Drinks company Maxxium UK is preparing for a nationwide roll-out and ad campaign for Ginger Grouse, an alcoholic ginger beer mixed with whisky for serving with lime over ice.
Available on draught and in 500ml bottles, it proved a success in bars when trialled and launched in Scotland in the second half of last year. With an ABV of four per cent, it is a brand extension of The Famous Grouse whisky.
The nationwide launch in March this year will take it to more than 4,000 on-trade outlets in bottles and another 110 on draught. “Ginger Grouse is a giant step for the whisky category,” says Peter Sandstrom, marketing director at Maxxium UK. “It’s bolder, younger, more energetic and much more adventurous.”
After trade and consumer testing around Scotland including a pop-up bar at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the full Scottish roll-out began in October last year. The bottle format was available in 500 on-trade outlets and through regional on-trade wholesalers. It was launched into the off-trade at the same time.
The Scottish launch was supported by an integrated marketing campaign to raise customer awareness and drive consumers into on- and off-trade stockists. It was also included a heavyweight TV ad campaign across Scotland along with an outdoor advertising campaign and two weeks on radio. Consumers could also trial Ginger Grouse in bars through a widespread sampling campaign.
This activity was the first phase of the £4million UK-wide marketing campaign to support the Ginger Grouse. The launch in March this year will also take it into about 2,000 stores.
Sandstrom added: “It confirms Grouse’s continued commitment to innovation in the whisky category, and we have invested heavily in the marketing campaign, with the creation of a brand new TV advert and regional outdoor advertising campaign, reflecting our enthusiasm for this exciting addition to our portfolio and the confidence that we have in the Ginger Grouse brand.”
A shorter version of this article appears in the January 2013 edition of Bar magazine.
