GORDON & MACPHAIL
INTRODUCING THE 'WHO ARE YOU?' OF THE WHISKY WORLD
TURNING CLEAR AS MUD INTO CLEAR AS DAY
Gordon & MacPhail’s huge range was impressive, but it was getting increasingly difficult for customers to navigate.
People just didn’t ‘get’ them. The brief was simple (but hugely ambitious).
They wanted us to make it easier to get around their portfolio, to shift perceptions from ‘premium’ to ‘luxury’, and make them the brand for serious whisky enthusiasts. A magic formula for bigger profits — by selling less.
Our task centred around a portfolio strategy for the 500+SKUs in the G&M portfolio. We had to clearly articulate the role of each range and simplify the customer journey, from entry level, through to super premium whiskies.
This entailed brand identity development, on-bottle descriptions, packaging design, and production across all ranges.
Stakeholders, consumers and distributors were surveyed in Scotland, London, Paris, and Chicago. And following a thorough review, we turned a chaotic 11 ranges into a harmonious five.
Storytelling was introduced on the packaging, while symbolism and glass weight reflect the increasing exclusivity of each range.
FROM UNDERESTIMATED AND MISUNDERSTOOD TO CLEAR AND CONCISE
Underpinning the success of the project lies a solid brand strategy. An extensive pre-design insight phase — including desk research, situational analysis audit and extensive testing with consumer and trade audiences — gave us a strong foundation on which to base all design recommendations and placed the end consumer at the heart of our thinking.
“This project has very much been the catalyst to help Gordon & MacPhail Whiskies unlock the value of the unique stock we have.”
— Ian Chapman, Brand Director, Gordon & MacPhail
