More than Whiskey: The Untold Story of Jack Daniel’s Marketing and Staying True

How does a 150-year-old brand continue to remain relevant today?

What are the principles and practices that have seen it grow from a small regional craft brand to the number one selling whiskey brand in the world today?

Why has it received unpaid endorsement from music legends and Nobel Prize winning authors and continues to appear in movies, television shows, books and songs without product placement?

We’ll explore the answers, what it means to be radically true to your brand character and remain true even in the face of intense public scrutiny. Come explore with us, make the application to the brands you nurture and be ready for a few surprises.

MEET YOUR SPEAKER

Always in search of a good story, Nelson has paddled 450 miles on the Mississippi River; ridden the rails across Tennessee with the likes of Carl Perkins, Alex Hailey and then Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander; swapped lies at the bar with members of the Hemingway and Faulkner families; and hung with the Beat writers in San Francisco.

Today, Nelson serves as the historian for the Jack Daniel Distillery. He has represented Jack Daniel’s for 35 years and learned the history and lore surrounding the brand under the mentorship of Jack Daniel’s very first marketing director, Mr. Art Hancock. In 1988, Eddy helped introduce the first new whiskey from the Jack Daniel Distillery in more than a century – Gentleman Jack Tennessee Whiskey, and has worked on the brand ever since.

As part of his work for Jack Daniel’s, Nelson has crafted numerous brand communications for the internationally beloved whiskey brand, including a book, live show, countless videos and, most recently, a documentary films. As the Jack Daniel Historian, he’s been interviewed by numerous publications, books, documentaries and television programs including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Atlantic Magazine, History Channel, National Geographic Channel and CNBC.

Nelson holds a B.A. in psychology and English from Lipscomb University and a M.A. in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He has twice been the American Advertising Federation’s Nashville Copywriter of the Year and is the recipient of the organization’s 2012 Silver Medalist honor for his lifetime achievement in advertising. He lives with his wife, Mariana, in Murfreesboro, Tenn., but spends a good deal of his time in Lynchburg, Tenn., home of the Jack Daniel Distillery.