Whiskey barrels in to pubs

Jameson 700ml GlassPERNOD Ricard has introduced a range of point of sale materials for Irish whiskey Jameson ahead of St Patrick’s Day.

New glassware in the shape of whiskey barrels promote the ‘Jameson Barrel Back’ – essentially for customers to enjoy a measure of Jameson along with their chosen pint of beer.

In addition to the barrel glasses, promotional materials include beer and shot-glass mats and ‘barrel man’ bunting.

Though the point of sale materials are unique to the on-trade, the style has been designed to complement the brand’s mainstream advertising activity.

Vicky Hoey, head of marketing at Pernod Ricard UK, said the activity was designed to appeal to customers who are not regular whiskey drinkers.

“With 25% of consumers more likely to buy a drink if it is served in a unique way, these new on-trade solutions will help bring more people into the brand who wouldn’t normally order whiskey,” said Hoey.

“Offering alternative glassware is the perfect opportunity to increase the menu presence of simple serves and seasonal events such as St. Patrick’s Day, provide a source of inspiration for bartenders to introduce fun and unique drinking vessels.”

Hoey said the visual materials have been created in order to inspire “serve envy” among customers, “with over 50% of consumers claiming to buy a drink that looks interesting, with onlookers being inspired by highly visible delivery systems”.

The materials are available to licensees now.

The activity is the latest on-trade push for Jameson following the brand’s ‘Barrel Aged Cocktails’ initiative late last year.

The programme was designed to educate bartenders on the benefits of barrel-aging cocktails and encouraged them to experiment with barrel-aging techniques for their own recipes using Jameson as a key ingredient.

The brand also launched a mainstream advertising campaign built around the themes of craftsmanship and Irish storytelling.