Case study: culture marketing for Sailor Jerry Rum
Industry: Premium speciality spirits/lifestyle
Territory: Global
Sailor Jerry Rum and clothing is an iconic multi-category, premium lifestyle Rum based on the free spirit and craftsmanship of legendary tattooist Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins.
I was the Global Director of Culture at Sailor Jerry Rum for seven years.
This work helped take the business from 5k to 41k cases in four years in Australia alone.
Deep dives into local culture get results.
Engaged, targeted consumers and influential partners help open and nurture new distribution points.
Their extensive grassroots influence gains coverage and positive word-of-mouth to support local businesses, amplified through digital brand endeavours to a wider audience.
This work positioned Sailor Jerry in forty countries, including Scandinavia, Asia, SE Asia, and South America.
At the heart of this brand are its core fans: straight-talking, cynical and sceptical about marketing and advertising.
Tasked with launching the brand into new markets via this core group, a "roots-up" strategy was activated —one that would entrench the brand into the local, hard-to-reach culture by identifying the legit crowds and neighbourhoods.
Culture Blueprints mapped out local networks for recommendations and personal introductions —engaging prospect fans in collaborative and organic projects to create bespoke initiatives unique to their neighbourhood and community.
Sarah Feeney personally conducted a unique self-created method research: living and working remotely and embedding Sailor Jerry Rum into the local culture to create brand awareness and revenue development.
Benefit from this unique intel and ready-made footprint to global success.
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75 cities researched
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30 cultural blueprints created
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1k professional global contacts established
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100 partners and collaborators discovered
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Seven years of continuous in-market research
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500 international bars logged
In an average year, this program:
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delivered 67 liquid-to-lips sampling events across eight countries with 10k people sampled
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created content that secured an online reach of 2m
Let's talk if you're looking to launch your spirits or beer brand into a new market!
"A legend in her own right... Sarah is probably the world's first method researcher where she immerses herself in the community or culture she is researching to give her clients the best and most authentic point-of-view for their needs."
Antonio Bertone.
We worked together whilst Tony was the CMO at PUMA International.