REINVIGORATING
A GLOBAL ICON
Refreshing Jim Beam with a new brand positioning and brand identity, executed through a holistic, multi-year plan
The Challenge
While the bourbon category had experienced a boom, the world’s number one bourbon, Jim Beam, was losing market share (most notably with the brand’s growth target, young millennials) and its brand equity was slipping. In sum, the brand had become synonymous with its spokeswoman, Mila Kunis, and people did not understand what the brand itself stood for or against (unlike key competitors, Jack Daniels, who strands for Independence, and Johnny Walker, who stands for Progress). Further, Consumers expect more from brands and want to use their wallets to support those who share their values.
From a global perspective, the brand meant different things to different people in different markets - a true challenge for a global brand. In the past, as the brand was introduced to new markets overtime, there had not been a central idea that guided it. In some markets, it was seen as low brow with often misogynistic marketing, and in others, it was perceived to be more premium. A globally relevant, yet locally adaptable brand and creative strategy would set the Jim Beam on the right path going forward.
The Response
To address the challenge of degrading equity and global inconsistency, I led a brand repositioning to more clearly define what Jim Beam should stand for in the hearts and minds of consumers, and ultimately, create greater brand meaning for them.
With a new positioning defined, a multi-year narrative was crafted to bring it to life. The below provides and chapter by chapter overview of the narrative, inclusive of brand strategy, communications and brand identity.
Chapter 1: Leveraging Celebrity, Shift From Functional To Consumer-centric Stories
Mila had been a solid partner for the brand, though the stories she previously told were very focused on product intrinsics, causing less differentiation within an ever more crowded category. In the final two years of her contract, I led work to shift stories told with Mila to be more consumer-centric. For instance, leveraging consumer insight, Mila helped tell stories about how the whiskey category doesn’t have to intimidating or that, contrary to popular belief, there are many “women who whiskey.” These stories became less about what was in the bottle or how it was made and more about how the brand fits into people’s lives.
Chapter 2: Brand Repositioning, Brand Identity, and Establishing a Unique Brand POV
By the close of 2018, Jim Beam brand equity scores remained below the competitive set. After conducting various consumer studies, it became clear there was an over reliance on our spokeswomen, Mila Kunis, as consumers often recalled her (not always attributed to Jim Beam) but they did not know what Jim Beam itself stood for or against. In contrast, key competitors Jack Daniels and Johnny Walker had clear value attributions of Independence and Progress, respectively. In sum, Jim Beam was becoming a commodity and needed to truly mean something to consumers, if they were to truly care, especially in a new world where consumers prefer to buy brands that align with their own values and are making a positive impact on the world.
To tackle the repositioning, I led a three-day workshop with a group of senior marketers down at the brand’s homeplace in Kentucky. During those days, we reviewed a host of research, conducted a range of strategic exercises, and had heartfelt debates. In the end, a new positioning – One Big Family - was born. The below chart in a snapshot of the strategy on a page.
The first piece of large scale content that stemmed from the new One Big Family strategy, entitled Celebration, set the foundation as to why Jim Beam had the permission to discuss values such as together, optimism and perseverance. It was also the first time the brand had told a story about its founder, Jim Beam, and how he re-established the distillery post Prohibition with the help of friends and family.
In concert with the strategic repositioning, the brand’s visual language - or how it shows up in the world – required an update. It felt dated, leaning into our younger growth target’s belief that it is a brand for their parents. Jim Beam needed a new global brand visual identity to help contemporize the brand, making it more relevant and engaging for a new generation.
Drawing inspiration from the newly designed bottle label, we deconstructed the brand’s core distinctive design elements and reimagined how they should be leveraged within a dynamic and flexible design system. Through aggressive cropping, extreme scaling, use of negative white space, and high impact media, consumers were invited to see a familiar brand in a fresh new way.
In both qualitative and quantitative testing, the new visual system received highly positive response from the target consumer cohort with metrics suggesting increased brand equity and purchase intent. Further, it drove incremental retail space and sales.
Chapter 3: Leverage the 225th Anniversary to Drive Brand Meaning
2020 marks 225 years of Jim Beam, a brand that has shaped the bourbon industry and made it what it is today. However, consumers really don’t care about brand anniversaries, so we wanted to leverage this point in time to instead celebrate our shared values of perseverance and togetherness.
The idea for the campaign was rooted in our value system and a belief that while we have 225 candles on our cake, we’re Not Done Yet. We have more conventions to disrupt, more new experiences to create, and more people with whom we want to share our bourbon.
The “Not Done Yet” creative idea was not only brought to life in omni-channel communications, but innovative activations (the world’s first crowd sourced bourbon), sustaining programs to further category education and jobs, participatory ways to give back to communities around the globe, and re-imagination of our home place (distillery) to bring the Jim Beam brand to life as an immersive experience. Pre-launch content testing results are among the highest in the company’s history. Current in-market response (social media) is highly positive.
225th “Not Done Yet” Idea Video
To further amplify the “Not Done Yet” platform and continue to propel the bourbon industry forward for the next 225 years, Jim Beam will donate $5 million to the University of Kentucky to establish the
James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits. Through teaching future generations of distillers, research, and outreach, the Institute promotes economic sustainability, environmental stewardship, and responsible consumption. Visit the website.
In the spirit of “Not Done Yet,” Jim Beam has created Beta Batch, the world’s first crowd sourced bourbon. From recipe development to the aging process to bottling/packaging, we’ll put the power in our fans’ hands, enabling them to vote on various elements and influence the batch from the inside out.
As a campaign more about action than simply celebrating an anniversary, Jim Beam is providing micro grants to help communities around the globe complete projects that are “Not Done Yet.” Build a park, finish a playground, frame out a new community kitchen, or any other project that betters the community.
:30 film for broadcast, highlighting innovative actions the brand is taking
“Not Done Yet” Print, romanticizing all the brand has yet to do.
The anniversary also provides a unique opportunity to reimagine our distillery experience. Amplifying the “Not Done Yet” platform, a new craft distillery has been created so consumers may see first-hand how Jim Beam is continually pushing the boundaries of bourbon.
A first-of-its-kind bottle, the limited edition 225 Bottle is not only a collector's item, but Augmented Reality technology enables an immersive storytelling experience themed around “Not Done Yet” and invites consumers to participate in the “Finish What You Started” Social Platform.
Chapter 4: Further Consumer-centric, Value-based Brand Experiences
As we look to 2021 and beyond, the brand will continue to tell consumer-centric, value-based stories. These will bring the One Big Family positioning to life through our values of togetherness, optimism and perseverance; and, over time, equity scores and consumer perception will shift and challenge the likes of Johnny Walker and Jack Daniels. This animatic (this is not produced film, but a concept) is an example of how the positioning can continually be brought to life in new and interesting ways.
