Walker snatches Drambuie media

Drambuie UK has moved its £1m media planning and buying account into Walker Media following a three-way pitch. The agency pitched against roster agency Burkitt DDB and Soul Space – the media arm of Drambuie’s creative agency, Soul.

The review is part of a drive to broaden the liqueur brand’s appeal with drinkers and to encourage drinkers to consume it all evening rather than simply after meals. The change follows the appointment of Caroline Sutcliffe as marketing director. She replaced Patrick Venning, who left the brand without a job to go to in August (MW August 12).

The parent company has also repackaged the core Drambuie Liqueur brand to support the repositioning. It is understood to be investing £4m in the relaunch of the brand in a number of countries, including the UK and the US.

Burkitt DDB had held the flagship Drambuie Liqueur account, including media, for nearly five years, but lost the creative brief in July. Soul won the creative brief for the brand’s Cream Liqueur in 2002 – two years after launch – following a competitive pitch against Burkitt DDB and cdp-travissully. The cream variant is aimed at a younger market and competes against Diageo’s Baileys.

Bacardi-Martini took over distribution of Drambuie in 2002.