So, what is The St Andrews Gin Society?
In September 2018, my brother, Jonah, and I set out on a mission to capitalise on the rapidly increasing popularity of gin amongst students in St Andrews. Fast forward four months and The St Andrews Gin Society is about to host its ‘Maiden Event’ — a 200 person evening experience held in association with Sipsmith Gin.
Over the Christmas break, I’ve taken the chance to write about and reflect on the setup and growth of The Gin Society in 2018, along with detailing some of our plans and ambitions for the coming year.
Who are we and what do we do?
The St Andrews Gin Society collaborates with gin companies to create immersive, themed events, resulting in unforgettable experiences for its guests.
Why did we make The Gin Society?
We’ve found that students are fed up of overpaying for event tickets and subsequently underrecieving in regard to venue design and ticket perks.
People aren’t getting what they’re paying for. Our mission is to change this.
To put it simply, we want to create events that are as exciting, detailed, immersive, and professional in real life as we present them online.
We recognised that prior to concerning ourselves with event planning, we had to establish an attractive and intriguing online presence to initially obtain students’ interests.
Enter Ewan.
Photoshoots
Ewan Harvey, content creator extraordinaire, joined the team in October with the brief to develop The Gin Society a stand-out visual aesthetic.
As well as designing our logo, Ewan directed two photoshoots. The first was held at a castle above the Montrose Basin, some examples of which can be seen in the following photographs:
The second photoshoot was held at the St Andrews Botanic Garden. Since we intended for the content of this shoot to be used to advertise the upcoming botanical-themed Maiden Event, we included a real ball python in the photographs:
We have also undertaken partner-specific photoshoots. The following image being an example from a shoot for Sipsmith Gin:
First Kiss Video
Whilst the professional and unique look of our photos was garnering The Gin Society a great deal of attention around campus — our Facebook page recieved over 500 likes in its launch week — being the new kids on the block, we wanted to ensure that our Maiden Event ticket release would sell out.
The plan was simple: Get creative, go viral.
Influenced by Tatia Pilieva’s controversial ‘First Kiss’ video, which has received over 135 million views on YouTube, we decided to create a ‘St Andrews Edition’ with a twist: gin (of course). The video went live two days before tickets went on sale.
Our gamble paid off.
By release day, the video had receieved more views than the number of students currently attending the university (~9,000). Tickets to The Maiden Event sold out within four hours, with half selling in the first 4 minutes.
To-date, the video has received over 30,000 views across 40 countries and has been covered by The Tab amongst various other university news outlets.
The Maiden Event
Having had such success with The Maiden Event’s digital marketing, we are determined to ensure that the event itself is consistent with its online aesthetic.
Darcy Fenton-Stone’s botanical event design paired with the floral dress code, diverse entertainment (including ice luge, virtual reality, astroturfing etc.), and complimentary wristbands has been perfectly tailored to match Sipsmith’s branding and proposals.
Oh, and of course, we haven’t forgotten the drinks.
Every ticket includes four of Sipsmith’s flagship gin concoctions paired with Fever Tree tonics/mixers handmade at the event by our mixologists.
Both Ewan and our videographers will have their cameras in hand at The Maiden Event. Keep an eye on our social media platforms for the photos and after-movie!
February 7th.
We. Can’t. Wait.
Plan for 2019
Moving forwards, we intend to hold four uniquely themed events this calendar year: in February, April, September, and December. Along the way, we plan to form partnerships with new gin brands, along with solidifying our pre-existing relationships.
The Prohibition Dinner
Preparations for The Gin Society’s next event, The Prohibition Dinner, are already well underway.
With the intent to encourage guest loyalty and reinforce our brand, we have created marketing cards for The Prohibition Dinner, which will be enclosed in The Maiden Event ticket collection envelopes.
They will serve as the first direct marketing contact that our guests will recieve, encouraging them to purchase a ticket to our next event should they enjoy The Maiden Event.
‘Don’t Walk’ Fashion Show
Alongside running our own events this coming year, we’re keen for The Gin Society to collaborate with the most popular and professional pre-existing events in the St Andrews calendar.
Very excitingly, we’ve been approached by the Don’t Walk fashion show, who have asked us to bring in a gin partner and operate a bar exclusively serving their gin cocktails at the show in early March. Through operating the bar, both The Gin Society and our partner will receive exposure to ~1,400 guests, comprised of students and corporate partners.
Prospectus
Essentially, we have realised that we act as the link between gin companies and students, presenting our partners with a platform to expose a new body of lifelong consumers to their products. The greater a partner’s contribution, the more we can focus our resources on creating amazing events for both them and our guests.
As a result, our main goal for 2019 is to develop blossoming and lasting partnerships with specifically selected gin brands. To do so, Jonah and I have worked with our incredibly talented graphics director, Nikki Marill, to produce a prospectus outlining event partnership proposals, benefits, and requirements. This can be seen below:
Membership
We’re also considering launching a membership system over the Summer, offering a variety of perks including: discounts on gin at bars and shops all over town, a St Andrews Gin Society glass tumbler, a yearly invitation to a members only event, and much, much more!
Thanks
Working with Jonah and the team to develop The St Andrews Gin Society from an idea into a flourishing entity in such a short space of time has been an absolute pleasure. I couldn’t have done it without them and I can’t wait to see where we’ll be in a year. What’s more, we couldn’t have done it without everyone else who has supported us along the way. I owe a lot of you G&Ts!
Here’s to 2019.
Toby
