Jameson, an Irish whiskey with a long history, invites you into its home: a perfect piece of experiential marketing.
I’m lucky enough to know some great people, and among them is Juan Carlos Milena, who works with Jameson’s marketing department.
Last year Jameson opened Jameson Place right in the heart of the Malasaña neighbourhood in Madrid, an amazing flat designed to bring this whiskey closer to its potential consumers.
Jameson Irish Whiskey
So what is this Jameson Place all about?
It’s Jameson’s home in Madrid, run by a Jameson ambassador who is Irish through and through. In 2013 it was Neil who told all of us who visited Jameson Place the fascinating story of this whiskey, its founder and the distillery.
They invite you to a tasting for a group of 12 to 15 people so you can learn to tell the difference between American, Scotch and Irish whiskies. The distillation, how each of them does it, the casks… it’s a real masterclass and a thoroughly entertaining one.
Neither I nor many of the others who went were regular whisky drinkers, but this original way of bringing the product closer to a potential customer works. The classic Scotch and cola you have in a bar has nothing on doing things properly and drinking a triple-distilled Irish whiskey with ginger ale and lime; it’s something else entirely 😉
After such an enjoyable tasting they invite you to have it as a mixed drink, chat with the other guests, listen to music, play table football… whatever you like; it’s incredibly welcoming.
Jameson
This year they’ve moved house and become even more part of the neighbourhood, opening the space up to local artists. I encourage you to visit them, book your tasting and enjoy a different kind of experience. Info and bookings here.
The ambassador is Dave, another Irishman through and through, from Cork, with Irish whiskey running through his veins; he’ll certainly make you laugh with his anecdotes and the way he tells the story of Jameson.
Another thing Jameson does in the neighbourhood is visit all the bars so they give you €2 off your next drink.
They look after their social media very well, and they share everything that happens on @Jameson_es and #JamesonPlace
As a marketing professional and enthusiast, I definitely see this very specific action for a brand as a good investment of the parent company’s budget. For me as a consumer, a tasting at eight in the evening in a unique place has more impact than a billboard, a magazine advert or even a couple of lads or girls in a cocktail bar inviting me to have a drink of brand X so I can win a T-shirt.
On the other hand, we consumers increasingly trust other people’s opinions when buying a product or hiring a service, so the influence of a hundred Jameson tasters like us will win over just as many more to enjoying a good Irish whiskey.
Cheers! Or, in Irish, sláinte!
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