Reservoir Distillery
BRAND PLATFORM & POSITIONING
The Ask:
Create a marketing plan to help Reservoir Distillery launch their products into new markets.
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The Client:
Founded in 2008, Reservoir Distillery is an ultra-premium whiskey purveyor located in Richmond, VA. Their flagship product line consists of three 100% mash bill whiskeys -- a fancy phrase that means each spirit's distillate is made of only one type of grain.
This aspect of their flagship products allows them to be blended to form thousands of custom mash bills and Reservoir is the only distillery in the country that allows the drinker to control the flavor of their drink.
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The Switch:
When it came to developing a marketing plan, the first step was in understanding the brand. With five taglines and no unified sense of identity, it became clear that I would need to first clarify who Reservoir Distillery is and why they're in the whiskey business to begin with.
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Brand Purpose:
To create their own tradition.
Nothing about Reservoir Distillery is traditional. They were founded by an engineer and a salesman, their products are distilled by a classically trained actor and a coffee roaster. Their whiskeys are aged in 5 gallon barrels, as opposed to the traditional 53 gallon ones, and while other brands boast heritage recipes and traditional methodologies Reservoir Distillery is creating something different.
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Executions:
Because Reservoir Distillery's clientele responds to reviews, blogs, and YouTube personalities far more often than traditional print ads, all executions aimed to engage potential customers through their favored online communities. For this, I created a cost-effective way to introduce bloggers and online personalities to the full flagship line and Reservoir brand through a custom sample box.
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In addition to engaging potential customers, I also recommended Reservoir to continue to dig into the Richmond community to build their brand from the inside out. This included a revision to their current tasting room offerings and suggested outreach to local mixology professionals.
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What Did Lou Do?
1. This particular project is the Creative Brand Manager's senior Independent Study assignment. All work, research, and designs were created by me!
