WIDENING THE CIRCLE

“ e biggest audience for Irish whiskey tourism is American [34% of the total in 2022]. Americans tend to view Ireland as the land of saints and scholars; we don’t want to shy away from that but package it in a contemporary way,” he says.

“We post animations, videos and photo shoots on social media, piggy-backing on relevant things that are already happening. It is all about conversation and chat, interspersed with simple facts and stats to keep the rhythm going.

“It is quite unusual for any industry to have everybody in bed together on a marketing campaign. Powered by this, we have brought out booklets about the heritage of Irish whiskey, protecting the process and product and making cocktails to appeal to retailers and purchasers around the world.”

Jameson Irish Whiskey announced the latest addition to its ‘Widen the Circle’ international brand campaign in January. Once again featuring Irish comedian and actress Aisling Bea, it is based on the idea that life is enriched by the magic of authentic human connections.

The new spot, called ‘The Drop’, is the story of a drop of Irish rainwater that makes its way through the distillery and becomes Jameson Irish Whiskey, travelling to every corner of the globe to ultimately ‘Widen the Circle’. It neatly ties in with the IrishWhiskey360° campaign’s references to Irish rain and the di erent names for it.

As part of the shoot, Bea spent a day in Midleton Distillery, where Jameson is produced, learning all about the brand and meeting the faces behind it. The short-form social content, dubbed the ‘Jameson Whiskey Intern’, o ers a humorous insight into her day which involved learning about the whiskey production process and culminated in the creation of her bespoke ‘Bumble Bea’ cocktail.

The campaign will roll out globally throughout 2023 across TV, out-of-home, digital and social channels.