Marketing Spirits: Storytelling

How do you think about story-telling, more conceptually, and the power of stories, with these brands?

Story-telling is an over-used or maybe appropriately-used word. That’s how we remember things. That’s how things get passed on. Probably one category where it’s hard to find one where stories are more important is in spirits. The story becomes the experience. You sit next to someone or you talk to a bartender and they recommend something. Often, they will tell you a quick story and it stays with you. I’m keeping that story tight, making sure it’s right. Again, it’s not always easy, but it should be based on a part truth. If your story is about how long you’ve been aged, your story is about how long you’ve been aged. If your story is about who touched it and how it’s been handled and crafted, great. If your story is purely emotional, which is, this was a whisky sourced from wherever. We didn’t grow it ourselves, but what we did do is, we got it to market. That’s a thing too. They’re all possibilities. Again, you have to know what you’re selling, who you’re selling to, what matters to them.

But people can repeat stories. Stories can differentiate use. Our stories can get passed down. Stories are really, really powerful mechanisms in brand building.