“Johnnie Walker Double Black Blended Scotch Whisky is a travel retail exclusive that is thrilling the whisky world and driving performance in the Liquor category” Diageo
INTERNATIONAL. Diageo GTME’s test launch of Johnnie Walker Double Black Blended Scotch Whisky is delivering an exceptionally strong sales performance, says the brand owner. Founded on intensive research and supported by extensive high-impact visibility, sampling and hostess support, the launch has proven to be a big success, according to Diageo, and availability of the new blend has now been extended for sale throughout the global travel retail channel as an exclusive until March 2011.
The new deluxe variant of Johnnie Walker Black Label was launched as an exclusive test in global travel retail in January of this year at six key airport locations (New York JFK, Dubai, Beirut, Sydney, Singapore and Bangkok).
The blend recently achieved the highly coveted Masters award in the “˜Best Super Premium Blends’ category of the 2010 World Whisky Masters Awards.
Summarising the strategy behind the launch and the progress made so far Diageo GTME Marketing Manager Scotch, Reserve Brands & Single Malts Kenton Elliot said: “Although the test still has some time to run, the impact of Johnnie Walker Double Black Blended Scotch Whisky has already been exceptional.”
He added: “As guardians of the remarkable heritage of the Johnnie Walker brand, we take great care to ensure that any addition to the portfolio fully maintains the brand’s commitment to quality, progress and the consumer experience. From intensive communication with shoppers and consumers, especially among devotees of Johnnie Walker Black Label, our research programme identified a definite opportunity to deliver a new and exciting experience for the brand’s followers.
“The performance of Johnnie Walker Double Black in the test market has been incredibly positive and actually exceeded even our most optimistic forecasts. When the vociferous enthusiasm for Johnnie Walker Double Black is echoed by everyone from the consumer to the judges of the Whisky Masters awards, then you know we are seeing a truly exceptional liquid,” Elliot added.
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The eye-catching Johnnie Walker-dedicated ‘pod’ at Dubai T3 attracted strong interest from travellers |
“Johnnie Walker Double Black is a significant example of the action we are taking to double the liquor category. It has gone through extensive consumer testing, which has highlighted what a powerful retail and consumer proposition this new whisky provides. As ever with Johnnie Walker, both the brand equity and packaging of the product rated extremely highly within the category.
“The research also confirmed that Johnnie Walker Double Black performs extremely well as a gifting option, with 47% of purchases being for this purpose. Taste sampling of the liquid also drove high levels of purchase and shopper interest.”
As part of the testing of Johnnie Walker Double Black at Dubai Airport the new product was presented in the “˜Mentorship Experience’, giving shoppers a uniquely personalised tutorial experience of the brand.
Diageo GTME Innovation Manager Douglas Taylor explained; “Since its launch, our research programme has closely monitored Johnnie Walker Double Black on every step of its first journey and we’ve been delighted by our findings. Our pre-launch insight programme showed us that, with the right product, we had an exceptional opportunity to deliver a distinct but complementary experience that would delight whisky drinkers, especially the devotees of Johnnie Walker Black Label. The Master Blender has delivered exactly the right the product and, with our partners in travel retail, we have given the shopper an extraordinary new experience.”
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The Mentorship Experience “blends entertainment, education and personal service”, says Diageo GTME |
The test launch included a strong focus on driving sampling opportunities with the presence of Brand Ambassadors helping educate and support the shopper. JWDB performed extremely well when sampled, driving conversion and also quickly reassured those shoppers who were less certain.
Diageo GTME’s insight programme highlighted a number of exceptionally strong indicators from shoppers:
• New – but instantly trusted, instantly liked
The strength of the Johnnie Walker portfolio and brand heritage gave immediate credibility to the newest member of the family, but the Johnnie Walker family pedigree also sets a very high benchmark, Diageo said. An overwhelming majority (90%) of shoppers surveyed had a “˜very positive’ or “˜quite positive’ overall opinion of the product – and 74% said that the taste of the product actually exceeded their expectations.
• Gifting appeal
Despite being a wholly new proposition, almost half (47%) of purchasers were buying for Gifting. One post-purchase respondent said: “I have never had such an expression from my father and father-in-law. I’ve never seen that sort of expression from them. I felt very happy about it.”
• Supporting the family
Johnnie Walker Double Black is not only delivering a strong shopper proposition and realising significant sales but is also contributing an overwhelmingly positive effect on the Johnnie Walker brand equity, said Diageo GTME.
• Holistic strength
Shopper feedback scores were particularly high across a range of criteria, including “˜proud to gift’, “˜better quality’ and “˜intense taste’. The design of the bottle and carton were rated particularly strongly too.
• Premium appeal
The proportion of shoppers who intended to make a repeat purchase was very high, 89% stating that they would “˜definitely or probably buy again’. Johnnie Walker Double Black carries a recommended retail price position of 15% above Johnnie Walker Black Label.
The strong partnership approach developed by Diageo GTME and its retail and airport partners ensured a powerfully effective presentation of the new product and was strongly backed by GTME’s investment programme. In particular, focus around developing regular and effective communication with retailers, including regular updates and sharing of data, ensured optimisation of stock levels, and fully leveraged in-test performance.
Diageo GTME will continue to analyse the performance as it expands the roll out across travel retail, with the majority of travel retail locations set to launch before the end of November 2010.
Johnnie Walker Double Black amplifies a trademark characteristic of Johnnie Walker Black Label Blended Scotch whisky, notably the smokiness, to deliver a new intensity in the liquid. The product is an extension to the existing brands in the Johnnie Walker range, and is aimed at those who already appreciate the character of Johnnie Walker Scotch whiskies but are keen to explore a more distinctive taste experience. Produced in small batches, Johnnie Walker Double Black is created using whiskies from the more remote distilleries on the west coast of Scotland to deliver the brand’s distinctively peaty, smokier aroma.
The 1L bottle of Johnnie Walker Double Black retails at a price premium (15%) to Johnnie Walker Black Label with its distinctive packaging reflecting the smoky character in colour. An adaptation of the recently introduced new Johnnie Walker Black Label bottle, the tinted charcoal grey bottle of the Johnnie Walker Double Black brings a new approach to the familiar square design with the slanted label echoing the iconic Johnnie Walker brand.
“Regardless of the market pressures, Diageo GTME remains fully committed to growing the category through innovation, investment and raising the shopper experience,” said Diageo.
“With Johnnie Walker Double Black, the combination of insight, product quality and shared commitment with our partners has given travel retail a significant boost and further demonstrated the channel’s potential to drive a stronger performance.”
