#35: Hampton Water Co-Founder Jesse Bongiovi | Turning “Pink Juice” into a Lifestyle Brand

Jesse Bongiovi’s Hampton Water rosé is as much a lifestyle brand as it is a Wine Spectator darling. Bongiovi started the company with his Notre Dame college roommate, Ali Thomas, and the brand took off through spot-on social marketing that included Happy Half Hour livestreams during lockdown. There’s another co-founder at Hampton Water, Bongiovi’s famous father, Jon Bon Jovi, whose love of the “pink juice” during their Hamptons summers inspired the brand. A famous parent can help, but Bongiovi, who walked onto the Notre Dame football team, is determinedly building a bartender-referral network, innovating rosé cocktails and creating a year-round lifestyle positioning for Hampton Water. In this episode you’ll learn: Success is not owned, it is leased and the rent is due every day After the launch year, you can’t ride the PR train so much Why marketers should figure out how to destigmatize traditional categories for new consumers No one thinks they're 60 , everyone thinks they are 25 Brought to you by Mekanism.