Our client Dead Man’s Fingers Rum was created in the Rum and Crab Shack, St Ives in 2015. Inspired by the local crab cuisine, the gills inside a crab are called ‘dead man’s fingers’ because folklore has it that if you eat them, you’ll die. We saw a brand with an odd name, a skull on the bottle and we knew it was a brand for us at The Village – since then we’ve never looked back. The brand itself has grown vastly and moved to a bigger home in Bristol where the experimentation with flavour continues; from their hero Spiced variant to their very own cream liqueurs, Dead Man’s Fingers is a consistent and highly rewarding brand for us to work on.
Most recently, we’ve worked on a brand partnership like no other. We combined the two huge names, Kerrang and Dead Man’s Fingers Rum to create a series of events, cumulating in the kerrang awards, aimed at creating cultural alignment for Dead Man’s Fingers with Kerrang’s attuned audience. Dead Man’s Fingers culture of rebellion, the unconventional, and general branding are aligned with Kerrang’s audience and creates a harmonious partnership on a global scale.
The events, initially aimed to take place across three months, gave space for both emerging and established artists to perform to their fans in an intimate setting whilst also sampling a bespoke cocktail menu curated by Dead Man’s Fingers; featuring artists such as Cassyette, Creeper, and Bullet for My Valentine performing at the final event.
The events culminated in the Kerrang! Awards. A key event in the rock / metal calendar, finally back after 2 years of cancellations. It was an opportunity to both celebrate the last 8 months of the partnership and get the delicious premium rum – and their new Ready-To-Drink cans - into the hands of industry legends, while getting the distinctive branding across to fans watching the Livestream at home. Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Weezer and Twenty One Pilots were among the big names in attendance. The brand also had the pleasure of presenting the 'Best British Act' Award to none other than Biffy Clyro.
Despite being planned across three months, from autumn to winter 2021, the impact of Coronavirus we had to delay the partnership, resulting in a February kick-off. Undeterred by this, as of June the content recorded and streamed globally across all Kerrang’s channels drove 48 million impacts and Sponsorship awareness for Dead Man’s Fingers is now the highest within the Rum category at 5.2%.
The partnership drew a considerable buzz from social channels, with William Borell, founder of Vestal Vodka posting:
“Stunning takeover at one of London’s hottest bars Blondies in collaboration with the iconic Kerrang magazine. Fans of Dead Man’s Fingers Rum are invited into the K - Pit with the epic “ Bullet For My Valentine” as they perform, one of the most exciting and daring spirit activations I’ve ever seen.”
We at The Village have loved being a part of the partnership and helping bring two incredible brands together to create a fully integrated partnership, driving Dead Man’s fingers association with the music industry in a genuine, organic way.
