The Brief

We created a digital solution targeted at potential and existing drinkers in modern on trade bars. With the aim of educating them about Johnnie Walker Blue Label's flavour profile and to change their preconceptions about Scotch Blended Whisky. We armed Brand Ambassadors with our immersive tablet experience so that they can now take quality whisky mentoring to more people and improve their understanding of the six core Blue Label flavours: Fresh, Fruit, Malt, Spice, Wood and Peat. Our digital flavour journey immersed people in environments inspired by the key Blue Label flavours. A soundscape featuring a specially composed symphony further enhanced the user's recollection of the core flavours.

Creative Execution

We created the digital mentoring experience for both Android and IOS platforms. It was created for local Diageo Brand Ambassadors to download directly to their tablets so that they can educate consumers about the six core flavours of Blue Label. The immersive flavour journey empowers any Brand Ambassador any where in the world, no matter their knowledge level, to deliver a world class mentoring experience. The experience is as well crafted as the blend itself with interactive hotspots, hidden video and CGI animations all blended together. By creating a multi-sensory experience we improved people's ability to recall the key flavours. The six part symphony was composed based on neuroscience research to further enhance people's recollection of the flavour notes. The app has now been downloaded by Brand Ambassadors around the globe and events aimed at 500+ people down to intimate 1on1 sessions are now being deployed in over 20 markets.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

The audience are 25-35 years old drinkers and that's a younger target than Blue Label's current profile who are more likely to be 45-55. As a progressive pioneering brand Walker need to connect with these digitally savvy new potential drinkers. By utilsing a tablet based experience and crafting it in such a way we helped this new generation reappraise Johnnie Walker Blue Label and got them to realise that Blue Label is a drink for them.

Results

The launch event in Istanbul in February introduced the global Brand Ambassador team from around the world to the app. The app was warmly received by this normally cynical audience with over three quarters saying that they agreed or strongly agreed that the digital mentor was a pioneering step forward. We tested the beta digital mentoring experience vs a traditional mentoring experience on sample groups. We saw a 38% increase in the recollection of the key flavours from the group who experienced the digital mentor version. The digital mentor experience is now being rolled out across all the key Johnnie Walker markets. The first event in Asia took place in Malaysia Q3 2015 ( the large scale event ran for three nights and tickets at 1000 dollars a head sold out within an hour) and further events are confirmed in Indonesia, Tanzania, USA, Russia, China and South Africa.