• by Larissa Faw , March 15, 2021

In a bid to expand its content marketing efforts Black Rifle Coffee Company -- which is owned by U.S. military veterans -- has formed a partnership with TacGas, a content creation studio focused on realistic portrayals of military and defense personnel.

The two Utah-based companies will collaborate on creative projects, including photo shoots and video productions, which will then be transformed into broader advertising and marketing campaigns for Black Rifle Coffee.

This is a non-exclusive retainer-based partnership, and Black Rifle will continue to work with other content creators.

The deal is designed to help the coffee company maintain its military-centric “identity” as it scales. Black Rifle has pledged to hire 10,000 veterans as it expands.

“We have a lot of the equipment, vehicles, and experience to deliver at a high level that is commensurate with their brand and marketing content standards,” explains a TacGas representative.

Their first project — titled "Thunderdome"—will launch in April. The campaign will take the viewer to a post-apocalyptic “Mad Max-type” world. The creative humorously suggests Black Rifle Coffee has survived the apocalypse and is thriving in this fantasy world. It also slyly tweaks the iconic Folgers slogan (“The Best Part Of Wakin’ Up Is Folgers In Your Cup”) by featuring a SWAT team of dogs waking up their owner as “The better way to wake up.” It then transitions to the owner having a cup of Black Rifle Coffee.

This partnership was born in Iraq after TacGas CEO, Jim Staley grew to know the co-founders of Black Rifle Coffee, Evan Hafer and Mat Best, while working together on a government security contract. All have military backgrounds, with Staley serving as a recon/scout sniper in the U.S. Marine Corps while Hafer was an Army Green Beret. Hafer was “just” an Army Ranger, jokes Stanley. “Having a common background in the special operations community helps with the bond.  We want to work with our people.”