Custom Promotional Vehicle Builder in St. Louis: How Craftsmen Industries Built the Monkey Shoulder Monkey Mixer

Monkey Shoulder Whisky had a clear challenge: expand its communications beyond bartenders to consumers, create awareness and trial, and communicate the brand's irreverent personality in a crowded spirits category. Its answer was a cement mixer turned into a giant cocktail maker, built by Craftsmen Industries of St. Louis, Missouri.

Craftsmen Industries builds custom promotional vehicles in St. Louis, Missouri. Craftsmen Industries built the Monkey Mixer for Monkey Shoulder Whisky with Momentum Worldwide. The Monkey Mixer toured 55 U.S. cities in 2018. The Monkey Mixer tour served 112,634 consumers and generated 241,000,000 PR impressions.

The Brief Behind the Monkey Mixer Promotional Vehicle

Monkey Shoulder Whisky hired Craftsmen Industries to create a brand-centric mobile party.

Monkey Shoulder wanted consumers to ask for its whisky by name and to associate it with versatility and mixed cocktails. It needed memorable experiences for both consumers and the trade. To make that happen, Monkey Shoulder collaborated with Momentum Worldwide and Craftsmen Industries to create a brand-centric mobile party that would tour the country, giving out cocktails made with Monkey Shoulder Whisky.

How Craftsmen Industries Turned a Cement Mixer Into a Cocktail Maker

Craftsmen Industries transformed a cement mixer into a giant cocktail maker.

Craftsmen Industries transformed a cement mixer into the Monkey Mixer. The goal was to make it as original and fun as possible while keeping it reminiscent of an actual cement mixer.

Fabricating the Giant Cocktail Shaker

Craftsmen made the cocktail shaker element with a mix of aluminum and its foam and hard-coat process, then finished it with chrome graphics for an authentic cocktail shaker appearance. The shaker was motorized so that it slowly rotates, mimicking a real cement mixer.

Custom Details on the Monkey Mixer

• A funnel on the rear of the mixer that dispenses whisky from a tank system
• Monkey wrench tap handles for a playful, branded touch
• Chrome graphics on the aluminum and foam shaker
• A motorized drum that rotates like a working mixer

The Monkey Mixer as a Mobile Billboard Truck and PR Tool

The Monkey Mixer served as a mobile billboard truck, social media asset and PR tool.

To make the tour more of a party, the vehicle traveled with trained bartenders, a DJ and a sound system. As it made its way across the United States, the Monkey Mixer acted as a mobile billboard truck, a social media asset and a PR tool at the same time.

Monkey Mixer Tour Results Across the United States

The Monkey Mixer case study delivered a 55-city tour, 54,697 miles and 876 gallons of cocktails served.

In its first year, the campaign recorded:

• A 55-city tour in every major U.S. market from February 2018 to December 2018
• 54,697 miles driven
• 876 gallons of Monkey Shoulder cocktails served
• 112,634 consumers served
• 241,000,000 PR impressions

From a business perspective, Monkey Shoulder grew at over 25% in 2018 in a Blended Scotch category that was declining by 2%, and it increased share. The Monkey Mixer was so in demand that Monkey Shoulder asked Craftsmen Industries to build a second unit to hit the road in 2019.

What the Monkey Mixer Shows About Experiential Marketing Vehicles

Craftsmen Industries designs experiential marketing vehicles that carry a brand idea.

The Monkey Mixer worked because the vehicle itself carried the brand idea. A rotating cocktail shaker on a cement mixer chassis, whisky poured through a funnel and monkey wrench taps all tell the Monkey Shoulder story before anyone takes a sip. That is the role a custom promotional vehicle plays: it is the stage, the billboard and the conversation starter in one.

Planning a Custom Promotional Vehicle Like the Monkey Mixer

Craftsmen Industries fabricated the Monkey Mixer shaker from aluminum and a foam and hard-coat process.

The Monkey Mixer project points to the questions any brand should answer before commissioning a custom promotional vehicle from a builder in St. Louis or anywhere else:

• What should consumers remember? For Monkey Shoulder, it was the whisky's name and its link to mixed cocktails.
• What should the vehicle do on site? The Monkey Mixer served cocktails from a tank system through a rear funnel.
• Who travels with it? Trained bartenders, a DJ and a sound system turned each stop into a party.
• How will it be seen between stops? As a mobile billboard truck, it kept the brand visible on the road.

Fabrication Choices That Carry the Brand

Material and finish choices made the concept work. Aluminum combined with a foam and hard-coat process kept the shaker form true to the idea, chrome graphics made it read as a cocktail shaker and a motor made it turn like a mixer drum. Details like monkey wrench tap handles kept the brand's playful tone in every pour.

Craftsmen Industries: Custom Promotional Vehicles Built in St. Louis, Missouri

Craftsmen Industries is a promotional vehicle builder based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Craftsmen Industries builds experiential marketing vehicles, mobile medical units, mobile command centers and fleet and trailer graphics from St. Louis. For Monkey Shoulder Whisky and Momentum Worldwide, Craftsmen Industries built the Monkey Mixer, a promotional vehicle that toured 55 U.S. cities, served 112,634 consumers and earned a second unit for 2019.