Outfitters Distillery
An Integrated campaign to drive sales and awareness for the launch into the off-prem markets.
Client: Outfitters Distillery
Project Type: Integrated Campaign
Timeline: Sep. 2025 - Dec. 2025
My Role:
Led a five-person campaign team as primary client contact
Developed the creative brief, brand positioning, and media plan
Defined launch market (Southern California) and retail focus
Conducted competitor, psychographic, and category research
Produced campaign photography, print ads, and social media mockups
Built and pitched influencer strategy and performance rationale to the client
The Challenge
Outfitters Distillery was a bartender-trusted spirits brand with strong credibility in on-premise settings but little to no awareness among everyday consumers. While widely respected by industry professionals, the brand lacked recognition and identity with young adults stocking their home bars.
The challenge was to introduce Outfitters to a new retail audience, build trust quickly, and encourage first-time trial in a highly competitive spirits category dominated by familiar national brands.
Opportunity and Goals
Opportunity:
Research revealed an opportunity to introduce Outfitters to young adults building their first home bars who wanted quality spirits they could trust at non-premium prices. In blind taste tests, Outfitters’ vodka and gin outperformed leading national brands at a more accessible price point, giving the brand strong credibility beyond its bartender reputation.
Southern California was selected as the launch market because Outfitters was already performing well on-premise in the region, providing existing bartender advocacy and brand familiarity to build from. Combined with the area’s strong cocktail culture and dense retail landscape, the market offered a natural pathway to expand from bar credibility into off-premise retail adoption.
Goals:
Establish off-premise brand awareness for Outfitters in Southern California
Translate bartender trust into consumer confidence at retail
Drive first-time trial of Outfitters vodka and gin
Convert trial into retail purchase through education and value positioning
Campaign Strategy
The campaign strategy focused on translating Outfitters’ existing bartender credibility into consumer trust by meeting young adults where they were most open to trying something new. Rather than relying on hype or premium positioning, the approach emphasized authenticity, education, and trial, allowing the product experience to speak for itself.
Together, these pillars created a clear path from professional trust to consumer trial, supporting Outfitters’ expansion from on-premise credibility into off-premise retail adoption.
Let the Product Speak
With strong performance in blind taste tests and a more accessible price point, trial became the key conversion driver. In-store tastings, sampling, and retail visibility were designed to reduce hesitation, build confidence, and allow firsthand experience to guide purchases.
Core Strategy Pillars
Lead With Bartender Credibility
Outfitters’ strongest asset was its trust among bartenders already using the product on-premise. The campaign positioned the brand as a spirit professionals relied on, reframing it as a safe, confident choice for consumers stocking their home bars.
Avoid Hype. Emphasize Approachability
Instead of leaning into luxury cues or trend-driven messaging, the campaign focused on clarity and usefulness. Simple recipes, creator-led demonstrations, and behind-the-scenes storytelling made the brand feel approachable and easy to choose.
Campaign Messaging
Campaign messaging positioned Outfitters as a bartender-trusted spirit made for everyday use at home. The tone avoided hype and premium posturing, focusing instead on authenticity, clarity, and confidence. By emphasizing who made the product, how it performs, and how easily it fits into real home-bar moments, the brand reduced hesitation around trying an unfamiliar spirit.
Outfitters brings award-winning, bartender-trusted spirits from the Pacific Northwest to everyday drinkers who want a home bar they can feel confident about.
Bartender-Trusted
Made by the same team behind award-winning Doc Swinson’s, trusted and used by professionals.
Core Message
Quality Without the Premium Price
Strong taste performance and value pricing positioned Outfitters as a smart, confident switch.
Approachable & Easy to Use
Simple recipes and clear guidance made the product feel unintimidating and accessible.
Execution Overview:
Social and digital content introduced Outfitters in a way that felt educational, authentic, and easy to engage with. The focus was on showing, not telling, by highlighting simple cocktail recipes, real product use, and behind-the-scenes moments that reinforced bartender trust and approachability.
Content was designed to meet consumers where they already discover new spirits, while guiding them toward confidence in choosing Outfitters for their home bars.
Content Objectives
Educate first-time buyers with simple, repeatable recipes
Reinforce bartender credibility without feeling promotional
Show the product in real home-bar moments
Build familiarity before in-store trial
Key Colors
Simpler Logo Design
Influencers & PR Strategy
Influencer partnerships are designed to build trust and drive trial by leveraging creators already viewed as credible and approachable within the home-bar and cocktail space. Rather than scripted endorsements, the strategy focuses on natural integration and education to reinforce Outfitters’ bartender-trusted positioning.
Influencer Roles:
Authority educators to establish credibility
Relatable home-bar creators to normalize everyday use
Lifestyle voices to reinforce approachability and value
PR box mockup shown for campaign visualization. Influencer strategy and creator research led by me.
Selected Influencer Candidates
Influencer candidates were selected based on audience alignment, content credibility, and their ability to organically integrate Outfitters into everyday home-bar moments. Each creator played a distinct role in supporting awareness, trust, and trial.
JohnnyDrinks
Role: Switching & Comparison Voice
Known for bold taste-test and value comparison content that encourages confident brand switching within the spirits category.
Modern Builds
Role: Craft & Lifestyle Credibility
Produces high-quality, hands-on build content that aligns with Outfitters’ craftsmanship and positions the brand as part of a curated adult home. Showcasing the product in one of his builds creates a more organic perception to the viewer.
Influencer research, vetting, and role definition led by me.
Thirstywhale
Role: Relatable Home-Bar Creator
Creates approachable, beginner-friendly cocktail content that normalizes everyday at-home use and reduces intimidation for first-time buyers.
In-Store Experience & Trial
The in-store experience was designed to serve as the campaign’s primary conversion moment. Research showed that many shoppers enter liquor stores without a specific brand in mind, making shelf presence and tasting critical opportunities to influence choice.
Rather than relying on aggressive promotion, the strategy focused on guided discovery, allowing consumers to taste the product, understand its quality, and feel confident choosing Outfitters at retail.
The in-store experience was designed to:
Introduce Outfitters to first-time off-premise buyers
Reinforce the bartender's credibility at the point of decision
Reduce hesitation through taste and education
Convert the trial into an immediate retail purchase
Brand ambassadors and signage were designed to feel approachable, knowledgeable, and conversational, similar to a bartender recommending a bottle they personally trust. The experience emphasized confidence without pressure, allowing the product to speak for itself.
Media Approach
The media approach was designed to support a full-funnel launch by building awareness, reinforcing credibility, and converting interest through trial. Channels were selected to meet consumers at key moments in their decision-making process and guide them toward retail purchase.
Channel Roles:
Social Media: Build awareness and familiarity through educational, product-forward content
Influencers & PR: Establish trust and normalize everyday at-home use
In-Store Experience: Convert trial into purchase at the point of decision
Media & Budget Allocation (proposed)
To support an off-premise launch, the campaign outlined a suggested media and budget allocation that prioritized awareness and trial while supporting conversion at retail. The allocation was designed to emphasize paid digital and in-store experiences as the primary drivers of behavior, with supporting investment in influencer and organic content.
Proposed Allocation Framework:
Paid Digital & Video
Paid social, geofenced ads, and video were prioritized to build awareness, reinforce credibility, and drive consideration among target consumers.
Influencer & PR Support
Creator partnerships and PR outreach were allocated to generate authentic content and normalize at-home use.
In-Store Sampling & Point-of-Sale
Tastings, sampling events, and retail signage were emphasized as key drivers of conversion at the point of purchase.
Organic & Contingency
A small portion was reserved for organic content and flexibility to optimize based on early performance.
Measurement & Success Criteria
These indicators were defined to evaluate early momentum and inform future optimization following launch.
Key Success Indicators
Awareness
Social reach, impressions, and video views
Increases in branded search and social mentions
Purchase
Retail velocity and sell-through in launch markets
Expansion into additional retail locations over time
Trial
Number of in-store tasting and sampling interactions
Engagement with recipe cards or QR-driven content
Brand Perception
Consumer feedback indicates Outfitters “feels premium but accessible.”
Sentiment reflecting trust, quality, and the bartender's credibility
Reflection
This project strengthened my ability to lead a campaign from strategy through execution while coordinating creative, experiential, and client-facing work across a team. It reinforced the importance of building trust before conversion, especially when launching a brand into a new market without existing consumer data. Most importantly, it highlighted the value of thoughtful restraint, prioritizing real-world behavior, clear messaging, and product experience over unnecessary rebranding or hype.