Tartan Control: Scottish whiskey creates a stir in Eastern Europe.

It may be cold in the Eastern European countries of Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, and Lithuania, but Scottish-based Whyte and Mackay Scotch Whisky is warming consumers’ stomachs and making their hearts go pitter patter in the process.

The Whyte and Mackay brand, part of the Jim Beam lineup and the number one whisky in Scotland’s bars, took a bold step last year by repackaging its bottles in blue and launching an integrated marketing campaign aimed at repositioning the brand to a younger audience.

“We’ve found that there is much less baggage in developing European markets such as Latvia and Estonia in relation to the drinking of Scotch whiskey. There, mixers and ice are the norm,” says Gordon Smith, Jim Beam brands controller. “In addition, the presentation of sampling staff can be considerably less reserved.”

Apparently. The effort began with an irreverent TV spot in which a gentleman arrives at a formal party without the proper attire. To solve his dilemma, he breaks into the house next door, strips, dons a large leaf, and heads back to the party. The hint of nudity ultimately found its way into the entire campaign, including the brand’s promotional efforts.

“The objective was to position Whyte and Mackay as a fun, young, distinctive brand that doesn’t take itself too seriously – unlike some of the other Scotch whisky brands,” says Graeme Atha, director of the Boroughloch Group, the Edinburgh-based agency that created the promotion.

An on-premise campaign last summer targeted popular hangouts among 21-to-35-year-olds, including trendy bars and nightclubs throughout Eastern Europe and the warmer climes of Spain and Portugal. Attractive female samplers handed out Whyte and Mackay drinks on ice, along with “thermochromatic” stirrers that changed color when the patrons stirred their drinks. Premiums were given away, with winners claiming prizes based on the color of their stirrers. Prizes included free drinks and the shirts off the samplers’ backs – literally. (The tactful and patriotic Whyte and Mackay folks made sure the women sported tasteful tartan bras underneath).

The promotion ran in approximately 100 bars per market. It was successful enough that the brand repeated the program at the end of ’99, the second time inviting bar patrons to stir their drinks for chances to win the samplers’ special tartan shorts. (Don’t worry, the ladies wore tartan pants underneath them). To reinforce the brand’s Scottish heritage even further, men accompanied the women into thebars sporting kilts and beating traditional Celtic bodhran drums. The brand supported the visits with nothing more than some P-O-P materials.

“Creative Sampling [Boroughloch’s field and event marketing unit] has devised activity which is effective, simple and highly differentiated in its execution. It is also highly interactive and fun. The former is why it has been so effective with the trade, and the latter is why it has been so successful with the consumer,” says Smith.

“The Whyte and Mackay brand has benefited significantly as a result and has enhanced its relevance to the young adult,” continues Smith. “We have improved on both volume and image scores. Whyte and Mackay’s growth is extremely encouraging.”

“We accomplished what we set out to do,” adds Atha. “We made an impact, boosted trial, and effectively repositioned the brand. With the help of strong distributor and trade support – key to any brand’s success – the brand sold quite well throughout Europe.”

The Boroughloch Group consists of four divisions including the sales promotion arm, Creative Sampling, the Carlina Responsive Advertising direct marketing unit, and the Fine Blue Line design and new media outfit. The agency is the latest acquisition of Chicago-based DraftWorldwide, which ranked number one on the 1999 promo 100. The $2.5 billion agency, which announced the Boroughloch purchase in January, has made a number of overseas acquisitions, and now has a presence in 26 countries. The addition of the Scottish agency to its stable adds event and field marketing skills to its core capabilities in the U. K.