In 2020, the Kentucky Derby took a one year hiatus. Woodford Reserve is a partner with the Derby and is often seen within the company as the big brother to Old Forester, who also capitalizes on the Derby occasion. For this reason, Old Forester needed to find a way to stand out and find a replacement for the missed opportunity. In about 2 months, Old Forester came up with, strategized, and executed on the Kentucky Turtle Derby.

The first year was wildly successful. Organic engagement was higher than it had ever been and the race was even picked up by ESPN and local news. We had to try it again the next year. I was much more involved in 2021. We knew going in that we didn’t have the same environment to work with and there would need to be more paid amplification. On the organic side, we created a Kentucky Turtle Derby experience page, offering party and cocktail ideas, with more information about the racers. We also posted organically to social about each of the racers’ background and event information. And finally, we sent emails to our database with links leading to our landing page and everything fans would need to know about the stream.

As for results, it was about how we expected. Our viewership was roughly 10% of what it was the year before and the sales teams received much less excitement from distributors. We learned that this wasn’t a viable option going forward and sometimes, that’s all you can hope for.