Diageo is on a mission to knock Glenfiddich off its perch and turn Talisker into the UK's top malt whisky brand within the next three years, MD Simon Litherland has revealed.
Talisker had been "under-exploited" admitted this week's guest editor at The Grocer. Diageo would increase distribution and use its year-old Reserve Brands division to drive sales and boost its retail presence, he said.
"We're particularly focused on Talisker. We see it as having the potential to be the leading malt whisky in the UK and will be investing very heavily," he said. "It is an accessible malt in flavour profile and still has huge distribution opportunities. It's been with us for many years, but has been under-exploited."
Diageo will have to more than quadruple Talisker's sales from £5m to in excess of £23m to catch category leader Glenfiddich [Nielsen MAT 12 June 2010], owned by William Grant & Sons.
In a bid to raise the malt's profile, it is trebling Talisker's marketing spend to £1.6m for the coming year, and launching its first ever above-the-line campaign, this weekend.
The new campaign has the strapline "Talisker: The Single Malt Whisky made by the sea" to highlight the distillery's coastal location.
Diageo said it had chosen Talisker's 10 Year Old (rsp: £30) to spearhead the campaign because of its low price and its flavour, which it claimed was less challenging than that of other malts.
"Talisker is really distinctive," said Juliet McInnes, brand manager for malts at Diageo. "It's peaty and smoky, but with a hint of sweetness and the final taste is quite peppery. Also it's from the Isle of Skye, not Islay, as people might assume, which gives it a point of difference."
Production at the malt's distillery on the Isle of Skye has increased and new marketing initiatives would centre around Burns Night and the RNLI, said McInnes.
Litherland also revealed that Diageo's key wine brand Blossom Hill would end its four-year sponsorship deal with Wimbledon next year to find a more "holistic" tie-up, which will be announced at the beginning of 2011. It had been a "difficult decision" to move on, he said.
Sister wine brand Arniston Bay would be re-packaged and re-blended from November to add value to an often heavily promoted South African category, added Rachel O'Shea, wine marketing manager at Percy Fox. The rsp will rise from £5.49 to £5.99.
Over the past year, Glenfiddich sales have rocketed 42% to £23m [Nielsen 52w/e 12 June].
Talisker had been "under-exploited" admitted this week's guest editor at The Grocer. Diageo would increase distribution and use its year-old Reserve Brands division to drive sales and boost its retail presence, he said.
"We're particularly focused on Talisker. We see it as having the potential to be the leading malt whisky in the UK and will be investing very heavily," he said. "It is an accessible malt in flavour profile and still has huge distribution opportunities. It's been with us for many years, but has been under-exploited."
Diageo will have to more than quadruple Talisker's sales from £5m to in excess of £23m to catch category leader Glenfiddich [Nielsen MAT 12 June 2010], owned by William Grant & Sons.
In a bid to raise the malt's profile, it is trebling Talisker's marketing spend to £1.6m for the coming year, and launching its first ever above-the-line campaign, this weekend.
The new campaign has the strapline "Talisker: The Single Malt Whisky made by the sea" to highlight the distillery's coastal location.
Diageo said it had chosen Talisker's 10 Year Old (rsp: £30) to spearhead the campaign because of its low price and its flavour, which it claimed was less challenging than that of other malts.
"Talisker is really distinctive," said Juliet McInnes, brand manager for malts at Diageo. "It's peaty and smoky, but with a hint of sweetness and the final taste is quite peppery. Also it's from the Isle of Skye, not Islay, as people might assume, which gives it a point of difference."
Production at the malt's distillery on the Isle of Skye has increased and new marketing initiatives would centre around Burns Night and the RNLI, said McInnes.
Litherland also revealed that Diageo's key wine brand Blossom Hill would end its four-year sponsorship deal with Wimbledon next year to find a more "holistic" tie-up, which will be announced at the beginning of 2011. It had been a "difficult decision" to move on, he said.
Sister wine brand Arniston Bay would be re-packaged and re-blended from November to add value to an often heavily promoted South African category, added Rachel O'Shea, wine marketing manager at Percy Fox. The rsp will rise from £5.49 to £5.99.
Over the past year, Glenfiddich sales have rocketed 42% to £23m [Nielsen 52w/e 12 June].
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