What Gin & Patrick Properties Have In Common

More gin talk. Well, actually it's more about marketing, branding and positioning, but I'm using Hendrick's Gin as the example. But first, a bit o' history.


When I first came to Patrick Properties, I was walking through The William Aiken House one day with Randall. He was regaling me with his encyclopedic knowledge about the House's history. As we walked across the gorgeous wood floors, they made the indescribable noise that is unmistakable, true character. Now, I love that noise. That noise has many wonderfully rich emotional attachments to it. To me, it's an immediate sense that there's a story here. Dozens upon dozens more than likely. And you know at least some of them have to be REALLY GOOD stories. But I digress.

Suffices to say that I spent some time thinking about that. Later, Randall told me that a prospective bride that toured the House and asked if "something could be done about the floors." She no likey the creaking. Which, in my view, pretty much means, she doesn't like Patrick Properties. Because if you're not down with a good story and character, you're probably not going to understand what we're all about.

And that's fine. Really. We understand and take no offense.

Which brings me back to gin. Specifically Hendrick's. And here's the brilliance.

On the small tag that hangs around the best bottle ever, the Hendrick's people say their gin is: PREFERRED BY 1 OUT OF 1,000 GIN DRINKERS.

That's correct. In other words, not a whole lot of folks are drinking Hendrick's. (Andra and I do what we can, but people, we are only human.)

And rather than hang their heads or wring their little ginny hands, the Hendrick's folks have taken their "tiny handful of people all over the world" and made them feel unique and wonderful and like they're in on something that not everyone else "gets." Their tag line says it all: Hendrick's: It is not for everyone.

Hello, brand loyalty, I am your slave for life.

As it turns out, creaky wood floors and gin have an awful lot in common.