Jack Daniel's Apple:
Tennessee Apple Launch
The Challenge
Launch Jack Daniel’s newest product, Apple Jack into a cluttered market of flavoured whiskey and recruit a new younger, mixed gender audience of non-whiskey drinkers into the Jack Daniel’s family.
Given the growing interest in lighter, more refreshing fruit flavoured spirits, Jack Daniel’s was in a great position to launch its newest variant, Apple Jack. The challenge was to convince our ‘core’ target market that an apple flavoured whiskey should be their new flavoured gin replacement!
Our Approach
Over 30% of Jack flavour drinkers are new to the whiskey category and 15% of them new to spirits all together, so we knew the opportunity was there, but the biggest barrier would be convincing them that Jack Apple is unlike any other whiskey. We needed to convince this audience that Jack Apple’s sweet, crisp taste made it an ideal entry-level Jack for non-whiskey drinkers and fans of other flavoured spirits, whilst the long and refreshing “with tonic” serve leant itself perfectly to a Spring / Summer launch period.
Using our Person Behind The Platform process, we conducted social listening to find out what matters most to our audience when choosing flavoured spirits. This validated our initial insight that they cared most about flavour delivery and easy cocktail recipes.
Our job was simple - make whiskey approachable by educating on the refreshing long serve and inspiring our audience with non-whiskey occasions to consume the product – BBQs, afternoon drinks with friends, garden parties, etc.

Our Solution
We launched with a mass brand awareness driving campaign across Facebook and Instagram. Shot at the end of the UK Covid-19 lockdown, our campaign was designed around full screen immersive Stories that lived across Instagram and Snapchat, introducing Jack-drinkers and non-whiskey drinkers alike to Jack Apple, hitting each audience with bespoke messaging to increase consideration.
Once we’d established what Jack Apple was, we needed to focus on educating consumers on how and when to drink.
We re-targeted our paid social audiences on FB & IG and also rolled out bespoke ads on Snapchat with creative that heroed the refreshing Jack Apple & Tonic serve and aimed to shift perceptions of whiskey from a late-night drink, to the perfect summer sipper.
As recruiting non-whiskey drinkers was key, we partnered with 8 lifestyle influencers to deliver 41 pieces of branded content and educate their audiences via social that showed how best to enjoy Jack Apple & unwind with friends.
Complimenting the paid social activity, we ran OOH with city specific call outs in London, Manchester, Liverpool and beyond, and video on demand across top-performing shows.
Chilled games night in with @jackdaniels_uk and their new Jack Apple🍏 You lot know how much I love a whiskey and drinking it in a whole new way has opened my eyes to all the whiskey possibilities!! Love that I’ve found a new go-to. Check my stories out for the recipe and let me know what you think 👀 #JackApple #WhiskeyLovers
We’ve all become pretty accustomed to spending more time at home and making the most of the sunshine with our pals and loved ones. For me any excuse to whack on the shades, a floral dress and fire up the bbq with a yummy refreshing beverage to accompany it, I’m there! I’m absolutely loving the new @jackdaniels_uk
#JackApple over ice, with tonic water and an apple wedge. Refreshing and perfect for sunny afternoons, it’s not your traditional whiskey! Now pass me a glass and ask Alexa to play Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton 👌🏻
AD 18+ This isn’t your usual whiskey. Jack Apple from @jackdaniels_uk is perfect mixed with tonic and ice for a refreshing drink in the afternoon sunshine. 🌞Have you tried it before? #JackApple
"We introduced Jack Apple in 2020, launching any brand during a global pandemic clearly has its challenges. We tasked Communicator with developing a strategy to reach Flavor Seekers and Jack Loyalists alike, they rose to the challenge by developing a distinct creative approach to the two audience groups and delivered a benchmark busting ECRM campaign, thumb stopping social content and eye-catching digital OOH. I highly recommend the folks at Communicator as a wonderful agency partner, they are able to get under the skin of audience groups and concisely deliver content that resonates."
Robbie Watters, Senior Brand Manager, Jack Daniel’s
Results
Paid Social
Influencers
112M
IMPRESSIONS
[AN OVER-DELIVERY OF 14%]
598K
IMPRESSIONS
[AN OVER-DELIVERY OF 57%]
£0.12
CPE
3RD BIGGEST SPIRIT NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH IN 2020