Situation: Beefeater Gin was preparing to launch Beefeater 24, their first new gin to be released to the U.S. Market in over 130 years. The gin industry had been particularly challenged in recent past as new vodka brands and the boom of flavored vodkas began to dominate the spirits market. While gin is often seen as the old-man’s cocktail or the “other” white spirit, Beefeater was especially challenged in that the brand itself had historically been thought to be stuffy, old fashioned and dated.

The rise of urban cocktail culture and mixology, where bartending is thought of as an art and no longer a part-time vocation, provided the perfect opportunity for gin to shine. Because Gin is a hard sell, it didn’t make sense for Access to host a “product deskside tour.” We needed to focus on the ambiance of the brand and essence of cocktails. Therefore, Access came up with and idea to host targeted yet high profile events in the Beefeater 24 launch cities to breathe new life into the brand and get Beefeater back on the minds of both media and industry influencers alike.

Solution: Because Beefeater 24 uses two kinds of tea as botanicals, (something which had not been done to the gin recipe before) Access planned a series of Mad Hatter Tea-Parties in the launch cities complete with mini tea sandwiches, English DJs and tea-time with our own Mad Hatter, Beefeater Master Distiller Desmond Payne. Just as tea parties are often synonymous to conservative and dated, Beefeater too needed a re-fresh in order to convince media that “gin was in.” The goal of each event was to infuse contemporary British flair into the parties holding true to the brand’s identity while coming off as hip, fresh, young and innovative.

We used several elements of subtle branding such as Beefeater napkins, Beefeater cupcakes, top hats and Beefeater ties to reinforce the brand. Because mixology is such a large part of the new cocktail resurgence, we empowered each venue to experiment with the product and actually serve one of their own cocktails creations at the launch event. By doing this, the team was able to give the pitch a strong regional tie-in and simultaneously get Beefeater 24 on minds of some of the best bartenders in the business.

At each event, the team set up a botanical station showcasing all twelve botanicals used in Beefeater 24. This gave party-goers an opportunity to have their own hands-on experience with the product while enjoying the delicious and inventive cocktails it created. Top tier media were able to have “tea” with Master Distiller Desmond Payne during the party which directly translated into detailed and on-message coverage results.

Success: Each Beefeater 24 launch event was a vast success with over 140 total media attending and over 200 pieces of resulting coverage generating over 186 million impressions. Outlets that covered the product included; PAPER Magazine, Maxim, Cigar Afficiando, Manhattan Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, 7×7 Magazine, Food & Wine, Time Out New York and The Washington Post. What started as a trial launch in New York and San Francisco has now expanded to seven markets including; Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and most recently Chicago. The team is also preparing to host our tried and true launch events in Dallas, Washington D.C., Seattle, Portland and Miami.

Beefeater 24 continues to stay on the menu of all cocktail hot-spots which enables the team to constantly pitch new and innovative cocktail creations within each city. In addition, PR Director for Beefeater Gin, Sarah Bessette, has said, “With an impressive media dinner for Plymouth Gin and stupendous launch event for Beefeater under our collective belt, it is quite clear you are exceptional partners who understand how to elevate our brands.” We have since been asked to pitch for the business for three additional spirits brands within their parent company – Pernod Ricard.