OPPORTUNITY

When we first started working with Maine Spirits, we took seriously the charge to “freshen things up.” Liquor sales were trending up 4% year over year, so how could we best maintain that momentum while generating interest for cocktails in what’s clearly a beer-crazy state? We started where we always start, by understanding the consumer.

PROCESS

Hunches and prior experience are always helpful, but it’s ultimately the insights that inform our efforts and all the work that followed. Our research proved that while Mainers love their craft brews, plenty appreciate a good cocktail, too. It’s just a matter of time, place, and taste. With that audience data in hand, we built a highly targeted, integrated media strategy that introduced a slew of new digital channels and tools to the mix. Already, we have seen the digital efforts paying off with site visits increasing significantly year over year. These insights also informed our creative efforts, allowing us to better customize campaigns to unique audience segments with greater precision and frequency.

SOLUTION

With our help, Maine Spirits is engaging a new generation of whiskey-tasters, gin-sippers, and the mezcal-curious. Fresh creative—driven by audience insights and delivered by a fine-tuned media strategy—meets Mainers where they’re already searching, playing, listening, and imbibing. Case in point: spirit-inspired food recipes and marinades by a local Maine chef (Tequila Fish Tacos soup, anyone?). Better yet, growing sales suggest Maine’s taste for spirits is growing too. Cheers to that.