominence in the bourbon industry.

Behavioral Insight

Our discovery revealed Elijah Craig suffered from "inattentional blindness" at the point of purchase due to the bottle's squat shape and large paper label, leading consumers to mistake it for rum instead of bourbon. Behavioral science showed that Elijah Craig was often overlooked before it had a fair chance.

Therefore, a redesign of the packaging was imperative for Elijah Craig to capture a larger share of the bourbon category's growth and convey the brand's quality and heritage effectively.

Solution

We launched a comprehensive brand redesign, encompassing the glass mold, bottle shape, labeling, product formulation, and pricing strategy, all essential for the brand's success on the shelf. To introduce the new redesign, we developed the Signature Style campaign which propelled the brand forward with bold design, vivid imagery, and dynamic copy, signaling Elijah Craig's emergence as a premium player in the bourbon market.

The campaign, featuring a vibrant color palette, modern typographic treatments, and captivating photography, was deployed across various channels, including social media, digital banners, out-of-home, and television.

Results

Our efforts sparked a significant increase in sales, propelling Elijah Craig to become one of the fastest-growing premium American whiskey brands today. Since the bottle redesign, the brand has seen a sevenfold sales increase.

Continuing our brand innovation efforts, we led marketing launches for two new products within the portfolio, negotiated a multi-year deal with professional golfer Max Homa, secured a five-year partnership with PGA of America, and created "Old Fashioned Week", which celebrates the classic cocktail in thousands of bars nationwide.