Ideas Make Manifestos
brand development by sarah feeney
case study: culture marketing for Sailor Jerry Rum
I was the Global Director of Culture at Sailor Jerry Rum for seven years, establishing audiences in 40 countries.
This work helped take the business from 5k to 41k cases in four years in Australia alone.
Industry: Premium speciality spirits/lifestyle
Territory: Global
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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.
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 activations, amplified through digital brand endeavours to a wider audience.
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This work positioned Sailor Jerry in forty countries, including Europe, Scandinavia, Asia, North America, 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.
I conducted a unique self-created method of research: living and working remotely and embedding Sailor Jerry Rum into the local culture to create brand awareness and revenue development.
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Benefit from this unique intel and ready-made footprint to global success.
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75 cities researched
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20 cultural blueprints created
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1,000 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
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In an average year, this program:
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delivered 67 liquid-to-lips sampling events across eight countries, with 7k people sampled
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created content that secured an online reach of 2m
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.​​
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Antonio Bertone.
We worked together at PUMA whilst Tony was the CMO.
