US BANK STADIUM MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA

Imagine being a recording artist successful enough to sell 50,000 tickets. Enough tickets to fill an NFL stadium. Imagine that artist recently launching his own whiskey brand now has the opportunity to promote a new product to core fans, in person. So many of them in one place, with the intention of having a great time and seeing you. The opportunity is huge. This is exactly what Chris Stapleton did to promote his new product, Traveller Whiskey.

Doors opened to the public at 5:00 pm.  Stapleton went on just past 9:00.  Lainey Wilson, in support, went on stage at 7:40.  There was also a third act, Marcus King who hit the stage before that. A perfect storm of a captive audience of excited fans with time to kill.  Time to buy some merch, maybe grab a bite, or a drink.  You have their attention. And the Stapleton camp, along with their distributor of Traveller Whiskey, did not let the opportunity slip away.

Rotating slides hit the huge screens on both sides of the stage. They informed patrons that Traveller Whiskey was available and further instructed where they could get it.  The slide showed which clubs and which concourse bars you could find it. All ‘on field’ bars had it as well.  In fact, if you went to one of the bars on field level, you would find all servers wearing Traveller t-shirts.  They also had placards for specialty cocktails made with Traveller.  That slide repeatedly popped up about every 15 seconds.

Now this is not about if you like the brand or if you don’t.  This is all about the basic marketing fundamentals used properly in a big event situation.  You may think since Stapleton is huge…8 Grammy’s…#1 songs…#1 albums…it should be easy to make this happen.

Well, it is not.  I guarantee you this took an army to pull off.  So many items had to be cleared and checked off. Many people were involved. Stapleton may have some clout to negotiate this into the deal but still, to make it happen, as seamless as it appeared, was no easy task. Their distributor, I’m sure, was also much involved and did an excellent job. The whole thing was beyond impressive.

Traveller Whiskey, a collaboration with Sazerac/Buffalo Trace is relatively new.  It’s still launching in some markets.  What a great way to educate your fan base on a new product.  I can guarantee you that not many fans left the venue unaware of this brand and its association with Chris Stapleton. I can also guarantee it was heavily poured this night and many bottles purchased afterward. If you haven’t tried it yet, add it to your list. It’s a 90 proof whiskey blend with a lot of flavor and goes down smooth. It’s worth adding to your collection.