Plymouth Gin considers its agency roles in global push

Plymouth Gin is reviewing its marketing strategy with a view to appointing an advertising agency in the UK.

Marketing director Nick Blacknell, who joined the company last month, is in the process of drawing up a marketing plan for the brand.

Plymouth Gin has used Team Saatchi on a project basis for print campaigns in the past, but is now considering appointing a permanent agency to work on campaigns in the UK, and possibly other markets.

“One of the things we have to decide is whether we want to do any advertising and how much we want to spend,” says Blacknell. “I am presenting my suggested strategy to the board in September and we will have to see whether they agree with it.”

Blacknell, who joined the company from Seagram’s Ideal Brands, where he was channel director, is charged with turning Plymouth Gin into a global premium brand.

The brand will be launched in the US next year through Future Brands, a distribution company set up by US-based Fortune Brands and Vin & Sprit, the Swedish owner of Absolut Vodka, which has a 50 per cent stake in Plymouth Gin.

In the UK, Plymouth is distributed by Maxxium, a consortium set up by Jim Beam Brands, Remy Cointreau and Highland Distillers.