William Grant & Sons Distillers

William Grant & Sons – EVOLVING THE AMBASSADOR MODEL

June 5th 2016

© 2016 David O’Higgins

The Road Less Travelled – New WG Brand Ambassador Model

Voice – Human Principles


Gestalt = An organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts

I haven’t seen the current template so I’m shooting in the dark here. Nevertheless I think the

whole point of having such a corporate initiative is to excite and motivate employees and

ultimately consumers as to the potential nature of William Grant’s social, cultural and economic

contribution to the world. The new ambassador model should also throw down the gauntlet to

competitors in terms of innovation and heightened standards of excellence.


William Grant & SonsFall 2017





Your only the crazy one if you are the first one to do it

A good way to evolve the model is to originate unconventional ways of seeing conventional

industry thinking, then build viable brand, marketing and business development possibilities

around those perspectives. I’ve put some ideas together regarding the issues you raised and

framed them as facets of a new ambassador archetype – facets which explore the potentiality of

the William Grant phenomenon when its future is anticipated from the outside looking in.

All of the scenarios alluded to in the following pages can be realized. Bringing the proposed

model to fruition however should be the task of William Grant’s Chief Innovation Officer

and his or her team.

William Grant & Sons





Food for thought – A recent brochure for the Absolut Company


GrantsThe Next Generation

Zero G

Weightless Exclusivity





Developing the portfolio

With the exception of HENDRICKS and the above example, all the ideas contained herein exclude

William Grant products. This is because the suggested new ambassador model is designed to

elevate the William Grant corporate brand as an exciting, progressive and culturally relevant

encompassment – a gestalt element whose proposed differentiating qualities will migrate

organically to influence the development of all the components contained within its realm.

Off –Earth Duty Free for Space Travelers

Commercial Space Travel will Be A Reality In Less Than 10 Years


William Grant & Sons – New Ambassador Model

The Road Less Travelled




AMBASSADOR MODEL CONCEPT

Facets

1 Essence

2 Positioning

3 Diversification

4 Multiculturalism

5 Distribution

6 Politics

7 Penetration

8 Investment


William Grant & Sons – Evolving the Ambassador Model


1. ESSENCE




1. ESSENCE – MISSION

To create preference through differentiation

Preference creates demand.

• There are millions of MP3 players – Only one IPOD.

• There are thousands of airlines – Only one Virgin.

• There are hundreds of stout beers – Only one Guinness.

.





1. ESSENCE – PURPOSE

To convey a compelling message with a singular voice in a universal language

• Compelling Message – Shared Value.

• Singular Voice – Human Qualities.

• Universal Language – Good Design.

W G





1. ESSENCE – PURPOSE – COMPELLING MESSAGE

Shared value

To create wealth and worth for William Grant employees, the William Grant Company, and

society as a whole.


FortitudeWhisky with Ice – Race to the Pole

ParityFlorae – Whisky for Women

EnlightenmentGirvan Book Festival

WellnessAlcohol Intake Tracking





1. ESSENCE – PURPOSE – SINGULAR VOICE

Human qualities

I’m going to suggest replacing the five inwardly facing William Grant corporate values or

directives with three new outwardly facing human qualities.

• Existing Values – Pride – Responsibility – Professionalism – Entrepreneurialism.

• New Qualities – Ingenuity – Intimacy – Idiosyncrasy.






Human qualities – Ingenuity

Throughout history the Scottish people have demonstrated an innate inventiveness. From Watt,

to Telford to William Grant himself, all have worked and innovated to better the human

experience.






Human Qualities – Ingenuity – Hendricks Botanicum

And so it is with William Grant, an enterprise whose purpose, beyond the fulfillment of its

commercial needs, is to create fresh visceral, emotional and spiritual pleasures for men and

women everywhere, at any time and in any place.

H E N D R I C K SB o t a n i c u m

E d i n b u r g h . N e w Y o r k . L o s A n g e l e s

E l i x i r s . T o n i c s . I n f u s i o n s




H E N D R I C K SB o t a n i c u m




Human Qualities – Intimacy

Since ancient times, the storytelling traditions of the Celtic and Gaelic peoples have served to

keep their histories and identities alive. No doubt, said tales were often exchanged by the light of

the moon and the camp fire. Today, we all continue the tradition in as much as we love to

converse with friends, whilst gazing into the flames with a good whisky in hand.


William Grant & Sons Girvan Book Festival




Human Qualities – Intimacy – Girvan Book Festival

Storytelling is an act of social intimacy that is of great significance to Scottish and Irish cultures.

Whisky is the perfect accompaniment and indeed catalyst for such an act. It is only logical

therefore to propose the idea of intimacy in this context as a basic William Grant brand

characteristic and guide to possible future consumer interactions such as a book fair – a Scottish

equivalent of the internationally renowned Hay-on-Wye book festival.





Human Qualities – Idiosyncrasy

Paul Smith has managed to create an enchanting fashion brand that blends British traditionalism

with a modernist sensibility and a distinct aura of his own English idiosyncrasy.





Human qualities – Idiosyncrasy – Brand spirit

Befitting then, for William Grant to apply the Paul Smith way of being and doing as a means to

express the richness of its corporate persona.







Human qualities – Idiosyncrasy – Ghost Hunter Distillery – Brooklyn

Scottish Scotch? American whisky? This enduring confusion and source of debate amongst

whisky aficionados has prompted William Grant to encourage people to determine the difference

for themselves, bearing in mind that technically, the word ‘Scotch’ is an abbreviation of ‘Scottish’

and therefore used incorrectly in reference to whisky. You have Scottish whisky and you have

American whisky – end of story.

Scottish AmericanAmerican Scottish



Scottish American American Scottish




Human qualities – Idiosyncrasy – Ghost Catcher Distillery – Girvan

Nevertheless, William Grant and American distillers have combined their artisanal expertise to

create a Scottish-American and an American-Scottish whisky, each with a flavor accent that plays

to its respective homeland – the idea being, to help people appreciate the subtle nuances in taste

between the two variances of ‘liquid sunshine.’




1. ESSENCE – PURPOSE – UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE

Good design

In most cases, the integrity of a company can be evaluated by the standards of design excellence

and innovation inherent in the products they make. Good design goes beyond borders to

differentiate companies in culturally magnetic ways and creates consumer preference on a global

scale. Good design speaks to all.





2. POSITIONING




2. POSITIONING – LIFE ENHANCER

Modern life is so fast we miss most of it. William Grant should be represented as a dimension of

life’s quality. Today, the real existential luxuries are personal time and space. Let William Grant

help people to create these luxuries for themselves. Slow down, savor William Grant products,

reflect, and love life.

S l o w D o w n . L o v e L i f e



William Grant & SonsS l o w D o w n . L o v e L i f e



2. POSITIONING – CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS

Nowadays, the passivity of consumers has been superseded by a desire on their part to fulfill

their own ambitions and express their own ideas. Self-actualization and the role companies can

play in empowering people to achieve this higher condition of being is an important

consideration when creating a strategy for growth. I have included some examples of how

William Grant might do this.






Helping to create a truly civilized global society

Whisky is targeted at men. Many women may drink whisky but whisky is definitely aimed at

men. This is the implicit alcohol beverage industry mindset. William Grant can disrupt this way

of thinking to its advantage. The Census Bureau has projected that one billion women will enter

the global workforce within the next decade. More women will be doing the high-stress things

that men traditionally used to do, in all walks of professional life, only better. So why not whisky

consumption? God knows they’re going to need it, especially if their whisky of choice actually

contributes financially to the establishment of global gender parity.






Florae – Single malt whisky range for women

Now is the time to create a whisky for women. Of course, said whisky won’t say ‘for women’ on

the label, the marketing will do that. This scenario presents an opportunity for William Grant to

not only create a massive new market and mindset, but more importantly, to originate a new and

influential set of brand champions, namely professional women.

Incidentally, a significant part of Florae profits will go to the advancement of women’s healthcare

and education in the third world – Talk about building female consumer preference.

Florae

W GC l o u d b e r r y

Single Malt Whisky

C l o u d b e r r y

H i g h l a n d H e r b A c c e n t u a t i o n

P r o d u c t o f S c o t l a n d


W GM e a d o w s w e e t

Single Malt Whisky

M e a d o w s w e e t




W GW i l d H o n e y s u c k l e

Single Malt Whisky

W i l d H o n e y s u c k l e







The champions

Female entrepreneurs, adventurers, pioneers, and free thinkers abound in the modern world.

These nascent consumers of, and advocates for the Florae brand will reinforce William Grant’s

association with the culturally magnetic social issue of gender equality. – In other words, PR gold

dust that will stimulate profitability for the company until universal gender parity is established,

and that wont be for years.





2. POSITIONING – NURTURER

William Grant was an inventor, so its appropriate then for the William Grant Company to help

inventors everywhere get their projects noticed, funded and realized. How about a national

competition along these lines? The ‘Hoots Mon, it’s a Beauty’ contest for example.



Hoots Mon – It’s a Beauty !



3. DIVERSIFICATION




3. DIVERSIFICATION – EXPRESSING THE BRAND WITH A NEW ELOQUENCE

The idea of whisky is complex and enigmatic so it requires means of expression and interfaces

that convey the subtle essence of said notion. Bars, liquor stores and internet ads just don’t make

the cut. If William Grant is going to connect with tomorrow’s quixotic self-obsessed consumer its

going to have find original ways to do so.

William Grant Brand Phenomena



William Grant & SonsMiami Basel 2017

W G London . Edinburgh . New York



3. DIVERSIFICATION – MEN’S FASHION

Modern prestige

A fresh connection to a new generation of male consumers.

Whisky & Fashion

• Style & Taste.

• Design & Texture.

• Tradition & Modernity.

• Craftsmanship & Innovation.






3. DIVERSIFICATION – MEN’S FASHION ACCESSORIES

Modern exclusivity

A means to brand renewal.

W GWilliam Grant & Sons


W GLondon . Edinburgh . New York



3. DIVERSIFICATION – WOMEN’S FASHION

Modern prestige

A fresh connection to a new generation of female consumers.

Whisky & Fashion

• Style & Taste.

• Design & Texture.

• Tradition & Modernity.

• Craftsmanship & Innovation.


W GLondon . Edinburgh . New YorkW G

London . Edinburgh . New York



3. DIVERSIFICATION – WOMEN’S FASHION

Modern exclusivity

A means to brand renewal.


William Grant Glassware



3. DIVERSIFICATION – GLASSWARE

Modern prestige

Its not just about the liquor. Today, packaging is a key influencer with regard to consumer

preference and purchasing decisions. Bottle design innovation is important. Glass plays an

important role in the alcohol beverage industry so, a natural product line extension is glassware.

Amazon is selling low-end own-brand porcelain, why can’t William Grant offer high-end own-

brand glassware?




4. MULTICULTURALISM




4. MULTICULTURALISM – DON’T THROW THE BABY OUT

Back in the nineties, British Airways spent millions of dollars on a rebranding exercise based on a

corporate desire to be perceived as a multi-cultural organization. The exercise failed in

spectacular fashion. Since then, many Western leaders have openly conceded that the modern

European political experiment in multiculturalism has also collapsed.

Trying to be all things to all people is a fruitless exercise at best. Nevertheless there is always

pressure for companies to diversify their, products, services and organizations in order to

increase market share. As previously mentioned, the answer is to communicate a compelling

message with a singular voice in a universal language.




4. MULTICULTURALISM – WHISKY WITH ICE

Race to the Pole

Climbing Mt. Everest is now the sport of kings, or rather internet billionaires, and the ISS is

operated by multi-ethnic, mixed-gender crews. Why not use these two realities as inspiration to

create a new multi-ethnic, mixed-gender adventure-based competition – one that plays to the

heritage of the William Grant brand. Most polar explorers have resorted to whisky as a heart-

warming tonic when the going on their expeditions got tough.

Introducing Whisky with Ice, the William Grant sponsored race to the North Pole where every

participant is allowed a one shot ration a day, providing that said intake is accompanied by a

philosophical cultural perspective, to camera, on the human condition in extremis.

Whisky With IceRace to the Pole




5. DISTRIBUTION




5. DISTRIBUTION – WIN THE MONOPOPLY GAME

Once upon a time there were eleven distributors. Now there are two. Well that’s a monopoly, and

monopolies are designed to be broken. The question is, can William Grant do the breaking? Think

of the opportunity within the difficulty before you close this one down.

Talk to FED-EX. They have the logistics and distribution capabilities you need. William Grant has

the business growth opportunity they need. Obviously FED-EX isn’t going to get involved with

alcohol distribution directly, so you and they would need to create a new entity. Let’s call it

VOOM. Set VOOM up as you would any alcohol distributor and then apply VOOM’S imported

know-how to run the operation. Start with one hub. Identify the outlets within the hub’s vicinity,

create and VOOM-brand a preferred list of outlet partners, and off you go. Think of the control,

the freedom and the profit you’ll create by such a move.


VOOM . COM




6. POLITICS




6. POLITICS – SIDES OF THE COIN

Marketing and sales departments have always hated each other, and I’ve never seen the logic in

this predicament. Both are dependent upon each other for their existence. It’s the same situation

with the short-term tactical hindsight driven cats and the long-term strategic foresight motivated

dogs. They cannot exist without each other. The answer then is for marketing to build an

argument for the necessity of sales and vice versa. Both need to experience each other’s worlds

in order to get to the same ‘yes.’

MARKETINGImportantTomorrowLong-termStrategic

SexyIdealistic

SALESUrgentToday

Short-termTactical

Not SexyPractical




7. PENETRATION




7. PENETRATION – DO PERU

From a Latino perspective, the alcohol beverage market is awash with tequila, rum and even

pisco. Chicha? Not so much. Nevertheless chicha is enormously popular in many south American

countries, especially Peru.

So here’s the plan. Create a delicious chicha, package and brand it beautifully – let’s call it

Nazcan. Build a non-cheesy story around Nazcan – one embracing ancient myth, romance and

adventure. Distribute Nazcan in limited quantities to Latino bars and restaurants in Lima and

then southern California. Give the brand time to ferment a buzz through word of mouth in the

Hispanic community, then release chicha to up-market hotels. Voila, some Latino market

penetration.

Restrict the supply – create demand.





8. INVESTMENT




8. INVESTMENT – THE NEW GOLD RUSH

PWC has dubbed it the new health economy. Whatever you call it, the global healthcare market is

worth an estimated U.S. $9.59 trillion, and is expected to grow as the levels of chronic addiction-

related health issues, such as obesity, diabetes, and cancer increase worldwide. Of course, this

business reality has not been lost on the private sector.




8. INVESTMENT – THE NEW DIVERSIFICATION

Think different – Do different

Of the current Fortune 500 companies, 38 have a major stake in healthcare. 24 of those are new

entrants. Some well known consumer-focused brands are also expanding their offerings. Ford is

developing services for managing chronic health conditions, Time Warner is partnering with

Cleveland Clinic to advance virtual check-ups and many of Samsung’s smart-phones now include

heart-rate monitors. And Nestle Health Science has acquired companies specializing in clinical

nutritional products to reinforce its position in the growing ‘specialized nutrition’ market.





8. INVESTMENT – THE NEW LATERAL THINKING

The healthcare game

Nintendo recently announced that it had plans to expand into health products and services

geared towards improving quality of life. According to the company’s CEO, Satoru Iwata,

Nintendo wants to “create an environment in which more people are conscious about their

health,” and I presume, increase the company’s user base at the same time. It seems that almost

any corporation, with a reasonable degree of lateral thinking can justify their entry into the

healthcare, or should I say wellness market? William Grant is no exception.




8. INVESTMENT – DRINK RESPONSIBLY

Walking the talk

This is your point of entry into the new health economy. All alcohol beverages must carry health

warnings, and that’s as far as most, if not all manufacturers of said products go to ensure the

health of their consumers. The industry mindset is that any action beyond the application of this

proviso is tantamount to an admission of complicity in the creation of the West’s current

alcoholism epidemic.

William Grant can however, manipulate this situation to its advantage by turning implicit old-

world industry thinking on its head. William Grant can go further to protect the health interests

of a new generation of consumers. Its worth doing because people will reward you for it.




8. INVESTMENT – DRINK RESPONSIBLY – THINK LATERALLY

The walk’s rationale

Think about car ads – All those Mazda’s and Audi’s tearing around Death Valley or Downtown,

inviting us to drive like maniacs. Yet all cars have amazing safety features. William Grant can do

something similar. Driving involves an acceptable level of risk. It’s the same with alcohol

consumption. Your company could quite legitimately create advanced product ‘safety features’

and garner very positive PR in the process. Partner with a healthcare company to develop better

technologies to help people control their alcohol consumption behavior more effectively. By

doing something like this, William Grant will differentiate itself and create consumer preference.





8. INVESTMENT – RESPONSIBLE DRNKING – LATERAL THINKING

The walk will do us all good

Investing in healthcare will provide William Grant with something most companies are

clamoring for nowadays. Business leaders are tired of being attacked for being the ‘bad guys.’

Many of them want to have a clear purpose and rationale as to why they exist and how society

benefits from them. This time around its not about charity or social responsibility or

sustainability or transparency, its about doing things that will create shared value for the

company and society over the long term. A final word on the subject – whatever the healthcare

industry, the medical profession, the government and or the alcohol beverage industry have done

to prevent alcohol addiction has failed absolutely. The CDC statistics prove it, so seize the day, its

yours for the taking.


WG Wellbeing



TAKE THE ROAD LESS TRAVELLED – IT WILL MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE






Time Frames

DesignDevelopmentDeployment

Resources

HumanFiscal

Material

Ambassador Model – Content

Driver Mentor

Logistics

Innovation Team


THANK YOU



William Grant & Sons Distillers

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