BACKGROUND

I was a few months into my first-ever bartending gig at Vikre Distillery, a craft distillery located in Duluth, Minnesota, when I was allowed to join the management team as a videographer.  They hoped I could help market their first-ever whiskey before its release.  Sugarbush Whiskey was also the first-ever whiskey distilled in Duluth, a place with a unique historic relationship to the stuff and an appreciation for all things locally made.  The thing was, we had just under a month to plan and execute.  After some brainstorming sessions as a group, we made an ambitious choice…

GOALS

Produce 20 videos in 20 days—each would shine a light on a step in the process or a person who had a hand in its production.  Given that Vikre Distillery was a relatively new company, this was a significant opportunity to showcase their values (people, planet, culinary creativity), honor the community supporting their goals, and, in some cases, make a great first impression. For the project to succeed, almost everyone at the company had to participate. With their help, I made the videos.  If it is not immediately clear why I am including this project as a case study, let me explain: Given the short timeline and my lack of expertise in the wild, wacky world that is distilling, I had to immerse myself in every step of the process.  Since I would be speaking with most interviewees for the first time, gaining rapport would be just as essential as my ability to communicate concepts via the video edits.  My ability to conduct informal, rapid ethnography enabled me to be a successful storyteller.  

PROCESS

Once we decided to make 20 videos in 20 days, we held brainstorming sessions to determine the topics, goals, and production needs for each video. The videos focused on people, processes, and place. Many segments were shot and edited simultaneously or in a single day, depending on the availability of subjects.  On average, each video was two minutes long. Each one had to be shot, edited, exported, captioned, uploaded to YouTube, put on the Vikre blog, and shared across social media channels.

METHODS

1. Consulting with stakeholders

2. Immersive research

3. Digital ethnography

4. Participatory media

5. One-on-one moderated interviews

6. Subject Matter Expert (SME) consultation

OBSTACLES

Our most apparent obstacle was our short timeline, but it also forced us to get creative.  If an interviewee had to cancel at the last minute, we had to rearrange the video release schedule or come up with a new concept; being agile was essential. Sometimes, I got the exact footage our team was hoping for.  Most of the time, I got a lot of extra footage.  

During the editing process, I had to make tough calls about what to include. Of course, I got second opinions from my team, but in some cases, we didn’t consider everything. Production woes! There wasn’t time to reshoot videos, so I had a few painful, “make it work” moments. Make the expert information shared in interviews engaging enough for the average customer.  Due to tax laws that made distilling in Minnesota wildly expensive before 2012 (Thanks in part to the founders of Vikre Distillery), many locals weren’t familiar with the distilling process.

IMPACT

Sugarbush Whiskey - Lot 1 sold out in the state of Minnesota within a week.  Vikre Distillery staff boosted their reputations as craft distilling thought leaders and innovators over 2,500 YouTube views + thousands more via the Vikre Blog and social channels.

The release grew Vikre Distillery’s following across social channels and outside of Northern, MN Community members like Dave Rogotzke of Rogotzke’s Simple Gifts, who made the maple syrup for bourbon barrels, andJon Otis of Duluth Barrel Works, who provided port barrels, were able to use the videos to promote their own local businesses.  I got hired full-time as a brand and marketing manager.

View the whole series at: https://bit.ly/2HhnIH2