BBDO extends its grip on Jim Beam
US drinks group Beam Global Spirits & Wines (BGSW) has appointed BBDO Worldwide to handle the global multi-million pound advertising for its flagship brand Jim Beam.
US drinks group Beam Global Spirits & Wines (BGSW) has appointed BBDO Worldwide to handle the global multi-million pound advertising for its flagship brand Jim Beam.
BBDO already handles Jim Beam bourbon in the US, and will have additional responsibility for the brand in the UK, Spain and Germany. In the UK, Proximity will be responsible for Jim Beam.
The move follows last month’s appointment of direct marketing agency Publicis Dialog to the brands BGSW acquired last year which were previously owned by Allied Domecq.
Following its &£7.4bn purchase of Allied Domecq, Pernod Ricard sold its Canadian Club, Courvoisier cognac, Maker’s Mark and Sauza spirits to Fortune, which owns BGSW. Pernod retained the remainder of Allied’s brands.
BBDO – which already handles Jim Beam in many other regions – will also oversee a major switch in the brand’s European marketing, with an emphasis being put on through-the-line, particularly viral and experiential work, at the expense of above-the-line advertising.
BBDO will be tasked with creating communications with “more emphasis on integrated and media-neutral” marketing, says Beth Bronner, BGSW’s senior vice-president and chief marketing officer.
“Our relationship with Publicis Dialogue will be much more of a partnership, working together to create a real integrated solution. There will be one look, and one set of eyes,” she adds.
BGSW’s media buying will be handled by ZenithOptimedia.
Beam Spirits, page 8
