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| Unique bottle design by Dewars |
The early 1900's saw the seeds of the first global whisky brands emerge - notably Dewars and Johnnie Walker. Dewars, now owned by Bacardi, is the number one selling premium scotch whiskey in the USA and currently follows a brand philosophy of "something's are just worth doing". This was, is and will remain a brand that treads closely along the path of its much admired super-marketer contemporary's - Coca Cola and McDonalds.
What I wonder though is - chicken and egg. Did brand influence philosophy or vice versa? Look at Dewar's again - they are doing a great job at appealing to a much wider persona and scope in their messaging. Compare this to Glenlivet, trudging along the brand authenticity route by saying "the single malt that started it all". Is this a brand philosophy, whisky personality or a muddle of both? The interesting thing is, although Glinlivet still is an amazing whiskey for all single malt whisky lovers, it still isn't THE whisky that was started by George Smith way back.
Dewars proposition and positioning give it a much wider scope. Towards the end of 2011, Dewars and Universal Music Latin Entertainment (UMLE) announced an exclusive association to celebrate Latin music's hottest night of the year in November.
"DEWAR'S has a long history as a blended Scotch whisky of choice among Hispanic consumers due to the exceptionally smooth taste," said Fannie Young, vice president, brand managing director, DEWAR'S Blended Scotch Whiskies. "Working with Universal Music Latin Entertainment gives DEWAR'S Blended Scotch Whisky a fully integrated music platform connecting with Hispanic consumers through one of their key passion points and further enhance their affinity for the brand."
By simply clicking the "Like" button on the DEWAR'S Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dewars, fans of legal drinking age could gain access to free downloadable playlists and other exclusive content from today's hottest hitmakers, including Enrique Iglesias (two tracks, one featuring Juan Luis Guerra), Don Omar, Los Tigres Del Norte (featuring Paulina Rubio), Winsin Y Yandel, and Luis Fonsi.
Cut to 4 days ago - another groundbreaking innovation by Dewars announcing its collaboration with TED, the non-profit dedicated to Ideas Worth Spreading, at their 2012 conference in Long Beach, USA.The conference from 27th February - 2nd March will bring together a diverse group of speakers from the fields of technology, entertainment and design to deliver exciting multisensory talks in less than 18 minutes.
Dewar's will capture the buzz around the talks through the "Dewar's Hub", a revolutionary interactive experience that distils and visualises real time conversations from Twitter. Attendees will be able to explore different themes and conversations by tweeting to the installation @dewarshub or, alternatively, navigate, filter and influence the visualisation using motion detection.
People around the world can also tweet requests to @dewarshub to receive automated Twitpics displaying the discussions generated around their chosen topic.
Dewar's will be served during the week at hosted events including the TED Fellows Reception and a whisky Masterclass with Dewar's Senior Global Brand Ambassador, Stephen Marshall. Tom Swift, Global Marketing Manager, Dewar's, said: "'We are very proud to have formed this partnership. DEWAR'S shares TED's commitment to the spread of great ideas and their positive outcome. It fits perfectly with DEWAR'S own view of life that some things are just Worth Doing."
110 years odd later, the Dewars juggernaut rumbles on and shows no sign of relenting in its ability to influence so many spheres of life and personalities - I think this is truly one global whisky brand philosophy.
