CAMP MONKEY

In 2017, we were asked by Monkey Shoulder Whisky to join them on “Camp Monkey Seville”. We were asked to capture the event and create a media suite of images and videos of the event and the 25 bartenders that attended for social media.

Camp Monkey is an epic trip where Monkey Shoulder Whisky brings a selection of top-notch bartenders from around the world to key topical locations where over the course of a few days they visit local producers, experience regional specialities and network with industry experts and some of the world's best bartenders.

It is the ultimate bartender networking experience set in amidst a cherry-picked scene at the heart of an emerging trend of the time.

When making media for the drinks industry there are a few general rules you need to adhere to due to... the law. The laws vary in the different market regions but one message that must always come through in any market is “Drink Responsibly”

When creating a scripted piece of work where you can control what is said and done, this is not a problem. The quagmire appears when you are capturing real life and that reality is a bunch of bartenders on holiday… suffice to say, there are times you must choose to put the camera down as there will be nothing usable on that roll. “uno para mi por favor…”

Part of our first brief for Camp Monkey required a different approach to media creation than what we were used to at the time. We were asked to produce high quality content to give to the attendees in the hope they would post some of it to their social media channels. Headshots, funny GIFs and any candid shots we captured were delivered directly to the attendees after the event. Personalised media packages as a thank you from the hosts.

We also produced a Camp Monkey highlight video (1st video on this page) a set of podcasts covering the seminars held at camp (in full) and teaser videos, advertising those podcasts.

Since then we have captured Camp Monkey in Iceland and Mexico in 2018 and Italy in 2019.

Iceland, 2018. During pre-production for this trip, we developed a concept for a call to action video for future camps that doubled as an “after video” for that particular camp. “How Will You Get to Camp?” was born.

Our creative minds started also pushing for more here, so we experimented with some different ways of sharing the Camp Monkey Experience. One example is the flick-book Nick put together here:

Mexico, 2018. We were determined to ensure what happened in Mexico did not stay in Mexico! We really stepped up production here, producing our second “How Will You Get to Camp Monkey” video:

Building on the flick-book idea we produced a ‘bottle-cam’ vid showing a slice of camp from the perspective of a bottle of Monkey Shoulder (2nd video from the top of this page).

Mexico also helped us develop the way we produced Instagram Stories. We created a series of 15 second edits in portrait focusing on each location visited or activity done. This move back towards a more traditional delivery form in a modern format turned out to be received very well as it was less personal and more shareable.

Italy, 2019. By this stage we had a much better understanding of how the media we produced would actually be used by the brand and most importantly by the bartenders who attended. We had already honed the type of content we were producing, now we just wanted to deliver it faster. Our solution to this was two-fold. Firstly, we brought an editor along with us to get cutting on site while the footage was still hot. Secondly, we set up a Facebook group for the attendees where we could post all of the media directly to as soon as it was ready, tagging all the people and locations to save the attendees doing so themselves.

Daily delivery of photos and the edited Stories was a hit and due to this groundwork, we were able to deliver a shiny ‘after video’ immediately after the event.

Being true to our nature we continued pushing our creative capacity, producing a 360-degree photo album of the event, adding another layer of dynamics to the media library.

We feel our road to success here started by humbly proving ourselves and continued by pushing our creativity. The way we use media is constantly changing and if we do not approach the creation of it with this in mind we will surely fall behind.

Over time we have developed a special relationship with our clients where they trust us to deliver what they need (and more) with little guidance. We are proud to be part of the team and savour the time we spend working for Monkey Shoulder Whisky.

Excitement was brewing for 2020 until COVID19 hit… Now our fingers are crossed for 2021, rumoured to take place in Southeast Asia!

Written by Rua Acorn, May 2020.

Rua Acorn2 December 2020