As part of the latest version of its Stay Smooth campaign, Whyte & Mackay whisky is taking a “wry and witty look at the real folk of both Glasgow and Edinburgh” that have helped shape the brand’s smooth taste and character, and is again working with award-winning Scottish photographer, David Boni.

The campaign, which launched earlier this month, sees the creation of a series of quirky and fun posters of real people and a coffee-table magazine, which will be distributed on streets and in key bars across both cities, plus new POS kits and promotional scratch cards for the on trade. There is also an instant win competition with 5,000 free drams as prizes and a text to win competition with the star prize of the chance for one fan to create their own whisky.

The magazine and accompanying poster campaign feature innovative AR technology, bringing to life four of the featured characters.  The campaign will also see a number of giant static mirrors located in selected bars and prime outdoor street spots in each city, providing people with a glimpse of their own reflection and reminding them to ‘Stay Smooth’. Whyte & Mackay is promoting the activity via social media including Twitter.

Whyte & Mackay mirrors and the accompanying poster campaign will be running in city centre locations, with the magazines and on-trade promotion kits available in nearly 100 bars across Glasgow and Edinburgh.

To enter the competition, people have to buy a Whyte & Mackay at a participating outlet and text in to tell the brand what makes them Surprisingly Smooth in 10 words or less. The most original entry, as judged by Whyte & Mackay, will win.

The star prize includes return train travel to Glasgow from any UK mainland railway station for two people, one night’s accommodation, £250 spending money and a whisky blending and tasting session.

For the ‘instant Win’ promotion, people will get scratchcards when they buy a whisky at participating venues – the prizes come in the form of vouchers to be redeemed for a single measure of Whyte & Mackay Scotch Whisky.

The Scotch whisky brand also announced earlier this month that it will be the new headline sponsor of Glasgow’s International Comedy Festival for 2018. The long-running festival will from next year be known as the Whyte & Mackay Glasgow International Comedy Festival. Big names from the stand-up comedy world including David Baddiel, Bridget Christie, Des Clarke, Tommy Tiernan, Katherine Ryan and Rob Delaney have already been signed up to feature in 2018.

Finally, Whyte & Mackay is also running a trade promotion offering retailers or bar owners who buy any mix of three cases of brands including Claymore, Vladivar, Whyte & Mackay, Glayva, Tamnavulin or Jura in one transaction the chance to enter a competition to win a Peugeot van and £500 of Whyte & Mackay stock. At least two of the cases must be of price marked packs. The trade promotion is running until the end of January 2018 at participating cash & carry depots.

The post Whyte & Mackay Launches New Phase In ‘Stay Smooth’ Campaign appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Premium blended Scotch whisky brand Chivas Regal is again collaborating with high-end Danish consumer electronics company Bang & Olufsen to ‘amplify’ off-trade sales.

The on­pack promotion, which is running on bottles of Chivas Regal 12 Year Old, offers consumers the chance to win one of 10 £10,000 vouchers to spend on Bang & Olufsen’s audio and video products.

Additionally, a Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay S3 speaker will be awarded as a prize each week for the 18 weeks of the promotion until the campaign ends.

The promotion is running until June 4^th 2017. To participate, consumers have to buy a bottle with the promotional outer wrapper, go online to www.chivaspromotion.com, enter the unique code found on the sleeve then provide a range of personal information including a valid e-mail address and phone number.

There is a No Purchase Necessary route for Northern Irish consumers.

Prizes will be randomly allocated via a ‘winning moments’ mechanism. Winners will be sent a ‘Special Redemption’ envelope and will have to return this with till receipt (which must predate their entry), proof of age and confirmation of their address.

Magin Trewhella, head of marketing (Dark Spirits) at Pernod Ricard UK, says: “With our shared commitment to creating high­quality, luxury products, we believe that this is the perfect partnership that allows consumers to enjoy a dram in the comfort of their own home with great entertainment to accompany.”

Chivas Regal and Bang & Olufsen ran an almost identical promotion a year ago.

The Chivas Regal brand is owned by Pernod Ricard. The brand sells 4.6 million 9L cases annually in more than 150 countries across the globe.

The post Chivas Regal repeats Bang & Olufsen prize offer appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Drinks company Maxxium UK is launching a new campaign for The Famous Grouse, the UK’s number one selling blended whisky, which include a brand new TV ad, a media partnership with the Guardian and a personalised label offer.

The Famous For A Reason campaign celebrates fame that has been earned and not sought and according to Maxxium is firmly grounded in the brand’s heritage and the principles of its founder, Matthew Gloag, who believed in only using the very best ingredients for his whisky.

The TV ad, created by AMV BBDO, airs until 27th December, reaching an audience of 32 million. Designed to launch the campaign and strengthen the brand’s premium position, the ad tells the story of Matthew Gloag’s competitors and their reaction to his high-quality ‘Grouse brand’ whisky created in the 1800s, which soon became famous for its quality and was renamed The Famous Grouse.

The brand will also partner with The Guardian to inspire readers with stories of pioneers from the world of music, technology and sport. This partnership will feature Ralf Baer, famous for building the first home video game console; Dave Godwin, famous for spreading the love of Northern soul music; Emile Berliner, famous for being the first person to record music to a disc; and Charlie Miller, famous for bringing the game of football to Brazil.

The campaign will activate across the Guardian’s digital platforms, with a reach of 12 million. The partnership was brokered and executed by Newcast, part of ZenithOptimedia. It will be further supplemented by a digital campaign delivering over 7.3M impressions across Audience on Demand, You Tube, 4 On Demand and Facebook.

In addition, Maxxium is partnering with Selfridges to run an exclusive in-store personalisation campaign in its London, Manchester and Birmingham stores from November for eight weeks. Selfridges customers purchasing a bottle of The Famous Grouse will have the option to request their very own personalised front and back labels which will be printed live in store.

Consumers will also be able to visit thefamousgrouse.com to order their own personalised bottle direct from the website.

John Penman, marketing controller, The Famous Grouse, says: “The Famous for a Reason campaign aims to build on the iconic advertising of the past, driving real meaning and sharing the authenticity of The Famous Grouse brand. It provides us with a strong platform for future growth. We’ve also placed more of an emphasis on digital content in this new campaign, ensuring we remain relevant to today’s whisky consumers. Each piece of content that we have developed and activity we have planned is designed to communicate the campaign message, reminding us that true fame is earned.”

The campaign follows the launch of a new look portfolio for The Famous Grouse, which includes a repack of The Famous Grouse, a rebrand of The Black Grouse to The Famous Grouse Smoky Black, and the introduction of a new premium expression into the portfolio, The Famous Grouse Mellow Gold.

The post Famous Grouse promo gets personal appeared first on IPM Bitesize.