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The Brand Guild is an integrated agency that moves brands forward with a holistic approach to spirits marketing, public relations, brand strategy, social media, design, and events. We specialize in helping spirits brands (from beer to wine to liquor) connect with new audiences and turn them into forever brand fans!
We’ve worked with the most innovative brands in spirits.
Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey — founded and led by Fawn Weaver, the first woman and the first African-American to lead a major American spirit brand — is inspired by the first African-American master distiller on record, Nearest Green, a formerly enslaved man who is now known to have taught a young Jack Daniel how to make his famous spirit and was also Jack Daniel's first master distiller. At just three years old, Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey is the fastest-growing independent whiskey brand in the country, growing the next generation of whiskey distillers and drinkers while preserving a legacy and honoring the past.
The Brand Guild isn't just our PR agency, they are an extension of our core team, and you’d be hard pressed to figure out where our team ends and theirs begins.
The Brand Guild has helped grow Uncle Nearest into the fastest-growing independent whiskey brand in the country, doubling the brand’s distribution, revenue, and retention year over year in 2020, with an average of 135 million monthly media impressions. Our public relations and executive thought leadership strategy has resulted in major features that drive growth and conversions for the brand, including The TODAY Show, Oprah's Favorite Things, CBS This Morning, Forbes, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Town & Country, Garden & Gun, The Spirits Business, AdAge, Black Enterprise, and Food & Wine.
We helped the new-age, sugar-free cidery find unprecedented traction during Covid-19 with a digital spirits marketing campaign strategy that highlighted contactless outdoor experiences and a specialty goods shop. Our aggressive PR campaign has resulted in results-driving wins in the Washington Post, Refinery29, GQ, Fortune, and Men's Journal.
Not only has our press strategy resulted in major wins in the New York Post, Hamptons Magazine, Forbes, and Cosmopolitan — but our team has pivoted press events during a pandemic to create exclusive, virtual experiences like our well-loved Zumfest during Oktoberfest.
The Brand Guild is providing pro bono services to the black-owned liqueur brand to grow its U.S. presence through an aggressive public relations campaign that has resulted in hits from Forbes and Business Insider.
Amy is a seasoned communications specialist with more than two decades of experience guiding communications for spirits companies including Pernod Ricard USA and Beam. She oversees public relations at The Brand Guild and leads the press team’s three divisions: F&B + Hospitality, Consumer Lifestyle, and Commercial Real Estate. Her team builds communications strategies and executes media outreach for The Brand Guild’s portfolio of clients, including Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey and ANXO Cidery. In a career spanning New York and Washington, DC, Amy has guided some of the most iconic spirits brands in the world, including Jameson Irish Whiskey, Beefeater Gin, The Glenlivet Single Malt Whisky, Wild Turkey Bourbon, and Espolòn Tequila. She has a developed expertise in all areas of communications, including developing strategic campaigns, brand positioning and messaging, and media training. She has extensive relationships with top-tier media.
Vanessa leads the Marketing Team at The Brand Guild, creating and implementing strategic integrated campaigns for clients. She’s a senior marketing leader with over 15 years of experience developing consumer brands. Formerly an SVP at Grey Advertising, Vanessa led cross-industry award winning brand campaigns (including food, retail, tech, financial services and wellness categories). Vanessa has years of experience in the wine and spirits category including Ketel One and various properties in the Constellation Wine portfolio (Kim Crawford, Toasted Head, Black Box, Robert Mondavi Private Selection). This included a social program celebrating gentleman makers for Ketel One's "A Gentleman's Call" (with media partner GQ), Kim Crawfords multi-year sponsorship of New York Fashion Week and Robert Mondavi's multi-year mobile tasting and education tour.
Giselle leads the PR team focused on food, beverage, and hospitality clients. She has over a decade of experience helping brands tell their story, including Sweetgreen, Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, &pizza, and Milk Bar. She has overseen press for over $200 million in hotel renovations for hospitality brands within the Starwood family while her CPG experience includes launching Rethink Kids Water and Gordy's Fine Pickle Brine. Prior to joining The Brand Guild, Giselle created and managed press campaigns for New York Times bestselling authors at some of the world's top publishing houses.
Jessica leads public relations for brands like Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, ANXO Cidery, and Blue Point Brewing Co. inside The Brand Guild’s spirits portfolio, where she builds press strategies and executes media relations, brand storytelling, executive thought leadership, and press events for her clients. She has previously led press for Beam Suntory brands like EFFEN Vodka, Booker's Bourbon, Laphroaig Single Malt Scotch, Little Book Whiskey, and Midori Melon Liqueur.
The magazine’s 2021 Icons of Whisky America awards celebrate the industry’s best and brightest people, places and products. The Brand Guild was recognized for its work with Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, the fastest-growing independent American whiskey brand in U.S. history.
We’re known for turning food and spirits brands into cultural movements. Our heart and soul is building consumer brands. We take companies with great missions, great founding stories, and great products and scale them to become cult brands through our holistic approach to brand storytelling. From press and paid media campaigns to experiential marketing, we can not only successfully launch your product, but also help you build a following of new, loyal customers.
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