Bourbon News 2
Shake History Finalists to Compete For Fred Noe’s Seal of Approval
05 November 2014: Maxxium UK welcomes Jim Beam’s Seventh Generation Master Distiller Fred Noe to London on the 6th November to judge the final round of the Shake History bartender competition—a first for Noe in the UK—and lead an exclusive bourbon masterclass.
Jim Beam’s® Make History™ bartender challenge, Shake History, drew teams from across the UK, six of whom will now compete in a final like no other at The Blues Kitchen in Shoreditch for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make their own history in Kentucky at the Jim Beam American Stillhouse.
To enter the competition, bar teams of three to four members each submitted an original Jim Beam cocktail that they felt was worthy of making history and representative of the personality and style of their bar. The six bar teams competing for the grand prize include: The Cocktail Trading Co. (London), MASH (London), City Social (London), The Milk Thistle (Bristol), The Lace House (Nottingham) and Steam and Rye (London).
Once the winning team is announced, Noe will lead an exclusive bourbon masterclass, giving guests a first-hand taste of a selection of the Jim Beam bourbon portfolio.
Maxxium UK’s Marketing Controller for Imported Whiskey, Janice McIntosh says: “We are honoured to welcome Fred Noe to judge our Jim Beam Shake History competition and host a very special masterclass for a select group of people. Shake History is a first-of-its-kind competition and having Fred as part of the day makes it a truly unique and engaging experience enabling us to make history here in the UK.
“Bourbon is thriving in the UK and there is no better way to celebrate the success of Jim Beam and the Make History™ campaign than to reward our Shake History winners with the unique chance to travel to the Jim Beam American Stillhouse in Kentucky to make history with Fred once more.”
The Shake History competition is part of the global Jim Beam ® Make History™ campaign, which invites Bourbon fans around the world to “Come As Friends, and Leave As Family.”
For more information, please contact: Jennifer Cirillo or Simone Harvey
Tel: 020 8544 6917 or e-mail: j.cirillo@lime-pr.co.uk, s.harvey@lime-pr.co.uk
Jim Beam Makes History With New Global Campaign
11 March 2014: Maxxium UK is launching Jim Beam’s new global campaign, Make History in the UK this month. The first multi-media global campaign for the world’s number one bourbon begins with a new television commercial featuring the brand’s new spokesperson, award-nominated actress Mila Kunis. With significant trade support and activation throughout the year, Make History is a ground-breaking initiative that inspires consumers to make their own mark in history in the same way Jim Beam has.
The TV advertising, which features the Hollywood actress, will break in the UK on 16 March with 30-second ads across multiple media channels such as ITV, Channel 4 and Sky. The campaign also includes online and digital advertising underpinned by PR.
From its humble beginnings as the first bourbon produced in 1795 to becoming the number one bourbon in the UK and across the globe, Jim Beam’s inspirational story is the motivation behind Make History. With taglines focused on encouraging consumers to Make History such as We’ve Made Our History Now Make Yours!, Come As A Friend, Leave As Family and Be The Story Others Tell, the campaign will deliver unprecedented visibility across the trade.
Make History will be activated across the off-trade, including Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose. In store visibility is key with eye-catching displays and innovative POS. The iconic Jim Beam Stillhouse is also being used as an important visual element across the retail trade, with replicas on display in the top Jim Beam depots across the country. The campaign will be heavily supported in depot with POS and retailer incentives and reinforced with a strong Make History presence online.
Consumers can win their chance to make history with on-pack promotions offering trips to the US including the Ultimate Road Trip across America. The activity in the off-trade will also be supported with in-store sampling.
The campaign will be activated in the on-trade with Make History kits to drive awareness and promote the Ultimate Road Trip competition. This will be complemented with a range of high-quality POS items as well as tent cards, posters, seasonal Make History Jim Beam serves and glassware. Bartenders will be supported through bourbon education sessions with training conducted by mixxit, Maxxium UK’s expert cocktail team. Bartenders can also take part in a Jim Beam Make History challenge, which will reward the winner with an historic Jim Beam experience.
Jim Beam’s rich history of producing bourbon goes back over 200 years. Jim Beam has continued to make history by being a pioneer in the category, recruiting consumers through innovation. Red Stag by Jim Beam was the first flavoured bourbon, launched in 2011. This was followed in 2012 by the first honey-infused bourbon to arrive in the UK, Jim Beam Honey. This commitment has resulted in strong Jim Beam performance across the UK trade with volume +13% year on year with +20.2% growth in the on-trade and +11.7% in the off-trade1.
Maxxium UK’s Marketing Controller for Imported Whiskey, Eileen Livingston says: “The UK is one of the largest markets in Europe for Jim Beam and Make History is set to make 2014 an historic year for the brand. Make History embodies the story of Jim Beam and the seven generations of Beam distillers who have been proud of their history, yet keen to make history of their own — innovating ahead of their peers and cementing the brand’s standing as a category leader.
“We are excited to introduce the new campaign to the UK and delighted to welcome Mila Kunis to the Beam family! In 2014 we will share a little of our own history while also encouraging consumers to follow in our footsteps and be inspired to make their own history.
“Our Jim Beam family of products is diverse and appeals to many consumers. This year we are determined to fuel the category growth in the UK even further by supporting the needs of customers across the on- and off-trade with our Make History campaign. This is the right time to execute an initiative of this scale and the year ahead is set to create momentous events for both Jim Beam and our customers.”
For more information, please contact: Jennifer Cirillo or Simone Harvey
Tel: 020 8544 6917 or e-mail
: j.cirillo@lime-pr.co.uk, s.harvey@lime-pr.co.uk
