The Kentucky Bourbon Trail® (KBT®), a global destination that features a wealth of experiences at Kentucky’s signature distilleries and more, was celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2024. To cap off a year that ushered in a new era of the Trail™ through a modernized brand and a new website, we partnered with our clients at the Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA), which manages the Trail™, to host a 24-hour worldwide toast to America’s native spirit: Bourbon. The goals of this first-of-its-kind event were to bring Bourbon fans from across the world together, further elevate the Trail™ on the global stage, and to reinforce that Kentucky is the supreme authority when it comes to Bourbon – all on a limited budget. The event’s success would be determined by two key metrics: event attendance/engagement and social media growth. Given KBT®'s existing follower base and access to industry partners, we aimed to attract 2,500 participants across 10 countries and achieve a 1% increase in KBT®'s social media followers.
STRATEGY: From both a production and tourism perspective, the appeal of Kentucky Bourbon is undeniable. Kentucky distillers exported more than $500 million in spirits, nearly all of which was Bourbon, and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® attracts more than 2.5 million visitors annually. These two facts paired with consumer behavior on the Trail™ suggested that visitors want more ways to engage with Kentucky Bourbon.
Knowing how the Trail™ itself has grown exponentially over the last 25 years as a result of consumer demand, we saw an opportunity to further elevate Kentucky Bourbon on the global stage. Kentucky Bourbon has all the workings to rival California’s wine country and other global tourism hot spots. It has the consumer appeal and passion, paired with the spirit’s craftsmanship and history. The only question was how? With global draw and appeal being the overarching goal, we knew its actions needed to match its aspirations.
EXECUTION: The original idea was simple: gather industry partners across the world to toast to Kentucky Bourbon together. But that idea quickly snowballed into a first-of-its-kind event.
We hosted the first annual Worldwide Toast to Kentucky Bourbon on September 17, 2024. This was a 24-hour livestream event that gathered Bourbon fans around the world toasting at 4pm in a different time zone each hour. Viewers could join the livestream to see exclusive interviews with Bourbon industry leaders, master distillers and more. And throughout the day, viewers were encouraged to post their toasting experience on social media using the official hashtag #WorldBourbonToast.
The Worldwide Toast to Kentucky Bourbon achieved a collective reach of 17 million through social and earned media coverage. Toast participants represented 32 countries across 6 continents. With over 4,000 participants across socials and livestream and more than 3,300 new followers on KBT® socials, a 1.28% increase, the Worldwide Toast to Kentucky Bourbon surpassed its desired objectives. Further, the KBT® website saw a 60% increase in daily users on the day of the Toast, accounting for the largest number of site sessions YTD with 75% of those being new users.
