Drambuie in £10m push to back ‘young’ repositioning

Drambuie, the Scottish liqueur, is relaunching next month with a £10m TV and press campaign.

DrambuieDrambuie, the Scottish liqueur, is relaunching next month with a &£10m TV and press campaign.

The work has been created by integrated agency Nitro. A TV ad for the brand’s new strapline – “the spirit lives on” – will run in the US, Canada, Greece and Spain, backed by press, below-the-line and online work.

Miranda Rennie, Drambuie’s international marketing manager, says that in the UK a &£2m press campaign is planned, supported with online activity created by digital and design agency Bear.

Drambuie is being positioned to appeal to active 25- to 35-year-old men. UK marketing will focus on the Drambuie Pursuit challenge, to be run for the second time in April 2007, in which competitors run, bike and white-water raft the route of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s escape (MW March 23).

Traditionally, Drambuie has been an after-dinner liqueur, restricting it to an ageing market. The new campaign positions it as a long drink, to be served with soda, in competition with other premium products such as Bombay Sapphire gin. Rennie says/ “Drambuie was born out of rebellion 250 years ago, so it should naturally appeal to people of an adventurous spirit.”

The Drambuie Liqueur Co is owned by the Mackinnon family, descendants of a clansman who helped Prince Charles escape. The company once also included car dealerships, property and an art portfolio. But since the appointment of Phil Parnell as chief executive in April 2005, these have been sold to clear the company’s debts.