Inspired Ideas

Have you had crunk juice lately? I surely haven’t. I’m not drinking anything from a guy that looks like this:

Sorry, I just can’t do it. Apparently, there’s millions of people that don’t share the same inhibitions. Shocking to say the least.

Crunk refers to getting crazy drunk. Get it? Cr(azy)(dr)unk. Brilliant, yes. It’s also the patented sound of Lil’ Jon who has brought us musical greats such as “Yeah” and “Get Low“. Lil’ Jon’s crunk music was a seemingly natural extension to venture into the energy drink business. What else would you drink while listening to crunk music? That’s what I thought. I can understand crunk juice but I’m having a hard time with Lil’ Jon’s latest brand extension:

The Lil’ Jon Winery.

There’s something that doesn’t seem to fit with getting crazy drunk and sipping on a full-bodied pinot noir. Are pinot noir’s full bodied? I don’t know. That’s beside the point, focus.

I’m also not buying wine that’s called Lil’ Jon.

“Hey baby, let’s open some new wine I just bought, it’s splendid”.

“Oh yeah, what region is it from?”

“Lil’ Jon region…yeaaaaaaahhhhhhh…okaayyyyyyyy.”

[Exit stage left. Date over.]

But Nish, maybe you just don’t get it, he’s bringing wine to the masses. He’s bringing it to his millions of loyal followers. I ain’t buying it for a second. That’s like saying that Hooters Airline was a good idea. Do you remember that? Hooters created their own airline just like Roots did. Both were miserable failures.

The point is I’m not trusting my life with a brand that sells clothes and definitely not with a brand that serves chicken wings by girls in orange short shorts. (Don’t get me wrong, I still love short shorts. In all vibrant colours). And I’m not buying wine from a guy who I associate with crunk juice and one hit wonders.

There’s a relatively new marketing theory called, The Elongating Long Tail of Brand Communications, (kiss some ass in your next meeting by busting that one out. Bonus marks guaranteed) which hypothesizes against the traditional wisdom that a brand needs to have a singular voice. The theory proclaims that with an over-abundance of communication channels it’s possible to create different messages to connect with each of the different niches that your brand caters to.

In the case of Lil’ Jon, I would assume that his following of wine drinkers would be a fairly niche market. It’s fair to assume that most people “gettin’ low” are part of the crunk juice market.

So what should Mr. Lil’ Jon have done to launch his brand of wines? Based on the Elongating Long Tail (that just sounds wrong, I’m not even going to go there) he should of created a different message crafted exclusively for his wines. It’s not enough just to use a nicer font for the packaging. He should of named the wine: Jonathan Smith (using a nice classy font of course).

Jonathan Smith? That seems random, no? If you’re a hardcore Lil’ Jon fan you would know that’s his real name. A Jonathan Smith line of wines now appeals to the hardcore loyal fans and removes the association with crunk juice and everything else that Lil’ Jon is known for.

I’m not sure about you but I think I would rather uncork a bottle called Jonathan Smith than a bottle of wine called Lil’ Jon. But that’s just me. A small change can go a long way.

Okayyyyyyyyy. Yeahhhhhhhh.

- Nish

This post is tagged branding, inspired ideas, lil jon, marketing, nish shah, rappers