Glorifier Boosts Bourbon Brands

Franklin County, Ky. -- The brands of Buffalo Trace Distillery are so regional in distribution that few consumers know whether they even come from the company. To change that, the bourbon maker is focusing on multi-brand promotions that include a new four-product bottle glorifier that will land by month's end, and large-scale holiday displays that hearken back to the distiller's origin.The glorifier was designed to build awareness of Buffalo Trace's lesser-known products by positioning them next to the company's more popular brands, particularly in regions where bourbon has lost market share, says Kris Comstock, bourbon brand manager.A key challenge is that the Buffalo Trace brand is mass-distributed only in Indiana, Kentucky, Nashville, Memphis and Dallas, while other company products are better known and more widely distributed in other markets. Old Charter brands, for instance, are better known in Mississippi, Tennessee and Louisiana than in South Carolina, and California is a big market for some smaller-niche products, including Eagle Rare Single Barrel, Blanton's Single Barrel and Van Winkle's Special Reserve 12 Year."Every market is different, and that creates a disconnect between the product and the distillery itself," Comstock says. "Our goal is to connect Buffalo Trace to the other brands and build equity across the line, and these displays allow the retailer to customize the lineup to the local preference."Visual Marketing Inc., Chicago, produced 800 of the glorifiers through Cornett Advertising Inc., Lexington, Ky. They feature a black metal base with slots for four bottles that are separated by metal tasting-card holders. The cards describe the products and provide background for consumers. The holders are positioned behind the display's wooden fascia plate, keeping them out of sight when the holders are empty. On the fascia, the company distillery logo and a buffalo flank the slogan, "The Award-Winning Whiskies of Buffalo Trace Distillery."The glorifier supplements an ongoing holiday promotion for the distillery, which began highlighting its image two years ago. The display theme features various historic structures on the distillery's 225-year-old campus, prominently displaying the Buffalo Trace name but allowing flexibility in terms of specific brands promoted. The first unit, used in 2002, was a scaled-down version of the company's 80-year-old water tower. The display stood 7 feet tall, and its splayed legs supported three tiers of shelves. The slightly smaller 2003 unit, with textured, vacuum-formed side panels, resembled the company's 125-year-old brick warehouse. It had two shelves for displaying standing bottles and two racks for slanting bottles. "We made that unit smaller so it would fit into more stores," Comstock explains.This fall's addition will likely be a facsimile of the company's stone entrance, complete with green gate and company name. It will hold three cases on a wooden rack. Another concept is being designed for 2005 as well, Comstock says."We need to get our name out to consumers and impress on them that we have a long-standing tradition and have won awards," he says, and the glorifier will help achieve that while gaining year-round real estate for the brands. "It hits the key points and builds equity in the distillery itself. It smacks you right in the face with the message that all these brands come from the same place."

Glorifier Boosts Bourbon Brands

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