Yellowstone Bourbon's New Ad Campaign Seek to Expand Audience

Yellowstone Bourbon – the 151-year-old brand now produced at Lebanon, Ky., Limestone Branch Distillery, said it rolled out three new ads, along with a new ad-buy strategy to expand its reach. The new ads, which began airing Oct. 1, follow the theme: "Always keep the park within reach."

Among the changes, Yellowstone has finalized an ad buy with CBS Sports to appear during NFL broadcasts this fall for the first time ever across several platforms. The spot began airing on Oct. 1 on digital, streaming and linear TV.

"We are excited to invest in sports to broaden our audience and create greater awareness for the Yellowstone brand. With the NFL's historical strength reaching the male audience and its growing popularity among women, it was a logical choice," said Yellowstone Bourbon Brand Manager Kelly Panzitta. "Moving our overall focus to leverage live sporting events has the potential to yield us up to 70 million impressions – a 282% increase resulting from shifting to the new sports-focused plan. We're excited to partner with CBS to tell Yellowstone's story to more consumers."

Both the whiskey category and the NFL have experienced steady growth in popularity among women. According to Mintel's Dark Spirits US 2022 research, the share of women aged 35 to 54 who drink dark spirits increased from 19% in 2019 to 28% in 2022. And according to a Feb. 24, 2023, Sponsorpulse article by Jessa Morris, 53% of American females engage with the NFL. This figure is supported by a 2021 SSRS Sports poll – referenced in a Nov. 18, 2022, USA TODAY article – that revealed women and girls made up 46% of the NFL fanbase (ages 8-plus) in the U.S., amounting to 84 million female fans.