CHALLENGE

Heaven’s Door Whiskey came to us with an exciting brief:

Articulate the brand platform, tenets, and launch strategy for a whiskey brand founded by one of the greatest songwriters of all time – Bob Dylan.

One key caveat made this exciting brief more challenging: We couldn’t leverage or promote its celebrity founder.

Bob Dylan’s team made it clear that Heaven’s Door was not about Bob Dylan the celebrity, but rather the embodiment of his creative legacy.

I had a lot to learn about Bob Dylan’s legacy, but as a bourbon lover and the only whiskey drinker in the agency, I enthusiastically pitched and won my position as lead strategist on the project.

CONTEXT

In late 2015, Bob Dylan filed a trademark application for the name “Bootleg Whiskey”. As soon as fans and industry folks got wind, it seemed everyone came knocking on Dylan’s door. 

In a closed door meeting, select individuals were invited to share their ideas for the venture and how it might go to market. While nearly everyone was eager to capitalize on the celebrity-status of its founder, Marc Bushala (former Angel’s Envy CEO and co-founder) won the coveted partnership role with one simple question, “How good is the liquid?”.

Under this new partnership, “Bootleg Whiskey” evolved into Heaven’s Door Whiskey with the mission of standing for high quality craftsmanship sold at a reasonable, accessible price point. 

AUDIENCE

We recognized a critical consumer tension that needed to be reconciled with in order to deliver a compelling brand platform: 

1. Whiskey aficionados didn’t respect celebrity owned/founded spirits brands

2. Bob Dylan fans didn’t actually want to drink the whiskey

At the time, very few spirits brands with celebrity ties possessed enough quality and craftsmanship to substantiate their hype.

Meanwhile, fans of Bob Dylan’s music and legacy were more inclined to buy Heaven’s Door as a type of keepsake, but they weren’t actually planning to drink it or become repeat buyers.

We needed to identify the red thread that would unite the spirit of liquid and the spirit of the legend.

INSIGHT

Heaven’s Door treats tradition as a starting point.

True to Bob Dylan’s own artistic integrity, Heaven’s Door is driven by what could be, not by what has always been.

Differentiated from competitors marked by heritage and tradition, Heaven’s Door is driven by a passion for creativity no matter how unconventional the outcome may be. Relentlessly in pursuit of distinction and quality, Heaven’s Door can be personified as one who is fearless in challenging themselves to meet their own standards and no one else’s.

STRATEGY

THE UNCOMPROMISING SPIRIT

Heaven’s Door’s promise to the world, and the drinker, is to “Celebrate those who never let external standards determine their path”.