News

It is Cocktail Friday at TSWUS, and we are headed into a long weekend celebrating the birth of the United States of America. What better post could we make, than one highlighting the "artfully" redesigned "Patriotic" packaging that seems ubiquitous on these American holidays. What impact does re-packaging have on sales during patriotic holidays? Can the re-packaging stand alone, or does it …

Q: Is Cinco de Mayo the same thing as Mexican Independence Day? A: No, Mexican Independence Day is on September 16, but Diez y Seis de Septiembre was too clunky to catch on with beer distributors. Q: Why is Cinco de Mayo so popular in the United States? A: Over 30 million Americans are of Mexican descent, and the rest will take any opportunity to celebrate a French …

Its Cocktail Friday here at The Specialist Works US and we are celebrating with some SweetWater 420s in light of this years SweetWater 420 Fest currently taking place in downtown Atlanta. The SweetWater 420 fest is an annual event thrown by the SweetWater Brewing Company in Atlanta, Georgia. The festival is always held on a weekend closet to Earth Day. The festival has taken place in Centennial …

Its Cocktail Friday here at The Specialist Works US and we are celebrating all together with a Going Away Celebration involving wine for our intern, Yldamarie! She will be graduating in May from Georgia State University with a degree in Journalism. After, she will be studying abroad in Ecuador practicing Nonprofit Public Relations. We are wishing her bon voyage on this new journey.When it comes …

Its Cocktail Friday here at The Specialist Works US and in honor of the 2017 Masters Golf Tournament, we are celebrating with some delicious John Daly cocktails. A John Daly consists of lemonade, iced tea, and vodka. It is named after the American golfer John Daly. The drink is an alcoholic version of the Arnold Palmer, which is named after an American golfer, as well. The cocktail was originally …

Its Cocktail Friday here at The Specialist Works US and we are celebrating with some tasty Gin and Tonics! The cocktail was first introduced by the army of the British East India Company where malaria was a prominent issue. In the 1700s, Scottish doctor, George Cleghorn, discovered that quinine could be used to prevent and treat the disease. Quinine was served in tonic water, however the taste …

Its Cocktail Friday here at The Specialist Works US and we are celebrating with some White Russians! Interestingly, the White Russian did not receive its name based off its country of origin, but rather for the type of vodka used in its recipe. In the 1930s, vodka was not well known in the US so people began associating all vodka as Russian, hence the use of the term in the drink. Large vodka …

Its Cocktail Friday here at The Specialist Works US and while Mardi Gras might have occurred earlier this week, we are continuing the celebration with some Carnival Punch. It is no wonder the recipe for Carnival Punch earns itself a top position on many different Mardi Gras Cocktail lists. With its vibrant color and tropical taste, it falls high on our list of cocktails as well. The Carnival …

Its Cocktail Friday here at The Specialist Works US and we are celebrating with margaritas! National Margarita Day 2017 took place on the 22nd, but we are keeping up the holidays spirit by continuing on through the week. National Margarita Day was founded by Todd McCalla to spread his love for margaritas around the world. The classic margarita was invented during the 1930s or 1940s in Mexico …

Cocktail FridayOld Fashioned Cocktail Its Cocktail Friday here at The Specialist Works US and we would like to acknowledge how to get Back to Basics with some Old Fashioned Cocktails. The first documented use of the word cocktail was in 1806. The first use of the name "Old Fashioned" for a Bourbon whiskey cocktail was at the Pendennis Club, a gentlemen's club founded in 1881 in Louisville …

Its finally Cocktail Friday and we are celebrating with Martinis from Smirnoff. This year Halloween falls on a Monday, talk about scary! On the bright side, its the perfect excuse to show up to work in my pajamas! I like to think about how many of the phone calls we will get on Monday will be from people who are also diverging from their typical work wear. We will be wearing the most ridiculous …

Its Octoberfest Weekend here at The Specialist Works, so our Cocktail Friday is an obvious choice. Ritzenhoff Beer Glasses! Traditions run stong around this widespread German holiday, and the use of our Rizenhoffs is no exception. These fantastical artist-designed glasses are brought out each year to help us celebrate our heritage, but with a modern twist. Each piece is vividly decorated …

an>It is Cocktail Friday at The Specialist Works US and it is also National Hug your Boss Day. Talk about an interesting mix.Many studies have shown that having a good, positive leader can make all the difference in a working environment. Statistics tell us, that the majority of people leave a job more frequently due to not getting along with their employer; and that people working for a boss …

"Lager beer kegs... mounted in every conceivable place." A quote from a description of the first Labor Day post-parade party. The Central Labor Union, the Jewelers Union of Newark Two and 20,000+ friends and family helped celebrate the strength and contribution of the American worker that first Labor Day. While we arent marching in a parade this morning, we laborers will celebrate, and …

It is Cocktail Friday at the Specialist Works US and today we are sipping sake. Or shooting it, whatever your preference. We're enjoying this delicious Japanese rice wine with our box of freshly delivered Japanese snacks. Every month we receive a box from Japan Crate packed with interesting and tasty candies, and we're always pleasantly surprised by what we find. This month featured sweet animal …

August 5th is International Beer Day. It is also Cocktail Friday at The Specialist Works and today we are toasting with a Stella. Craft brewing in the United States has been growing at a swift pace, enjoying a 12.8% increase in sales last year. The popularity of craft beer is even more apparent when we look at market share by dollar value, where every fifth dollar spent on brew is now craft. The …

It is Cocktail Friday at The Specialist Works US and today we would like to celebrate local success. Brian Hart Hoffman, chief creative officer at our media partner Hoffman Media, recently had his cocktail recipe book The Coupe featured in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. We were very glad to see our client, Expressionery, have their custom stamp design featured with the outbound press kit …

It is Cocktail Friday at The Specialist Works US and today we are brainstorming on bouncebacks. Lancers Rosé was incredibly trendy in the 1970s, in part due to its unique shape, which allowed drinkers to plant a candle inside and incorporate the empty bottles into their homes. The wine has since fallen out of favor, but it's gotten us thinking: how can we reposition the brand to revitalize …

It’s Cocktail Friday at The Specialist Works and today we’re reflecting on our roots. In the new and exciting age of data, traditional and old fashioned methods matter more than ever. Whether it’s knowing your customer, or finding the sweet spot between over and underexposure, precision is key in running an effective campaign. The best cocktail is when the sharp taste of the liquor …

Here at The Specialist Works US we take our safety seriously. As the weekend approaches we are happy to unwind with a nice cocktail. We are sure to unwind safely.  So raise a glass to warm nights and cold drinks and enjoy your weekend! Don\'t forget: ADVERTISE RESPONSIBLY.

Cheers!

The internet was flooded today with hockey masks as worn by Jason, the main character from the Friday the 13th movies. I bring you a much less frightening, but incredibly beautiful mask in its place. Leaving lunch, i found this amazing doodle on a neighboring table. Brown paper and crayons make any lunch better, especially a cocktail-free one.

Cocktail Friday. Kentucky Derby. One would expect mint julip, so here it is:Ingredients: 1 teaspoon Powdered sugar, 2 oz. Bourbon whiskey, 2 teaspoons Water, 4 Mint leavesPreparation: In a highball glass gently muddle the mint, sugar and water. Fill the glass with cracked ice, add Bourbon and stir well until the glass is well frosted. Garnish with a mint sprig.Served: On the rocks; poured over …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media, and long PAST due for a fresh look at the Lone Star Beer bottle gap quiz. This week's installment is bottle cap #135, and frankly one of the easier caps to translate.With each installment, we try to tie in the bottle cap quiz with some real advertising insight. And here it is..... Not only do we highlight the Lone Star Beer bottle caps, we collect them …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media, and we are in New Orleans. What better place to spend a Friday? Today we are lunching with our media partners, and sampling the finest New Orleans has to offer including the legendary Sazarac, Sazarac1 sugar cube2 1/2 ounces whiskey -- rye whisky2 dashes Bitters -- Peychaud's bitters1 dash Bitters -- Angostura bittersabsinthelemon peelBed with comfy …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media, and today we pay homage to a very little used but beautiful item in our collection. This hand carved wooden wine stopper gets a lot of attention as an object of Art sitting on my desk at the office, but little practical use as a wine stopper. Once Cocktail Friday is in full swing, there is little reason to suppose there will be leftovers. As an object of …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media and today we are reflecting on a month of having Jess from our UK partner the Specialist Works in our offices. Jess went home earlier this week, and we already miss her. Much like the image of bottle caps in a tray that we chose to pair with this posting, having someone from outside in the office for an extended time feels very different. Like a cider cap in …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media and today we broke out these adorable Champagne saucers. They are tiny at only 3 inches high, but very old-school in their look and feel. Why are be breaking out the Champagne saucers you ask? Because we have had a very productive week, and it is time to celebrate. Cheers to all of you! 

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media and we are putting in a few more hours before indulging ourselves but we wanted to share a new recipe. On a recent client visit to New Braunfels, TX to see our PR client Expressionery, we reviewed their interview with Coastal Living Magazine for Steele of the Week. Expressionery stated in the edit copy that their favorite holiday drink was Holiday Sangria …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media. As part of our continuing series on Lone Star Bottle Caps, we are offering up # 157. It is a red cap, which we all by now know designates it as a regular not a light beer.

Color coded product labels and conversation starters. We like it. Cheers Texas!

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media. To combat the incoming cold weather, and keep your throat and palate happy, we thought we would share our favorite Hot Toddy recipe.INGREDIENTS:2 tablespoons honey3 fingers of bourbon Juice from half a lemon1 cinnamon stick This one is served in a cork lined copper bottomed glass to keep the heat in. Often we find that we don't have a cinnamon stick, a …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media, and it is also the Friday before Halloween, one of our favorite holidays. In honor of the upcoming festivities, we froze some Skull and Crossbones ice-cubes to celebrate.

Can you see how nicely the eye-sockets set off the amber tones of the Bourbon? Sublime.

Wishing you and yours a very happy and safe Halloween!

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media, and we are feeling international after so much coverage of the Canadian Elections this past week.

We are also very excited to announce our speaking engagement at McGill University in Montreal this coming February. More details to follow closer to the event date.

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media, and we are closing shop early today to go our annual Pig Picken'. But we wanted to leave you with a brain teaser from Lone Start Beer before we left. Here is # 213.

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media and today we are talking abut the meaning of shapes. How is that a cocktail topic? Well - we love our Lone Star Beer bottle caps which feature a single star so we thought we would investigate what the shape means (outside of Texas). Visual cues are important in advertising, and making sure you get it right is important. "Drawing stars shows you are …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media and we are posting Lone Star Beer's bottle cap brain teaser #181. Why? Because we drink a lot of Lone Star, and we have a lot of bottle caps to go through. Seriously though, we love the Lone Star bottle caps because they create engagement. Pictures get posted and tagged by the faithful, and are even sold as Art on Etsy. When pictures of the inside of your …

It is cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media, and we are rounding out this week's bat theme with a White Bat Cocktail. To make a White Bat, you will need the following ingredients: 1 1/2 oz Bacardi white Rum1/2 oz Kahlua coffee liqueur1 1/2 oz milk3 oz Coca-Cola Instructions:1) Build all ingredients in a glass over ice2) Stir and serve Cheers …

It is Cocktail Friday again at Elarbee Media. Travelling for business this week, we were fortunate to spend the evening in Birmingham. Alabama where we were served our craft cocktails in these adorable vintage glasses. The cocktails were frankly "not good"; but, trying new things and keeping an open mind is always important. While business travel is rarely a glamorous adventure, it is always an …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media. We are back with more Lone Star Beer bottle cap quiz images. This is #124 if you need to go to LoneStarBeer.com to get the translation.

Once again, a brilliant campaign to build engagement.

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media and we are so happy to share one of our favorite decanters with you. This Kosta Boda decanter is a great example of Whimsy. The form, while completely functional, is also a piece of art in itself. The bolt as the closure make the entire piece so much different than a full glass execution. Adding the industrial feel to the closure alone changes the style …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media, and since we have a large cache of Lone Star Bottle Cap, we are lazily going through these for Friday posts. This week's bottle cap is number 327 if you need to look it up onLonsestar.com, but it is pretty easy so we think you will get it. Once again, we are showing a RED bottle cap which means....Regular Beer …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media and we are back with more Lone Star Beer bottle caps. This featured quiz is from a BLUE cap. If you are following the conversation from last week, that means it is from a light beer. Red=Regular. Blue=Light. Color coding to simplify the buying process is good marketing! This is #393 if you get stumped and need to go to Lonestarbeer.com to get the answer …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media and we are back with more Lone Star Beer bottle caps. This featured quiz is from a red cap. For the uninitiated, it comes from a regular Lone Star not a Lone Star Light which is blue. Color coding within the brand makes it easy for consumers to identify product easily. It makes shelf selection more efficient in store as well. Lone Star Beer, like many other …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media, and we are excited about the upcoming holiday weekend. In honor of Memorial Day, we thought we would share a truly American Drink recipe.

Open Bottle

Pour Bourbon in Glass

 "Be American. Drink American!"

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media, and today we selected a toothpick swan from out vintage cocktail collection to show you. Part of the art of a throwing a good cocktail party is supplying your guests with a nosh to go with their drink. These vintage birds were used to hold cubed cheese, olives, cherries, and anything else you could stick on a toothpick. We think this beauty would look …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media and we are back with more Lone Star Beer bottle caps. This is #324 if you get stumped and need to go to Lonestarbeer.com to find the answer.

Once again, we want to highlight how much we enjoy the engagement element of this campaign. We encourage you to engage with US by sending us the answer if you can figure it out.

Elarbee Media would like to help everyone get ready for their Derby Parties with a quick recap on the Mint Julep.Mint JulepBourbon whiskey - at least 3 fingers of GOOD Bourbon 1 teaspoon powdered sugar or 1 finger of simple syrup2 teaspoons WaterMint leavesIn a highball glass (preferably a Derby glass like the ones in our collection) gently muddle the mint, sugar and water. Fill the glass with …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media. here is our latest installment of the Lone Star Bottle Cap campaign. If you haven't been following the theme, Lone Star Beer puts brain teasers under their bottle caps. It drives conversations, and interaction with their website if you can't figure them out yourself. We think this is a brilliant marketing ploy, and we LOVE it.This is number 41 if you need …

They are back for Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media! Lone Star Beer Bottle Caps! In what we still believe is a brilliant marketing play, despite the lack of free beer we have received for saying so, Lone Star developed visual games on the inside of their bottle caps.These messages get harder to decode as the evening wears on, but provide tons of fun and keep the brand "top of mind".This is …

You know it is time to travel to see your Texas based clients when your supply of bottle caps runs out. That is right folks - It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media, and we have one last Lone Star Beer brain teaser to share.Still no free beer delivered, but we still dare to dream.

It's Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media! Today is all about vintage copper glasses. Hot or cold service? These copper sleeves are lined with cork, so you can serve a hot beverage like a "Toddy" or a cold one that won't sweat onto your wood furniture. So fun and functional. Copper is a hot trend in current brands as well, Check out the top on the bottle of Tito's, and the copper stripe in our "legit …

Have you been "hankerin" for another Lone Star Beer installment on the Cocktail Friday post at Elarbee Media?We are happy to deliver! Still waiting on our free case of beer for driving traffic and awareness, but we will let it slide despite the fact that we are very thirsty.Friends, clients and colleagues in Texas, send us your bottle caps, or we are coming to visit.

It's Cocktail Friday again at Elarbee Media! And this Friday it is time for Lone Star Beer to take over again with one of their brain teasers. Keep in mind, you are supposed to be drinking beer while reading these, so they are not designed to be TOO complicated.Still, if you can't figure them out, go to lonestarbeer.com to get the answer based on the number code printed on the bottle cap.What …

It is Cocktail Friday again at Elarbee Media. Here is another in the series of brilliantly conceived Lone Star Beer brain teasers.Once again, just because I think they did a GREAT job developing this concept, I will send you to their site lonestarbeer.com if you can't figure out the message.If someone from Lone Star Beer would like to reward me for driving traffic with some free beer that would …

It is cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media and today I want to highlight a piece of sheer marketing brilliance!On a recent trip to New Braunfels, TX to meet with Expressionery.com, I was lucky enough to squeeze in some social time. For me, in Texas, that means drinking my old standby LONE STAR BEER (light these days). Here is the brilliant part: When you take the cap off the beer, on the inside there …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media and we are celebrating! We are so happy to be finally settled in our new space!

Elarbee Media
6100 Lake Forrest Drive, Suite 400 
Atlanta, GA 30328

Stop by and we will pour you a drink!

It's Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media. This will be our last Cocktail Friday from our original offices. Things are getting very sparse here, and there is not much left to photograph except nail holes in the walls. 

It is always important to plan your business move carefully, which is of course why the Tito's remains as the last item in the freezer! 

Cheers!

It's cocktail hour on Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media! After a week of business travel to one of our favorite destinations, Texas, it is well past time to mix up a batch of something. This awesome "balloon" cocktail server holds about 4 large cocktails, that can be poured in style out of this golden beauty. Our sincere thanks for the hospitality earlier this week, we will raise our first glass …

It’s Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media. Today we have a full day photo shoot for our client Black Creek Precision. Here is a fitting cocktail recipe for today “The Smoking Gun”. We’ll save this for later to be safe.The Smoking GunTwo notoriously assertive ingredients—scotch and Fernet Branca—balance each other out in this flavorful after-dinner sipper. “It’s a drink you can hunker …

It is Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media. We are excited to share a Halloween inspired cocktail with you that also allows us to celebrate our new relationship with Tat3dUSA, manufacturer of tactical training equipment - including zombie heads. The Zombie 1 oz Unsweetened Pineapple Juice, Juice of 1 Lime Juice of 1 Orange 1 tsp powdered sugar ½ oz. Apricot Brandy 2 ½ oz. Light Rum 1 oz Jamaican …

It’s Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media. We are sad to have to put away our Oktoberfest steins and our dirndls for another year. To our German clients colleagues and friends, we want to leave you with one final Prost! before we close it out.

It’s Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media. Today we would like to pay tribute to an iconic “friend”, Mr. Boston. This classic red and black book reminds us that no matter how knowledgeable and worldly you are, sometimes you simply have to refer to an expert. Your cocktails will taste better that way.For businesses, trying to keep all-things in house can backfire. Hire in experts that you use …

It’s Cocktail Friday at Elarbee Media! This week’s vintage cocktail item is a set of rooster embossed cocktail glasses. They would only hold about 4 ounces of anything, but are quite stylish.When I see the size of older items, cocktail items or even vintage clothes, I wonder whether or not our concept of “bigger is better” has backfired. Is selling large volumes at a discount necessarily …

It is cocktail Friday again at Elarbee Media. Today’s vintage barware from our office are these cork insulated copper glasses. They keep your drink cool, and keep the glass from sweating. Sweet! Because they are beautiful copper, I paired them with a bottle of Tito’s Handmade Vodka, which just happened to be handy. In thinking about Tito’s (which I normally only do longingly) I had to ask …

It’s ‪#‎CocktailFriday‬ at Elarbee Media!When I see something brilliant, I say, “wow that is brilliant – why didn’t I think of that!” I confess I had this thought on a recent trip to a liquor store in Florida. Behold! The most brilliant innovation in history: vodka packaged to conveniently fit almost anywhere -- slim, portable, easily disposed of once used.A wise business move is …

It's Cocktail Friday again at Elarbee Media. This kitschy ice bucket looks like an over-sized beer stein. It would probably hold about a gallon of beer if you wanted to drink from it! Likely, the beer would get too warm before I could finish. Being over-sized, it begs the question "is bigger always better in business?" Does buying media with scale translate to success, or are refined buys with …

Here is what came out of the mix this week: "Mother is always right." Although it is an old adage, I recently had the great experience of finding it to be true.At cocktail hour I heard "Kelly Danielle, you look tired. You need to find a babysitter to let you take a few hours off so you can get yourself together." (That is the iron fist; Mom hasn't bought the kid glove yet- she is a New Yorker …

Cocktail hour in my family home has always been a loosely qualified focus group. With an international salesman, an artist, the proverbial doctor and lawyer, blue collar worker, earth-mother, a gaggle of children and an advertising hack gathered around with the wine flowing, the truth is spoken rather quickly.We have ages in mix from 5 to 75 (a broad spectrum) and very different opinions from …

Sometimes small glasses are great – especially when refilled frequently! That's right, it is Cocktail Friday here again at Elarbee Media. These mini cocktail glasses provide the perfect parallel for test budgets. When testing new media, go for small, but frequent test investments.Media tests that are “refilled frequently” can ultimately lead to a new core media strategy. Set limits, keep …

It's Cocktail Friday here at Elarbee Media. This simple sterling handled corkscrew is a very functional item, and well used despite the fact that it does not have all of the bells and whistles of some of its modern cousins. Bells and whistles are nice, but at the end of the day, you just need to pull the cork out of the bottle. What is the business parallel to getting the “cork out of the …

Putting plans “on ice” can often be frustrating for all involved; however,sometimes it is the best business decision to defer projects that you are not ready to tackle. Putting something on ice means preserving it to keep it viable for down the road. At Elarbee Media, we don’t love putting our projects on ice, although if it is what is right for the client, we do it with a smile. We do …

The gilded transfer on this cocktail shaker was someone’s idea of adding “pizazz” to a functional item. Sometimes I wonder if adding more is just “gilding the lily?” In advertising, there is a lot of “lily gilding.” Don’t get seduced by the bells and whistles when what matters is ROI. But don’t walk away from something because of it either. The shaker is still fully functional …

It's ‪#‎CocktailFriday‬! Seasonal swings can make it feel like your whole business is “on the rocks." Sometimes taking a deep breath, along with a sip of your favorite cocktail can help give you the perspective you need to move forward without fear.To avoid feeling as though you're "on the rocks," it is imperative to look at how business was this time last year. Then, compare results …

At Elarbee Media, we like to shake things up. Like a well-crafted cocktail, a successful marketing plan requires a precisely measured amount of components.Not all clients have the same needs, goals or budgets, so we tailor our “recipe for success” to suit each clients’ individual needs. To create a media plan that works, we combine equal parts research, planning and knowledge to produce a …

Do you swizzle?Out of the many collections we house here at Elarbee Media, there is one that shows an exceptional amount of whimsy: our swizzle stick collection.Because swizzle sticks are for stirring, if they were designed simply for function, they would be very boring. This week’s office cocktail item(s) are our glass vegetables, the perfect swizzle sticks for the final stir of a Bloody Mary …

It's ‪#‎CocktailFriday‬!We don’t love measuring our alcohol pours at Elarbee Media, but we do love measuring media results - especially ROI (Return on Investment)!According to Wisegeek- “using a jigger is only one of many different ways to measure alcohol, and it tends to go in and out of fashion as times change. Some people think that bartenders who meticulously measure out each shot …

It’s ‪#‎CocktailFriday‬! At Elarbee Media, we aim to keep your expectations high and your CPMs low. Check out these 1960s highball glasses from our office barwear collection.Highball is the name for a family of mixed drinks that are composed of an alcoholic base spirit and a larger proportion of a non-alcoholic mixer. Well-known examples of highballs include Bourbon and Water, Cuba Libre …

 It's ‪‎Cocktail Friday‬ at Elarbee Media! Each week we will be featuring a unique vintage cocktail item from our collection at the office. Check out our vintage ice crusher from the 1950s! Here in the south, we love a good mint julep served over crushed ice. What is your favorite cocktail served over crushed ice?