Johnnie Walker’s new ‘joy’ driven by the need to succeed as CMO reveals strategy
The global head of marketing at Diageo has revealed the thinking behind the shift in marketing for Johnnie Walker scotch, saying the brand had become too fragmented and needed to be unified.
Syl Saller, who oversees all marketing for the drinks giant, said that the premium brand needed to be seen as more progressive and aspirational, but was challenged by the pressure consumers were feeling to achieve, leading to the decision to adopt “joy” as the foundation of the brand.
Johnnie Walker is keeping its “Keep Walking” tagline first introduced in 1999 but using joy as the central theme of the campaign which is now rolling out globally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9R9YtaoYAE&oref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DK9R9YtaoYAE&has_verified=1
“It was rooted in the deep human truth that people of all walks of life, from all parts of the globe want progress,” said Saller.
“But it occurred to us that the world has changed a lot since 1999 and so too had people’s definition of progress.”
The research showed that people now felt more accountable for their own progress and the world around them than the previous generation, which expected the systems around them to deliver progress.
“Now people believe the individual must take control of their own progress.”
The result, she said, was individuals now feel pressure to succeed and that social media and even brands exhorting people to be successful amplified that pressure.
“In our constant push for what’s coming next we miss out on the enjoyment of the progress we are making.”
The result of the finding was to refocus the the brand on the joy of the journey and creating things.
The new campaign has also been designed to be reworked to suit local markets, helping the brand reduce the large number of executions it is now using.
She said across the board Diageo was working to become more relevant to consumers.
“Our goal is to become part of culture and part of consumer conversations.”
Simon Canning
did he fall off the bike because he was drunk?
Is their a code violation in just about all of this?
Responsibility? Mood enhancement.
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A tragedy, and increasingly common that Marketers are hiding behind research
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Brilliant stuff… loved it. was in the room. Talk of the day
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@ One too many – most definitely too many office tastings.
What a load of wank… didn’t Cadbury focus on a global strategic rebranding around “joy” only last year which is obviously a great fit for a fun, sugary chocolate brand, but for discerning, cool, calm and collected scotch drinkers? I doubt it.
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If this receives CAD approval then the rules have changed
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Show’s no knowledge of the local market whatsoever. Where does ‘joy’ sit with this?…
A Marketing Communication must NOT:
(i) suggest that the consumption or presence of an Alcohol Beverage may create or contribute to a significant change in mood or environment;
(ii) show (visibly, audibly or by direct implication) the consumption or presence of an Alcohol Beverage as a cause of or contributing to the achievement of personal, business, social, sporting, sexual or other success;
(iii) if an Alcohol Beverage is shown (visibly, audibly or by direct implication) as part of a celebration, imply or suggest that the Alcohol Beverage was a cause of or contributed to success or achievement; or
(iv) suggest that the consumption of an Alcohol Beverage offers any therapeutic benefit or is a necessary aid to relaxation.
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‘our goal is to become part of culture’ — this is the most overused statement from brands..they all say it, then they roll out this old school advertising that is not cultural in any way, shape of form. BBH work was so much better than this stuff from Anomaly
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@notpartofculture couldn’t agree more
I was expecting to see the logo of one of the big four banks at the end, that’s how generic that ad was.
The insight that all people want progress is so vague and so far removed from whisky as you can possibly get. Only a brand bureaucracy like Diageo manage to rationalise its relevance by linking it to the brand’s slogan, keep walking, which itself is tenuous at best.
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‘Joy’ will probably work as well for Johnnie Walker as it did for BMW.
(Which is to say, not at all.
And keeping the old tag line will simply confuse the issue.
As it did for BMW.
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