• by Paul Gough , January 27, 2003

Integration. It’s more than just a word in the new campaign for a classic spirit, Southern Comfort. It flows through every part of the multi-channel campaign, which was designed and executed by Arnold Worldwide with the Louisville, Ky., distillery Brown-Forman.

Previous advertising has focused on the drink itself. Channels have included print, radio, outdoor and event promotion, and in-bar marketing. Advertising often focused on special occasions like Mardi Gras and, especially, how to use Southern Comfort in mixed drinks and cooking.

But Arnold’s campaign is innovative in many ways, from the style and execution to its tight integration and the spots that will run on cable TV in the U.S. and elsewhere. Arnold’s approach brings its sense of "brand essence" to Southern Comfort, a sense that Arnold executives say informs and intensifies every aspect of the campaign. It tries to build an emotional connection to Southern Comfort. "It’s important to let consumers know the versatility of Southern Comfort in this way, but this approach does not truly build a long-lasting ‘emotional’ connection for the brand," says Les Diveley, president of Arnold Worldwide-St. Louis, which did the creative for Southern Comfort.

Focus groups came up with what Arnold thinks makes Southern Comfort special in the marketplace: If you’re in the twentysomething or thirtysomething demographic, it’s what you drink when you’re with your friends. And not necessarily in bars and restaurants, a traditional target for liquor makers. Focus groups said that the common denominator was a group of friends relaxing and enjoying the conversation, and that could be anywhere friends meet.

"We found that Southern Comfort fit those times, which could be before going out for the evening, after coming back from going out, during a relaxed, low-key night out or just staying in with friends… Arnold’s advertising for Southern Comfort captures those moments," Diveley says.

The result: A "Between Friends" tag and feel. Integration is more than just a concept for the campaign, Diveley says. It’s top-of-mind, giving Brown-Forman a common global positioning and the most bang for its buck worldwide. But it goes beyond that, Diveley says.

"Sometimes clients believe marketing integration is merely about having the same typeface and logo in every ad. At Arnold, we believe true integration is where each element of the marketing mix has a specific job to do but they all link together to present the same personality, voice, and positioning for the brand. Our approach to brand essence is the glue that holds it all together," he says.

The media planning involved almost every aspect of the landscape. Outdoor, local print (mostly alternative newspapers) and some in-bar marketing and promotions are handled by Brown-Forman’s in-house department, taking advantage of the buying power of the liquor manufacturers’ economies of scale and distribution network. ArnoldMPG, the Boston-based media planning and buying arm of Arnold Worldwide, is responsible for cable and radio. Other Boston-based Arnold subsidiaries handle the interactive, including a redesign of www.SouthernComfort.com and ads on other sites, and some of the promotions and marketing for the brand.

"It’s our belief that people do not consume a medium, they consume all media. You should be part of all the media that fit the brand essence," says Tim Davies, VP/group media director at ArnoldMPG.

One place you won’t see Southern Comfort advertising, at least for the time being, is national print. Print is traditionally a strong area for spirits — one estimate says print has 85% of all spirits advertising — and that’s precisely why Southern Comfort is staying out initially. It wants to be removed from the clutter, to be seen as more than what Southern Comfort has been in the past.

"For us to break out a new positioning, a new feel, a real personality, to compete in that arena would be difficult. We think the broad elements [of the campaign] can bring it to life," Davies says. But he says national print could come in the future as the campaign evolves.

The headline portion of the campaign involves TV spots directed by a noted documentary filmmaker Errol Morris and placed on cable TV in 43 markets coast-to-coast. Trying to sidestep the controversy over hard-liquor ads on TV and their effect on youth, Arnold made a conscious effort to cast people over 25 in the commercials. The 30-second TV spots are all visuals and music with no dialogue, making it easier to transfer the commercials elsewhere in the world.

But given sensitivities surrounding hard-liquor ads on TV, not many national networks accept spirits spots. So ArnoldMPG was forced to research and create its own unwired network, buying local inventory to create a national penetration on cable TV networks that feature music, sports, and entertainment that might be enjoyed by twenty- and thirtysomething friends. Davies doesn’t look on that as a time-consuming activity but rather as a way to show clients that the agency is able to create solutions amid challenges.

The "Between Friends" integration came up elsewhere in the TV buy, too, with daypart placement in the late evening and early morning — 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. — the segment of time when friends would be together.

That daypart philosophy carries over into the radio campaign, which is running on local AOR, country, and contemporary hit radio stations that are popular with 21-to-34-year-olds in the key 43 markets nationwide. The 60-second spots run in that 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. slot to get consumers to think of Southern Comfort when they go out with friends. Neither the TV nor the radio spots had a script, Diveley says actors were hired not to read but to talk about how Southern Comfort fits into their time with friends — and brought the friends in for spontaneous, cozy spots.

Radio also gives Arnold the ability to tie spots into Arnold Brand Promotions efforts in event marketing and bar promotions. "Radio does a great job driving the promotions," Davies says.

Arnold Brand Promotions has three pieces of the event and in-bar marketing of Southern Comfort, says VP/managing supervisor Jamie Tedford. The first took place during September’s Hurricane Festival, an all-day concert named after one of Southern Comfort’s mixed drinks and held in New Orleans. Arnold Brand Promotions didn’t arrange the concert but instead handled the on-site activation of "The Comfort Zone," a quiet gathering place away from the concert noise that features comfortable chairs and a masseuse. It’s being billed as a place for friends to get away from the concert and relate, an idea that is fully integrated with the campaign.

Another initiative will be surrounding Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It’s still in the planning stages, but Mardi Gras is traditionally a strong time for Southern Comfort. A third promotion, an in-bar marketing push, remains in the planning stages with a kickoff in spring 2003. Tedford says this involves a "Between Friends" promotion that can be taken by Brown-Forman distributors to the bar and restaurant level. It’ll be different in that it will encourage friends to participate together.

"A lot of the on-premise promotions that we’ve witnessed have asked [participants] to step away from their friends and engage and interact with a brand. We’re going to ask them stand with their friends [in the promotion]," he says.

A final but key portion of the integrated campaign has been designed by Arnold Interactive and will kick off in November with the relaunch of Southern Comfort’s website. The website is being remade to reflect the "Between Friends" campaign. The headline concept is a nine-episode storyline involving six friends and the situations they get into. Arnold Interactive VP/director of interactive operations Eric Healy says they’re not exactly soap operas, but the stories highlight "friends casually connecting and knowing each other, and knowing each other’s history and idiosyncrasies." The idea is to capture friends relaxed and connecting, which is what the entire campaign is all about.

The story itself is in written form and will appear monthly until the series is concluded nine months later. But it’s interactive, too, with actors hired to play the characters. A customized digital Web photo shoot helped craft 30-second digital videos about each of the characters in every episode. The photo shoot provides a digital library that can be repurposed throughout the campaign.

The campaign on other websites involves flash banner ads, plus rich media impressions like interstitials, superstitials, and Shoshkeles, a kind of interactive skyscraper ad. Sites for the online campaign will include ones that traditionally attract men, like maxim.com and playboy.com.

But Arnold isn’t just trying to reach men, so ads will appear on other sites, too."We’re making a concerted effort to ensure reaching out to young professional women in the areas where they visit," he says.

In the interactive component, Healy says ArnoldMPG secured the real estate with actual buying and placement and Arnold Interactive worked on what to do with that real estate, creating online banner ads and rich media. He says the work between different Arnold subsidiaries has been seamless, allowing every aspect of the campaign to be on brand, on strategy, and consistent creatively.