“Genius is an expression of the obvious.” is what Sidney Frank told Forbes as he was describing his prowess in scaling an English liquor company when working for Schenley Distillers. However this is not a story about Sidney Frank's work in the English market. Instead, this is a look at how Frank's role in bringing a German liquor brand to the American limelight, resulted in one of the greatest marketing turnarounds in history.

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Jägermeister, which translates to "master hunter" in German, was created by Curt Mast in the 1930s. He was a hunter who frequently braved the harsh German winters and needed something strong to keep his blood warm when the air got cold. Thus, he created the original recipe for Jägermeister. A concoction of 56 herbs (hence the reason it is considered a herbal liqueur), alcohol and tons of sugar producing a bittersweet taste with a sharp burn. Jägermeister is designed to get you intoxicated quickly. Yet its purpose was never intended for that. It's strength was meant to be utilized when hunting in the freezing cold to overcome shivering and discomfort. It was a pharmaceutical of sorts with a large emphasis on aiding digestion. So how does a liquor brand make its way from German hunting lodges to American college dorm rooms?

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Enter Sidney Frank. An entrepreneurial liquor importer and genius in marketing born in 1919 who in 1973 bought the importing rights to Jägermeister. Very quickly Jägermeister's reputation was tainted by journalists in the 1980s, claiming the spirit to be a cultist drink and rumors of it containing Quaaludes and opium. Frank did what most marketers would never do. He took these inflammatory articles, printed hundreds of copies and posted them all around college bars and dorms. Instead of fighting against public perception and worrying about a tank in sales, Frank took a negative and turned it into a strength. This is the point where his quote "genius is an expression of the obvious" shines through. In his view, it was obvious that Jägermeister's persona would have to be that of mystique, intensity and extreme taste. And that's exactly what happened.

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He pushed the idea that Jägermeister is not some ordinary liquor, rather it's a liquid with a mysterious recipe that only those who dared to endure its effects could drink it. He used the experience of getting absolutely wasted off of a liquor that had a strange name, on a strange bottle, filled with a strange liquid to increase its notoriety. There was even a rumor floating around that the liquor contained elk's blood. As is obvious today, Jägermeister became a massive hit amongst college students and clubgoers. So much so that a specialized party drink was created called a Jägerbomb. The genius in all of this is how Frank truly leaned into the bad reputation that Jägermeister first had and he saw an opportunity to sell an experience that you could find only within these bottles.

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So what is the message in all of this? It's very clear. If you want to sell a brand, you have to sell an experience. Humans live for experience. Without the experience of thrill and being a part of exclusive heavy partiers, Jägermeister would just be a digestif with a strange name, on a strange bottle, with a strange taste. Nothing more. The same is true for almost every large brand. Rolls Royce and its class of luxury drivers. Why would someone spend close to $300,000 on a car with poor gas mileage and extreme maintenance costs? The experience of high class status and to be able to say "I have obtained something, most cannot". Jägermeister shares this sentiment, a drink that offers an experience only those brave enough to try it can claim.