Toronto advertising agency The Hive and Jack Daniel’s are boldly sending bands where few bands have gone before. More specifically, New York’s Grand Central Station, San Antonio’s Pearl Stable, the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, The Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the U.S.S. Midway – an aircraft carrier moored near San Diego.
These unlikely concert venues are part of the whisky brand’s “Live at the Landmark” concert series, which hosts exclusive live shows at iconic American landmark sites.
“Music and spirits have always gone together,” said Rick Shaver, senior vice-president of The Hive, which is partly why the brand has long had an association with music culture. The Hive also conceived and executes the brand’s international Studio No. 7 concert series.
Live at the Landmark's Grand Central Station gig
Jack Daniel’s has worked with the Toronto agency since the ‘90s.
“We know the brand’s character,” said Shaver. “And we have a really good understanding of the music business. We know what kinds of music are relevant and compelling to our target consumers.”
In this case, those target consumers are the 21-and-just-barely-over crowd. The scheduled bands (Metric and Okkervil River are two examples) will appeal to millennial-aged consumers – a cohort Shaver said is not an easy one to hook. “It takes a lot to get the attention of young adults these days,” he said. “But we like a challenge.”
In a statement, Jennifer Powell, senior brand manager at Jack Daniel’s, said the landmark locations have “legend and lore associated with them much the same way Jack Daniel’s 150-year brand heritage does.”
The statement went on to note that the concert series was designed to boost local-market publicity. “The intent of the ‘Live at the Landmark’ program is to create a memorable local experience that everyone is talking about, both leading up to the event and, hopefully, long after the show tears down,” said Shaver.
