Building JAGOs website

Showtime

We did a gazillion consumer shows from launching JAGOs in the UK in October 2003, until March 2005. Everything from the BBC Good Food Show to the Covent Garden Food Lovers’ Fair and county equine events (horse folk drink quite a lot and appreciated our personal touch!) We did over 1.5 million tastings at these shows, and we got a lot of feedback from the people who tried JAGOs.

 

We do the BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham every year, by the way, so come and say hello to us and try some JAGOs.

 

We found that 1 in 8 people who tasted JAGOs bought a bottle there and then (an envied ‘conversion rate’ we discovered later from competition.)

Alcoholic ice-cream

Looking back, it’s bizarre we didn’t see the ‘The Fresh Cream Liqueur’ thing straight away with JAGOs, but we didn’t. Instead we got sidetracked by two facts: that that it tastes like alcoholic ice-cream, and that as soon as anyone tasted it they really wanted to buy it.

It really does taste like alcoholic ice-cream by the way, but we’re not allowed to say that in our marketing materials because of the Portman Code, to which we are signatories. Also, ‘tastes like alcoholic ice-cream’ turned out to be the longest creative cul-de-sac I’ve ever wandered down. How on earth do you communicate it if you’re not allowed to say it or imply it?

Tara’s first ever blog

I’ve come to our blog on JAGOs with a dubious curiosity – my colleagues and I are all natural communicators, but tend to talk rather than type our conversations. And bluntly, I spend long enough in front of my computer already – do I need to commit to doing more? So I’m going to blog from my mobile. I’ll be a lot less verbose once that’s figured out.

It’s an odd experience working out a brand in the wide open space of the blogosphere. It’s the sort of thing that almost always happens in private, as if developing a proposition is a bit of an illicit pastime. But developing JAGOs has been the oddest creative experience for the whole team anyway.

Most of the drinks we create at Blackwood Distillers have been born with a proposition that jumps out at us and is integral to the making of the product. Take our gin. We hand-pick the botanicals every summer, ergo it’s “hand-picked gin”, entirely the sum of us (the people in our business) plus Shetland (the place many of our gin botanicals come from).

JAGOs, for inexplicable reasons, was different.

The Carnell Herd 1950

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G & R Templeton

JAGOs fresh cream comes from a collection of farms in the Scottish Lowlands. We source from a range of herds featuring Frisian, Holstein and Ayrshire cows. The Ayrshire's have the highest butterfat % which means fantastic cream.

One of these Ayrshire herds is owned by G & R Templeton. The herd was founded in 1915 by George Templeton with stock from the family farm at Willoxton, Mauchline. In 1923 the herd was moved to Carnell and in 1941 the neighbouring farm of Pocknave was acquired and the father and son partnership of George and Robert Templeton was formed. All the cows pictured on the right were photographed at Pocknave, Hurlford, Kilmarnock.

The records for this farm show the export of stock across the world. Animals from this herd went onto to become champions in America, Canada and South Africa.

Download canadian_ayrshire1920.pdf

Download carnell_herds_1950.pdf

Download carnell_pedigree_herd_1962.pdf

Love

A limited Edition version of JAGOs was called 'LOVE' made with the addition of strawberry puree. A very indulgent taste with a keen cult following. There are discussions about further 'specials' The team would like to hear any thoughts people have on this issue.

Recent Coverage

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Meet the Cows, part2

Spent the day (Thursday) with one of the Ayrshire herds that provide the fresh cream for JAGOs. A full report coming later. A few pictures for the moment.

They are all fab, but.

Meet the cows

Finally getting a chance to meet some of the herds on Thursday. Some of the others have already been, but this will be my first trip amongst the Ayrshires. Found this rather charming old post card during some recent research.