BRIEF

The story of Drambuie began over 260 years ago in the Royal Apothecary of Prince Charles Edward Stuart (aka Bonnie Prince Charlie) but only recently, a downturn in popularity and sales threatened the esteemed reputation of the ancient Scottish brand.

The secret Gaelic elixir was out of touch with modern Australian drinkers so our mission was to reconnect the ailing whisky with a new generation of savvy culture connoisseurs.

STRATEGY 

Clearly, it was time for “action”.

Yet, despite the very name Drambuie deriving from Scots Gaelic an dram buidheach and meaning ‘the drink that satisfies’ — our research found that, ironically, it wasn’t for everyone.

Which is probably a good thing. 

SOLUTION 

Drambuie is a sweet, golden coloured 40% ABV liqueur made from heather honey, herbs, and spices infused into aged Speyside and Highland malt Scotch whiskies. It is most certainly made for a prince, not a bogan — which was the creative positioning for our unique mode of vox pop “research”.

But to be the bogan, you must become one with the bogan. So first, we had to cast an interviewer — someone brave enough to hold his own whilst also holding a fluffy microphone in the not-so-gentrified pubs of Western Sydney and Melbourne.

CASTING THE NET

We then got into character, channelling our inner mullet and proudly wearing our Winnie Blues up our proverbial sleeves. Once we had our man, we mapped out a route and hit the road with camera in tow.

As predicted, our subjects didn’t take too kindly to the offer of free Drambuie — proving our claim and making for some royally priceless moments.

THE DRAMBUIE CLAN

Supported by creative in men’s magazines and on-premise promotions, our landmark campaign reintroduced a struggling Highlands tipple to a fresh batch of clan members, putting Drambuie on the tip of tongues the land over and all the while ensuring that ‘the spirit lives on’.

EFFECTIVENESS

Positioning via parody rarely works…this well.

Made for a Prince, not a Bogan began its life as a viral film masquerading as “leaked” Drambuie research, yet became so much more.

Featuring regular Aussie blokes mocking the mixer in suburban pubs, the video was an overnight sensation with online news and social media, becoming the No.1 story on Australia’s biggest news portal (Ninemsn) whilst driving thousands of newly recruited Clan Members to a dedicated microsite.

Costing $800,000 to create and publish, the video was viewed 100,000 times and the site received over 500 visits per day during the holiday period alone, culminating in an exclusive VIP event — The Drambuie Penthouse Party — set in a Sydney mansion and attended by competition winners and international performance acts.

After three years of stagnation, Drambuie finally recorded double-digit growth with a 15% jump in sales on volume since the campaign began. Not since the breakout of the First World War had Drambuie’s commercial viability been in jeopardy yet, by September 2014, the stiff Scottish drop was sold to the makers of Glenfiddich — William Grant & Sons — for a princely sum of £100 million. Cheers to that.

MEDIA