The Balvenie
A brave leap to the mainstream
ALIBI, BOSTON
BLACK ROCK, LONDON
CELLAR LOUNGE, TAIPEI
The brief
How can Balvenie broaden its appeal beyond whisky enthusiasts?
Identify who the mainstream drinkers are, what their motivations are and how Balvenie should target them.
Assess how resonant the brand pillars are with mainstream consumers.
Identify how to turn bartenders into brand advocates for Balvenie.
What we did
6 x Brand Ambassador interviews (UK, US, TWN).
Review of relevant trends affecting DSDs (using your sources).
Review a number of influential whisky blogs and consumer reviews.
Consumer triads, paired depths and Skype depths in: London, NYC, Taipei.
18 Bartender interviews, F2F. 6 per city.
18 Mystery shops in bars, F2F, 6 per city.
The outcome
Strategic playbook for how to win in mainstream markets.
Consumer segmentation with a deep dive into the core motivations and the core tension that Balvenie can address.
Trade deep dive, how they trade view Balvenie, how SMW is changing and how Balvenie can engage them more deeply.
Recommendations for how Balvenie can position for mainstream audiences, including messaging and visual guidance for ATL agencies.
Identify which priority segments the brand should target to deliver growth.
