'The Right Amount of Craic': Inside Jameson's Social Strategy

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By: Digiday

Irish Whiskey has attracted legions of American drinkers in recent years, who prefer its light-bodied sweetness to scotch’s smokiness and the rounder contours of bourbon. Riding that wave is Jameson, the blended Irish whiskey produced by Pernod Ricard.

The brand has received shoutouts from Lady Gaga and Rihanna — the former called the whiskey “my long-time boyfriend” and the latter mentioned the brand in a song — and has been a perennial favorite of American barhoppers. With a retail value of $990 million in 2014, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Jameson was No. 12 on the list of the most powerful whiskey brands in the world.

“The whiskey category has seen a huge resurgence with younger consumers, females as well as Hispanics experimenting more,” said Sona Bajaria, brand director, Jameson at Pernod Ricard USA. “So we’re definitely paying attention and ensuring that we use social and digital in an optimal way.”

When Pernod Ricard bought the company Irish Distillers Ltd. in 1988, the strategy was to go after vodka and white-rum drinkers, marketing it not as Irish whiskey but as a light and pleasant drink that went down as easily by itself as it did in any cocktails.

In the social era, the brand’s approach to marketing has had to evolve. Jameson is churning out a mix of long-form and shot-sized content across a range of platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and most recently Snapchat. The common thread, across all platforms, has been to evoke its 200 years plus heritage with the new slogan: “Sine Metu,” meaning “without fear.”

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