Friday, October 26, 2007

Kilo Kai Rum. Take No Prisoners



News Release - October 25, 2007
Contact: Kevin Boyer, (312) 421-7672 x 41, Kevin.boyer@allterrain.net

Kilo Kai Rum. Take No Prisoners
Chicago Brand Masters Launch New Better Tasting Spiced Rum

Chicago, IL - How do you create the world’s best tasting spiced rum? Start with an island that was once home to pirates and American revolutionaries. Throw in three generations of master rum distillers who take the sugar cane and bring it to life with a special recipe that includes essences of vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg. Let age for three years, gifting much to the angels through evaporation, and you’re left with Kilo Kai – the way spiced rum should taste.

Kilo Kai might still be sitting in Leáñez family barrels on Curaçao but for the palates and business savvy of Chicago brand masters Brad Trayser and Michael O’Connor. Trayser, part of the team that brought the world Effen Vodka, has once again captured lightning in a bottle. He is betting that the rum category – now the second most popular spirit behind vodka - is ready for better tasting brands that challenge market leaders.

Kilo Kai, launched in Chicago in October of 2007, is, according to Trayser, “real rum. The kind of rum you might just want to drink straight. In our blind taste tests 27 out of 28 bartenders preferred Kilo Kai rum straight when compared to four other brands, including the market leader.” KiloKai.com refers to the taste as “Layered. Complex. Aggressive - in all the right ways. If Kilo Kai were a woman, she'd make the first move, then leave you wanting more.”

Trayser believes that Kilo Kai is the brand you will hear about mostly through bartenders, musicians, waiters and others connected to nightlife, culture and hospitality. “You’ll drink Kilo Kai at that point in your life when you’ve decided taste is more important,” says Trayser. “Your bartender will recommend you switch to Kilo Kai when you mistakenly ask for something with a cartoon character on the bottle.”

The innovative package design features real skateboard tape on the bottle and was crafted by international brand design firm Turner Duckworth (San Francisco & London). The Kilo Kai skull-and-crossbones logo incorporates two K’s to form the skull’s teeth and bones. Order a “Kilo and Coke” and the irreverent cultural reference completes the no-cartoon-zone attitude of Kilo Kai.

Kilo Kai is available at more than 100 bars and clubs throughout the Chicago area and will soon be launched throughout the Midwest and on the West Coast.

November 11 Launch Party and Concert
In Chicago, Kilo Kai will be formally introduced on Sunday, November 11 at the legendary Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee, in Wicker Park. The Kilo Kai “Take No Prisoners” Chicago Launch Party will feature live performances by Bouncing Souls, PEGBOY and the Beer Nuts. Doors open at 7:30 pm for this invitation-only event. To get on the guest list, visit www.KiloKai.com for a list of pre-launch events where tickets will be given away.

About Apostrophe Brands
Apostrophe Brands is a small outfit in Chicago, Illinois. We have a big, soft spot for making the best spirits around, and we want to share that with the world: one person of legal drinking age at a time. We believe this, coupled with a ban on beach balls at sporting events, will make the world a much happier place. For more information, visit www.apostrophebrands.com.
Kilo Kai Rum. Take No Prisoners
Chicago Brand Masters Launch New Better Tasting Spiced Rum

Chicago, IL - How do you create the world’s best tasting spiced rum? Start with an island that was once home to pirates and American revolutionaries. Throw in three generations of master rum distillers who take the sugar cane and bring it to life with a special recipe that includes essences of vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg. Let age for three years, gifting much to the angels through evaporation, and you’re left with Kilo Kai – the way spiced rum should taste.

Kilo Kai might still be sitting in Leáñez family barrels on Curaçao but for the palates and business savvy of Chicago brand masters Brad Trayser and Michael O’Connor. Trayser, part of the team that brought the world Effen Vodka, has once again captured lightning in a bottle. He is betting that the rum category – now the second most popular spirit behind vodka - is ready for better tasting brands that challenge market leaders.

Kilo Kai, launched in Chicago in October of 2007, is, according to Trayser, “real rum. The kind of rum you might just want to drink straight. In our blind taste tests 27 out of 28 bartenders preferred Kilo Kai rum straight when compared to four other brands, including the market leader.” KiloKai.com refers to the taste as “Layered. Complex. Aggressive - in all the right ways. If Kilo Kai were a woman, she'd make the first move, then leave you wanting more.”

Trayser believes that Kilo Kai is the brand you will hear about mostly through bartenders, musicians, waiters and others connected to nightlife, culture and hospitality. “You’ll drink Kilo Kai at that point in your life when you’ve decided taste is more important,” says Trayser. “Your bartender will recommend you switch to Kilo Kai when you mistakenly ask for something with a cartoon character on the bottle.”

The innovative package design features real skateboard tape on the bottle and was crafted by international brand design firm Turner Duckworth (San Francisco & London). The Kilo Kai skull-and-crossbones logo incorporates two K’s to form the skull’s teeth and bones. Order a “Kilo and Coke” and the irreverent cultural reference completes the no-cartoon-zone attitude of Kilo Kai.

Kilo Kai is available at more than 100 bars and clubs throughout the Chicago area and will soon be launched throughout the Midwest and on the West Coast.

November 11 Launch Party and Concert
In Chicago, Kilo Kai will be formally introduced on Sunday, November 11 at the legendary Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee, in Wicker Park. The Kilo Kai “Take No Prisoners” Chicago Launch Party will feature live performances by Bouncing Souls, PEGBOY and the Beer Nuts. Doors open at 7:30 pm for this invitation-only event. To get on the guest list, visit www.KiloKai.com for a list of pre-launch events where tickets will be given away.

About Apostrophe Brands
Apostrophe Brands is a small outfit in Chicago, Illinois. We have a big, soft spot for making the best spirits around, and we want to share that with the world: one person of legal drinking age at a time. We believe this, coupled with a ban on beach balls at sporting events, will make the world a much happier place. For more information, visit www.apostrophebrands.com.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Making Safety “Cool”

News Release – October 8, 2007
Contact: Kevin G. Boyer, (312) 421-7672 x 41, Kevin.boyer@allterrain.net

Making Safety “Cool”
Chicago Marketing Firm All Terrain tapped by
Underwriters Laboratories for Mobile Marketing Tour

Chicago, IL – All Terrain, a Chicago-based experiential marketing company, announced today that it has been retained by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to produce UL’s first ever mobile safety campaign. Launching in mid October and traveling the U.S. and Canada through 2008, the tour will emphasize the critical role UL plays in consumer safety through testing certification of more than 19,000 products, components and materials worldwide.

‘Cool’ cutting edge technologies such as holographic imaging, infrared gaming and touch-screen interactivity are being built into the specially designed tour vehicle. Stopping at schools and UL retail & manufacturing partners, the tour will also feature safety demonstrations and fun educational challenges for children, youth and adults. The tour will be supported in local markets by All Terrain’s new Public Relations Division, promoting UL’s safety messages to consumers through local media outreach and on-site grass roots efforts.

"All Terrain has a reputation as a highly innovative and uniquely creative marketing shop,” said Doug Bell, Director of Global Marketing at UL. “For the next year we will educate consumers across North America about UL’s public safety mission in ways that go beyond traditional marketing campaigns. All Terrain’s strategic guidance will help UL further its efforts to raise consumer awareness about product safety at a time when knowledge and preparedness are more important than ever.”

About All Terrain
All Terrain is an agile, integrated marketing agency that activates, personalizes and connects major brands with relevant consumers. Brook Jay and Sarah Eck-Thompson co-founded All Terrain nine years ago and in the process helped define a whole new marketing category – Experiential Marketing. All Terrain is now a highly-recognized agency offering special event production, multi-site, multi-disciplinary promotional campaigns, strategic brand positioning, field teams, point-of-sale, events, e-marketing, mobile marketing, advertising, sampling, public relations, influencer advocacy and entertainment. They serve name-brand clients including GMC, Buick, Saturn, Pernod Ricard – one of the country’s largest spirits distributors, the Tribune Company, Anheuser-Busch, Sofitel Chicago, Underwriter Laboratories and more. For more information, visit: www.allterrain.net.

About UL
Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is an independent product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing Standards for Safety for over a century. UL evaluates more than 19,000 types of products, components, materials and systems annually with 21 billion UL Marks appearing on 71,000 manufacturers’ products each year. UL’s worldwide family of companies and network of service providers includes 66 laboratory, testing and certification facilities serving customers in 104 countries. For more information, visit: www.UL.com.