Celebrating The Artisans
Whisky Brand Transformation
Brief
BenRiach are a whisky distillery based in the renown Speyside region of Scotland. Founded in 1898, the distillery has an outstanding reputation for creating incredibly characterful whisky expressions based on an eclectic mix of casks from all around the world.
The organisation was celebrating a decade under new ownership and were looking to take both the brand and the presentation of their whisky expressions up another level in terms of presentation, professionalism and overall impact.
Results
We worked extremely closely with BenRiach for close to 5 years, creating multiple whisky expressions and providing widespread marketing support. The results of our work together included…
– Opening-up new markets domestically and internationally for the brand. This included the commercially important ‘international duty-free’ market.
– Improving ‘on-the-shelf impact’ of products with traditional retailers.
– Increasing the perceived value of the individual expressions and the overall brand with customers.
– Revitalising and reinvigorating the BenRiach brand in the eyes of customers, distributors and supporters.
– Increasing Shareholder Value on Exit. (BenRiach was sold to US giant Brown Forman in 2016) midway through our work together.
Services Used
Brand Strategy | Brand Storytelling | POS Solutions | Traditional Advertising | Creative Direction | Packaging Design | Graphic Design | Illustration
How This Was Achieved…
We worked closely with BenRiach to create a wide range of new expressions that were significantly bolder and truly celebrated the outstanding artisanship of the distillery and its people.
Beautifully crafted elements were introduced in every expression created, and also with wider marketing materials.
The highlights of this approach included…
‘The BenRiach Ten,’ Bronze Ink on Gunmetal Grey Card
The first piece of work in our collaboration with BenRiach. The design featured a highly distinctive line drawing of the distillery using a bold bronze foil off the backdrop of gunmetal grey card.
“The BenRiach 10-Years-Old is a key launch for us, as it marks a significant milestone; it is the first core range expression to be created predominantly from whiskies distilled at BenRiach since we took over in 2004. For this reason, we were looking for a striking new packaging design to reflect this important moment in the distillery’s history. We are delighted with the final result.”
Nicol Van Rijbroek, Marketing Manager for BenRiach
‘The BenRiach Cask Strength,’ Exploding Cask Illustration
The centrepiece of the ‘BenRiach Cask Strength’ was a textured pen illustration of an exploding cask. This illustration was once again supported with speckled card selections and an ultra-bold collection of red and bronze foils for various details.
“What a wonderful result. For the BenRiach Cask Strength, it was really important for us that the design would be bold and imaginative. We were looking for a striking, memorable design that would take the brand & the range to the next level and we got it. We are delighted with the final outcome as well as the services provided by THE LOFT.”
Louise Seaward, Global Innovation Manager for Brown-Forman
‘The BenRiach Quarter Cask,’ Fresher Colours
Created alongside the ‘Cask Strength,’ the ‘BenRiach Quarter Cask’ kept up the main style with a beautifully crafted illustration of two casks – one a quarter the size of the other. The illustration was complimented with a beautiful green card being used to showcase the fresher taste of this distinctive whisky expression.
‘The BenRiach Triple Distilled’: Plethora of Beautifully Crafted Techniques
The final design in this particular series, ‘The BenRiach Triple Distilled’ was the most flamboyant of all expressions.
The packaging design featured the three stills from the distillery re-created in the most incredible illustration. The number of print techniques included multiple foil presses of copper and silver foils alongside line-embossing and gradient ink-edging. An incredible technical and production feat.
Achieving such a complex finish required the absolute highest levels of skills from all involved, our designers spent several days on-site with the printers to ensure such a successful finish.
Beautiful Detailing
Throughout our collaboration, we created a wide range of exquisitely detailed features – these included the main illustrations, age numbers, accreditations and a full icon-suite for BenRiach to use at their own discretion.
Using Paper Mock-Ups
Understanding of design Ideas and quicker decisions were both made possible thanks to the circular card mock-ups we created in each and every expression for BenRiach. These rather beautiful mock-ups became a key and very helpful part of the process for everybody involved.
Wider Marketing Support
There were further expressions, including several un-released concepts. Our collaboration took another interesting twist after the acquisition of the organisation by Brown Forman who brought a mor storytelling approach to the brand. Naturally we were delighted to assist, working for BenRiach and other associated brands Glenglassaugh and Glendronach.