Bringing new editions to a core spirit without unsettling its drinkers

The question

The new series would build on the brand’s core product, the one its drinkers know best and would notice any change to.

The brand had already developed the idea and tested the concept. What it needed now was a way to bring drinkers into the series without unsettling the people who love the original, in more than one market.

Our approach

We worked one market at a time, so each could be read on its own terms and the second could build on the first.

The first phase was collaborative. Drinkers saw a range of ways into the series, from close to the category’s familiar codes to furthest from convention, with the first edition and its pack beside the core product and a competitor. From what we heard, we rewrote the concepts and set out principles for presenting the range.

In a market in another region, we then evaluated the series idea, the candidate editions and their packs with drinkers of the brand and of its competitors, using the first phase’s principles as the reference point.

What the team came away with

For the first market, the brand team had rewritten concepts for the series, a read on the first edition and its pack, and principles for presenting the range.

For the second, it had a report on the series idea, the candidate editions and their packs, with guidance on the packs.

Together, they gave the team one set of principles for presenting the series, with evidence from markets in two regions behind it.