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Jim Beam Brands Worldwide Inc, part of US consumer group Fortune Brands, has unveiled its new corporate name and visual identity – Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc |
US. Jim Beam Brands Worldwide Inc, part of US consumer group Fortune Brands, has unveiled its new corporate name and visual identity – Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc.
The name change comes six months after affiliates of the company closed the transaction to purchase a number of former Allied Domecq brands from Pernod Ricard, and just as the legal transfer of assets relating to the acquired brands is substantially completed.
The acquisition, which propelled the company into a leadership position globally, was a key impetus behind changing the company name.
“This acquisition transformed JBB Worldwide into a new global leader in premium spirits, and made us a stronger player in US wines,” explained President and CEO Tom Flocco. “It redefined who we are, what we stand for and what we are capable of achieving in the future.”
In a statement, Beam Global Spirits & Wine said it recently:
• Became the world’s fourth-largest spirits firm, up from seventh position in global rankings
• Doubled revenue from US$1.2 billion to US$2.5 billion
• Tripled its number of top-100 premium spirits worldwide
• Added premier global and national brands and assets around the world
• Changed from a company with sales predominantly in the US to a truly global focus; sales and distribution shifted from almost 75% US-focused to nearly 50/50 between the US and the rest of the world
• Greatly expanded the breadth and quantity of its US wine portfolio
“As a result of this positive change, we needed a name and identity that more accurately reflects the organisation we are today,” said Flocco. “A key goal for the re-naming was to align the legacy of our company’s past with our ambitions for the future.”
The company said the new corporate name and visual identity needed to meet other goals, including:
• Accurately reflect Beam Global Spirits & Wine as a notably more global, premium entity in the industry; elevate its scale of portfolio and global reach
• Signal the birth of a new organisation that combines the best of its past while laying the foundation for an even stronger future
• Build upon the company’s heritage – and the heritage behind its brands, while communicating its commercial and cultural aspirations
• Create a distinction between the corporate name and the flagship Jim Beam bourbon brand
• Align the company name with the spirits and wine categories in which it is a major player
• Build a platform from which to unify previously separate cultures with a common vision and shared sense of purpose to achieve the harmony of “one culture, one company”
• Provide a common, umbrella corporate identity for employees around the world, no matter where
they reside or what role they play within the organisation.
Beam Global Spirits & Wine will become the umbrella corporate identity for the spirits and wine entities owned by Fortune Brands around the world. The overarching identity will not replace individual names and identities of these operating interests, i.e., Tequila Sauza. Rather, it will appear in tandem with those identities. This hierarchy enables each operating company to continue to leverage the name equity they hold in their individual countries and regions. The new name will not appear on any consumer products.
New visual identity
The company’s new logo features a contemporary interpretation of a traditional quality seal or hallmark at its core. It is said to pay homage to characteristics shared by all the brands – heritage, craftsmanship and premium quality – while visually projecting the company’s bold, go-forward stance in the marketplace, Beam Global said.
Inside the seal resides a single letter “B” to represent “Beam,” – a nod to the company’s legacy and its flagship brand. The treatment encourages interpretation of the “B” literally as “Beam” the company name, and figuratively, playing to the double-entendre of “beam” as it relates to light, balance and structural support.
“The quality seal clearly denotes the craftsmanship, heritage and premiumness that our brands have in common. And we like how the individual “˜B’ allows us to play on the word beam,” explained Flocco. “A beam of light focused brightly on our future is a great analogy for the direction our business is moving. The idea of a balance beam symbolises the firm’s increased stability, scale and equilibrium around the world. A support beam suggests the role we play in providing “˜support’ for our business units around the world, bringing them together under one solid structure.”
“A key goal was to retain the equity that the name Beam brings to us with distributors and customers worldwide,” added Beth Bronner, Chief Marketing Officer for Beam Global Spirits & Wine.
“After all, it’s a name that is associated with our flagship brand, a product that dates back to 1795, and it stands for integrity and authenticity. At the same time, we wanted the new identity to relate to all our brands and the positive changes in direction the acquisition afforded us. Our new corporate brand positioning allows us to achieve all those things.”
Wine business becomes Beam Wine Estates
The wine business, which includes the former Allied Domecq US wines and European fortified wines, as well as Peak Wines International, is now called Beam Wine Estates. Beam Wine Estates has adopted a parallel visual identity. This identity mirrors that of Beam Global Spirits & Wine, using the same quality seal incorporating the single letter “B.”
“We faced a similar opportunity to that of Beam Global Spirits & Wine following the acquisition,” said Bill Newlands, President of Beam Wine Estates. “We wanted an identity that reflects the heritage of our parent company, as well as the prime estates in our portfolio, that together make us the number five superpremium wine business in the US. These estates cover California’s most prominent wine regions – Alexander Valley, Napa Valley, Russian River Valley, Carneros, Dry Creek Valley and the Central Coast – as well as historic estates in Europe that are part of Cockburn’s port and Harveys sherries.”
Beam Global Spirits & Wine and Beam Wine Estates said it conducted research among a cross-section of customers and employees before moving ahead with the name change. There was “overwhelming support” for changing the company names and for developing a corporate image that better reflected the company’s new status and position in the marketplace, according to the company.
Beam Global Spirits & Wine hired corporate identity development firm VSA Partners to create the visual identity. Beam Global Spirits & Wine will transition its new identity onto internal and external materials in the first quarter of 2006.
The corporate website address has changed to www.beamglobal.com, effective immediately, and Beam Wine Estates will launch a new website in June at www.beamwineestates.com An interim site for the company is now live at that address.
About Beam Global Spirits & WineBeam Global Spirits & Wine Inc is the fourth-largest spirits company in the world. With nine of the world’s top-100 premium spirits in its portfolio, the company’s brands hold global and national leadership positions in key categories, including Jim Beam bourbon; Canadian Club Canadian whiskey; Courvoisier Cognac; Laphroaig Scotch whisky; Sauza tequila; Larios gin; Whisky DYC; Teacher’s Scotch whisky; and DeKuyper cordials. The portfolio also includes Maker’s Mark bourbon, Knob Creek bourbon and The Small Batch Bourbon Collection, and
Starbucks Liqueurs. Beam Wine Estates is a top-five super-premium wine company in the US, featuring Clos du Bois, the number two super-premium US wine brand, and the award-winning Geyser Peak. Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc is part of Fortune Brands Inc, a US$7 billion consumer brands company. Visit www.beamglobal.com
About Beam Wine Estates
Beam Wine Estates is a fine wine company whose portfolio consists of leading wineries and brands from California’s most prominent wine regions, as well as fortified wines from Europe. Californian brands include Clos du Bois and Geyser Peak in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley; Wild Horse in the Central Coast; Gary Farrell from the Russian River Valley; Buena Vista in Carneros; Atlas Peak and William Hill in Napa; Haywood and Canyon Road; as well as Jake’s Fault Shiraz and XYZin in ultra-premium Zinfandel. The company owns and markets two of the world’s leading fortified wines, Cockburn’s from Portugal, and Harveys Bristol Cream, from Spain, and is the US distribution agent for Wattle Creek Winery. Beam Wine Estates Inc is part of Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc.
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Jim Beam Brands Global Travel Retail announces key staff additions – 16/12/05
Pernod Ricard and Fortune Brands confirm potential offer for Allied Domecq – 05/04/05
