What I' m Drinking These Days: Laphroig Quarter Cask

Classy Laphroig Quarter Cask case and bottle

                      I also found this review of the Laphroig Quarter cask... Check it out...

Whisky and Art: A Great Combination

I like visually appealing things - art forms, great design, colours, it could be anything. On of my web browsing spree's, I stumbled upon the Glasgow Collective, a large group of diverse visual artists, all of whom have studied at the Glasgow School of Art. Andrew Cattanach from Skinny.co.uk describes them as "shrewd individuals with a will to exhibit, fighting the tide of stagnation that impedes us following graduation". 

His review, published 29th July, 2009, underscores one of my favourite quotes by Billy Sherwood "And I found that when I built my own place and just shut the door, the creativity was endless". The Glasgow Collective typify this creative spirit, which my aunt also seems to have taken to. One of her best works (view her visuals by clicking here), the "Broken Symphony" a 50 feet long outdoor installation made of recycled grocery bags (below). 

                               

The Glasgow Collective have come together because of their joint enthusiasm and commitment to bring   ing new exciting work to a collective audience. Recently, a former student of the Glasgow school of Arts, Christine Leatham, won the anCnoc Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky and Glasgow Print Studio Contest, called Northland. Her work, 'Untitled' caught the eye of John Byrne, a judge at the competition who is a playwright and artist himself. 

The brief of the contest? Represent the scenery around the Knockdhu Distillery near Huntly. Ms Leatham won £500 and a visit to the distillery as well. John Byrne, the artist and playwright, was a judge in the competition. He added: "I’m so impressed with the working space in the building and especially the amount of talent bursting through the walls. Every piece of work was at such a high standard I found it hard to choose just one."

Thats so true with whisky as well, isn't it? There is just so much quality out there - one needs to grow into it gradually. Much like art. Well, this analogy was definitely a good one to draw - Whisky and Art. Lets see what else comes along. 

Makers Mark: Making a Mark

Makers Mark, part of the American Whiskey Trail and Kentucky Bourbon trail, is a small batch bourbon whiskey distilled in Loretto, Kentucky by Beam Inc.

On first impression, it looks like a thoroughbred "brand", one subjugated to consistent image building since its inception in 1958. Now though, things have changed. In an increasingly fragmented world where virtual seems real and real seems virtual, a company/product website is more representative of brand image than the actual product itself. This is in 9/10 cases the first interaction a consumer has with the brand as part of the consumer journey.

Makers Mark - "It is what it isn't". Wait - does that mean its nothing at all, something else or anything you want it to be? Check it out here and let me know what you think. The brand seems omnipresent on social media - Twitter, Youtube and Facebook. I like their line on the Facebook page - "it isnt about having the most friends, its about having friends you can count on the most". Clearly, this no suave, VW 1960's BBH revolutionary campaign. Nor does it aim to be one. The following video defines the brand which stays so true to the style of marketing as well - its not what someone else wants you to be, its how you define yourself.

                      

Some of Makers Mark marketing gimmicks are interesting, such as:

• Distinctive bottle look of being dipped in red wax
• Use of the spelling "whisky" (no e, unlike other American brands) to try and market it as a product with Scottish origins
• Makers Mark ambassadors through Facebook, where people get rewarded for sharing the experience of Makers Mark bourbon among friends if done correctly
• Lounges and restaurants such as Makers Mark Bourbon House and Lounge as the premium and sole marquee bourbon on shelves. 

Makers Mark truly tries to reach out to us - if I were to compare it to another product type or category, I would certainly say it appeals to my senses in the same way as premium quality chocolate. Appealing, has pull appeal and makes you want to go back for more. 

Baileys Biscotti: A 'sample' of good digital brand communications

In the old days within business environments, reaching the consumer was equivalent to captivating him. Now, companies need to nurture and nourish not only consumers, but also their attention span's. 

Plenty of brand's are yet defining what social media means to them. I think two things are essential here:

1. How might a CEO scale the importance of social media and digital mediums in its communications strategy? 
2. We cant simply take Facebook and Twitter as being a part of "social media" anymore, can we? 

These two medium's need an independent outlook whilst devising marketing plan's - they are now amazingly mainstream enough to look at them as an above the line communication tool. Then we have the Foursquare's, Digg's, Reddits etc who are still playing catch up in the field, much like Apple, which was initially quite cult towards designers and creative professional's  before ultimately garnering the tremendous appeal of today. 

I think Bailey's strategy to offer 200,000 Biscotti samples over Facebook is a great strategy. It keeps in line with its brand image by having relevant 'pull' elements for the crowd. Facebook is not just about the like button - that is just the beginning of the customer engagement journey. Similarly, sampling a whisky is the first step in customers and fans engaging with a particular style and brand of whisky. It is that crucial first step for a connoisseur or even a novice to form an impression and give his stamp of approval. 

           

                                             

                                                  The New Baileys Biscotti

                                     

However, brand engagement is much the same as whisky sampling. Passion for a brand and love for a whisky both need to evolve over many many years of trial, consumption and appreciation. It could be the same for a company Facebook page. Brand page's need to take a leaf out of Bailey Biscotti's strategy - it has stayed true to the product, the appreciative qualities that whisky drinkers along with their strong social ties and affiliation with fellow drinkers. Fans literally have to "toast" to a best friend on Facebook or a fellow Baileys aficionado. This toast leads to the the lucky friend being treated to a 5cl sample of Baileys Biscotti. Fantastic. 

                             

To see more of the Baileys Biscotti digital marketing, visit the Facebook page by clicking here.

Best Whisky Commercial Ever

Best Scotch Whisky - William Lawsons #1

This is a fantastic ad - I m sure it will be a great laugh for all. 

Passion and money: The real value of $200,000 in whisky terms.

image via Whisky Exchange

Lets face some facts - most of us are slam bang crash in the middle of a global upheaval. Falling stock prices, inflationary markets, stinking debt issues in the "PIIGS", a weakening dollar etc are just some 'negative cues' as my investment banker friends might explain it. Hell, I even found a live counter the other day showing the cost of war since 2001 in the USA - I almost lost my hair, so unless your already bald, I suggest wearing a tight cap before scrolling down.

However, the fact is I m not an investment banker. I look at money and finance on a behavioural scale, which is an un-budgeted 'cue' at COB in the RBS' and the Goldman Sachs. Looking at charts, excel spreadsheets and graphs all day, yeah, thats going to tell you why people spend and why people buy (there's a fantastic book with a different take on why we buy - its called Buy.ology: How everything we believe about why we buy is wrong, and it talks about the brain's functionality in stimulating buying).

Passion. Another P which is missing in marketing's now so retrograde but stale 4P's of functioning. Transitioning a product to a brand can never happen unless its maker's are not passionate about the tiniest fragment of the tiniest micro-fragment associated with its design, appeal and functionalities. In fact, I feel passion can definitely replace Price in the 4P's - who gives a damn about money if as a consumer, you have an unparalleled passion for a product? Look at Apple, a true market leader in refreshing and replacing the 4P's price with passion. 

This argument is substantiated by one truly great Chinese gentleman who paid .... yes, almost $200,000 for a rare bottle of 62 year old Dalmore single malt 62 at Singapore airport on Monday. The $194,000 bottle is reportedly one of the most expensive ever sold, and is one of 12 bottles of its kind in the world.When the man saw the bottle on display, he made a bank transfer of $100,000 and placed the down payment on it.The Dalmore 62 was part of a special promotion called "Master of Spirits" aimed at connoisseurs. 

If this is a case of making a smart investment to resell the matter takes on a whole different view. Then we need to assume the man is profit oriented and passionate about money. This happens very often in most brand communities - look Harley Davidson, there are the core loyalists to the values they imbibe from biking and then there are the outsider's, in it to make use of the commercial benefits of merchandising etc. 

Even so, paying $200,000 for a whisky is no mean feat - it shows the true value that whisky has because whisky is not something you can pour off a tap - the longer you sow, the finer you reap and thats what makes it special. 

Retromarketing: yesterday's tomorrows, today! says Stephen Brown, in one of histimely marketing papers. Lets look at a relevant case rooting itself in the1960's, since our point of reference here is Mad Men (1960's based admen).

The new Jaguar S-Type, for instance, has an uncanny resemblance to immortal MarkII, beloved by 1960s' police officers and getaway drivers. Subsequently, theretro-advertising campaign is as evocative. The TV ad blares the bygone backingtrack - 1960s Shirley Bassey singing, "little bit of history repeatingitself" - whereas the print version is accorded with the time-steepedtagline, "the style of the last generation, the excitement of the next"

There are several such examples of retro being de rigueur, especially true in theautomotive industry. However, its worth noting what values and aspiration's theJaguar brand is trying to evoke among its new "old" loving audience:style, class and excitement.

Mad Men is now a brand that represents a somewhat uncanny resemblance to retroappeal. Gone are the days when advertising was based on pure positioning andpropositioning of a product. Advertising now works its magic on a new P:Platform. So what is it about Mad Men that fascinates us? What about thisbygone age of advertising professionals in the 1960's makes it one of the toprated shows at present?

Mad Men appeals to the style quotient in us. The biggest proof of this very real phenomenon is the global spike in consumption of single malt and scotch whisky. John Hamm and John Slattery are mesmerizing enough characters on the show.However, a large part of their panache emanates from the drink they choose, andwhy they choose to indulge. In a thirty second clip from one of the episodes,Roger Sterling (John Slattery) makes a claim to Don (John Hamm) that drinking is now a very real part of a "generation gap" between the two, andthat people of Don's age do not know why they drink. He also appeals to Don to "enjoy" his drink and justifies it by saying his"generation drinks because its good". One cant deny the subtle marketing being attempted here - but it does not override the essence of the show in anyway. Its a brilliantly simplistic bit of dialogue.

It is probably bits like these that have made Mad Men one of the prime stimulantsof a global increase in whisky consumption. A report, in licensed trade magazine The Grocer, said: "Don Draper and co have not just influenced oursartorial habits.

"More and more people are also emulating the glamorous Man Men characters by developing a taste for high end spirits - particularly fine Scotch." The study says that Scotch sales is raising spirits in recession-hit Britain withexports of malt and blended whisky rising by a 22 per cent to £1.8billion inthe first six months of the year. And sales of single malts soared by 13.4per cent in the past year, according to market research firm Kantar World panel.

It's the biggest success story in the drinks industry's spirits category, which hasenjoyed a 6.4 per cent value annual increase, but this is not the first timesuch a trend has emerged. In 2007, the success of charismatic duo Denny Crane(William Schatner) and best buddy Alan Shore (James Spader) sipping theirscotch on the balcony after a hard days work caused New Zealanders to get outthere and buy more whisky.

Whisky is also downed in other retro dramas such as Life On Mars, Ashes To Ashes andThe Hour. Rosemary Gallagher, of the Scotch WhiskyAssociation, said: "Anecdotal evidence suggests younger people are beingattracted to malt - partly because it's seen as an aspirational and stylish drink

"Thereare a lot of young, newly affluent customers buying whisky in the bars to makea statement. And boy, making a statement they are.