Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/101724
MARKETING Rise of the Glenguardians by Anthony Head THE GLENLIVET GUARDIAN PROGRAM SOLIDIFIES THE BRAND'S LOYAL CUSTOMER BASE The upper end of the The Glenlivet range. The brand aims to forge a more educated and enthusiastic consumer base and help retailers grow their higher-margin single malt sales. 84 / the tasting panel / january 2013 "T he total number of Glenlivet Guardians is a closely guarded secret," according to J. C. Iglesias, Director of Marketing, Scotch Whisky and Cognac for Pernod Ricard USA. "But I can say that it is comfortably in the six igures. And when you consider there are about two-million single malt drinkers in the U.S., six igures is a good place to be." The Glenlivet Guardians is an offshoot of a previous consumer program called The Glenlivet Society. Today, these "oficial custodians of The Glenlivet" are the frontline ambassadors for the historic Scotch whisky brand, and the program leverages insights from these discerning single-malt enthusiasts toward greater consumer appreciation and education. "We don't presume to be the center of their universe," says Iglesias of the Guardians. "The same person who drinks single malts has passions in other areas, of course, and other people seek them out for information. The new iPad app, The Cask by The We want our Guardians to be the ones Glenlivet, provides The Glenlivet Guardians who speak knowledgably about single with product background, tasting notes, malts directly to the public." short videos, invitations to exclusive events The program is a quantitative and access to limited-edition products. approach, using factor analysis with syndicated databases to identify passion areas—style, food, travel, technology—and build programs around them. For example, an event at Taylor & Stitch in San Francisco taught Guardians how to judge the quality of a custom-made garment, while also conducting The Glenlivet tastings to indentify parallels between making an exceptional single malt and putting together a ine shirt. The newly launched iPad app, The Cask by The Glenlivet, is the hub of the program, with content written by experts, tasting notes, short videos, invitations to exclusive events and access to products such as limited-edition single-cask bottlings. Iglesias says that individual consumers aren't the only ones beneiting from the expansion of the Guardians program. "At the end of the day, our ultimate vision is to teach retailers how better to shelve and sell the category to attract new consumers to single malts and trade up existing customers to more premium types and styles to help them grow category sales and increase their proits." This spring, for instance, Iglesias says they are introducing a retail pack to complement this discovery and trade-up strategy. The pack will include The Glenlivet 12, 15 and 18 Year Old in 200-milliliter format, as well as the tools to guide consumers through their own tastings. It's just one more step The Glenlivet is taking to forge a more educated and enthusiastic consumer base and help retailers grow their highermargin single malt sales. "What we want is for the Guardians to be the advocates and evangelists for the brand, to carry that knowledge, and to introduce other people to the world's most beloved name in whisky."