Brooklyn Gin is one of the world’s most iconic craft gin brands. It was launched in the UK in 2016, just as the appreciation for quality craft spirits was on the rise. Brooklyn Gin enjoyed significant growth through the late 2010’s, growing into a well known national brand.
However, by 2022 the brand’s fortunes had plateaued through a combination of supermarket de-listings, extreme competition in the craft gin market, the Covid pandemic and a lack of support from their distributor. When the brand was looking for a spirits distributor with a fresh approach, they turned to bbb drinks to reinvigorate their fortunes.
Task
Brooklyn Gin has always enjoyed a loyal bartender following, reflecting the brand’s strategy which has always been to build relationships with the premium on-trade.
When we took over the UK distribution for Brooklyn Gin, our goal was to build the love back up for this iconic brand in the premium on-trade. To support on-trade bars, we came up with a unique campaign called “Brooklyn On Ice” which supports cocktail bars with a complimentary premium ice programme. The campaign was inspired by the ice stamp which is built into Brooklyn Gin’s bottle stopper, plus as any cocktail enthusiast knows…. the integral role high quality ice plays in premium cocktails.
Brooklyn Gin has always had a low-key, personal approach to sales and building long lasting relationships in favour of flashy sales and marketing. That’s why we wanted to find a way to introduce the campaign in a relaxed and informal manner.
Action
To locate the ideal launch venue, our Brand & Marketing Manager, Charlotte worked with the Brooklyn Gin Brand Ambassador, Jay Rivera to scope out the perfect venue. After a day visiting target bars in Central London, they identified The Electric Bar & Diner at The Ned Hotel in Bank as the ideal location. It’s American theme tied in perfectly with the brand’s New York roots, had the kudos to attract the crème de la crème of the UK bar scene and were already stocking Brooklyn Gin.
We used our relationships at The Ned to negotiate the best commercial deal for the event and worked closely with their bar team to develop a bespoke Brooklyn Gin cocktail menu which would be available for guests on the night. This drinks list was added to a Brooklyn Gin branded menu and distributed around our event space.
Our target audience for the event was existing Brooklyn Gin customers, previous stockists, influential bartenders and of course potential new customers who had previously shown an interest in Brooklyn Gin. This was because we wanted to reward existing friends and supporters of the brand as well as nurture new customers. To secure attendees, we set up a registration form on bbb’s website to collect RSVPs and briefed our on-trade sales team to invite key London bartenders to attend. This meant we were able to collect email addresses and follow up with personal emails to the attendees.
The key to delivering a successful event is meticulous project management. Lead by our experienced Brand & Marketing Manager, Charlotte, our key timings were mapped in our project management system and tracked through regular team meetings. This helped the team stay on track and everyone knew how the event would operate in the evening.
As guests arrived at the event, the team at The Electric Bar & Diner, mixed up their Brooklyn Gin cocktail of choice. Then Jay Rivera delivered a short welcome speech and introduced our “Brooklyn On Ice” marketing campaign washed down with Brooklyn Gin martinis, before guests settled down for an American themed three course feast.
Result
Tom Meyer-Higgins, GM from Fleets in St Pauls thought the event was ‘great’ commenting that he ‘loved the food and drinks that were served in a great environment’. Attendees like Liam Brown, Founder of Seven Bar Group, Ciarán Smith owner of Homeboy Bar Group and Kelley from Found Bar in Shoreditch were equally as positive about their experience on the night, complimenting bbb’s event management skills.
bbb’s Marketing Director, Charlie Pountney commented on LinkedIn ‘how nice it was to just be hospitable… enjoying the company of industry colleagues and making new friends’ without the pressures of a hard sell. The approach was very much about building and rebuilding relationships in a relaxed manner on behalf of Brooklyn Gin.
So what’s next for Brooklyn Gin in the UK? Our on-trade sales team will continue to nurture these relationships and follow up on conversations developed over the course of the evening around the “Brooklyn On Ice” campaign. We’ll be offering these accounts the chance to be some of the first bars to take advantage of our premium ice programme. Bars who sign up will receive complimentary ice blocks and premium ice cubes as well as ice masterclasses for their bar staff to train them in the importance of good quality ice in cocktails…. So next time your negroni comes with a Brooklyn Gin logo stamped into the ice cube… you’ll know our campaign is bearing fruit!
If you are reading this and you like the idea of being part of our “Brooklyn On Ice” programme, then please complete the enquiry form below and David our Sales Manager will get right back to you.
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