Ballantine’s prestige
global brand campaigns

We partnered with Ballantine’s Prestige Team on a wide range of activities across many years, delivering Global activations that targeted key markets such as South Korea.

They needed something special to launch the signature Single Malts which have sat, hidden for centuries, at the heart of their famous Blend. We created a new global campaign concept that would be understood by prestige drinkers worldwide – “Too Good To Hide”.

To bring it to life, we crafted an epic CGI world which symbolised the House of Ballantine’s, and the secrets it was finally revealing. Our concept rolled out across OOH, on and off-trade, trade advocacy, mentoring, and a theatrical brand experience.

We invited drinkers to uncover the Single Malts in secret venues whose stories are also too good to hide, like a decommissioned Swedish nuclear bunker, and the Royal anteroom hidden within St Paul’s Cathedral.

We looked to make the Single Malts’ revelations real through a physical prestige Ambassador Case, for trade experiences

Working with Royal Warranted design and fabrication company, Zone Creations, we developed a beautiful wooden case, full of story props and scent and taste pods to guide guests through their own personal journey of revelation and discovery.

To accompany the Ambassador Case, we also crafted an Ambassador Script and User Manual for Brand Ambassadors to take bartenders and drinkers through each drawer of secrets.

We also created a range of activations to bring tangible meaning to Ballantine’s ‘Time Well Spent’ brand platform in their lead South Korean market.

We developed a unique serving vessel that deepens drinkers’ time spent with Ballantine’s. Our concepting process explored 16 different potential avenues, each with its own theatrical story to tell. The Hourglass was selected to be produced and piloted in South Korea.

Drinkers pour their whisky into the top of the Hourglass and carefully wait for a precise amount of time for the whisky and ice to infuse. Expertly-selected flavours like fresh fruits can also be added. When the time is up, the liquid is released into the base of the Hourglass, which is used as a serving glass. This ensures the perfect harmony of flavours, dilution, and temperature.

The result is a completely unique, Instagrammable serve that works across the full prestige range.

We developed a theatrical 45 minute consumer mentoring experience, which brought Time Well Spent to life. The local team needed a modern luxury event concept that was cost-effective to run regularly.

We created “A Timeless Moment” – a unique tasting where time is dramatically ‘taken away’ as drinkers enter the space, with watches, mobile phones and timekeeping devices placed into a safe.

Time is not returned until the participants (who often lead busy, stressful lives) have relearned the art of savouring time. We researched the science behind savouring, and established 5 key principles which left participants with meaningful lessons they could apply in their day to day lives. Large animated digital clockfaces help to dramatise the concept as time is swept away.

The experience was delivered in a 60 slide Session Guide, including brand world, floorplans, step-by-step guide, and full script.

We also created an VIP add-on experience featuring Ballantine’s Master Blender, Sandy Hyslop. His love of luxury watches was brought to life with real life scotch & watch pairings, bringing an even deeper layer to time well spent at the event. We created a range of exclusive video content for markets to support this VIP experience.