by Josh Taylor, graphic designer

In a recent Ad Age article, it was noted that whiskey producer Southern Comfort will be shedding its entire media plan, dropping all print and television advertising, to move company branding completely into the digital realm.

Frankly, it’s shocking. Southern Comfort isn’t the first company to go the all-digital route, but this is certainly surprising coming from a 120 year-old, proven manufacturer of a timeless product. The change makes sense according to the company’s ad challenges: major advertising limitations for the industry, a shifting demographic, and stiff competition (no pun intended). But to completely remove its presence from traditional media altogether still sounds crazy. How can a company of this size and reputation really forego television and print, the great bastions of the advertising world?

Then I noticed some of the places they’ll be putting their content, advertising and sponsorships. Browsing the list, it became clear that this could be a brilliant move. As a member of their proclaimed demographic (21-29), I can’t say that I see too many SoCo advertisements, but if the list is any indication, I won’t be able to escape it any more than any of us can escape death or taxes.

It’s hard for anyone my age to avoid the networking and social draws of Facebook, so as I go to stalk my friends every night, SoCo’s going to be there. When I go to Spin to listen to the top 50 cover songs of all time, SoCo will be there (they’ll even give me 10 free downloads!). If I try to get my culture fix at The Fader, SoCo will be there. When I miss episodes of two of my favorite shows, 30 Rock and The Office, SoCo will be there. If I want to catch up on the Colbert Report, I’m going to find SoCo’s “Holiday Survival Guide” at Comedy Central. When I use Hulu, guess who’s going to be there?

It seems that Southern Comfort has found me. Mission accomplished?

Maybe. It’s sort of like having front row tickets to a prime-time boxing match, knowing that the outcome of the bout will have a dramatic affect on the future of the industry. It will be interesting to see whether or not Southern Comfort’s surprise move is enough to throw the competition off and go for the knock out. Whether they win or lose, however, this is going to change the face of things to come for the world of advertising

Tags: advertising, social media

This entry was posted by Borshoff on Friday, July 31st, 2009 at 2:20 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the Comment Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.