Whisky brand Auchentoshan unveils 'trick-eye' style OOH execution, banks on sharability

It isn't everyday that you see folks hanging upside down in the middle of Orchard Road. Taking a page out of the "trick-eye" museum for sharable moments, Scotch whisky maker Auchentoshan, a brand under Beam Suntory, has launched a campaign to raise its brand awareness and reach out to the new generation of whisky drinkers in Singapore. Done in collaboration with its creative agency Bread Butter Bacon, the campaign by Auchentoshan is banking on assets that are "made to be shared" to educate consumers around its brand identity.

The campaign is currently running on YouTube pre-rolls, bus stop posters, billboards, a trick-eye installation at Cathay Cineleisure, and an activation along the Orchard Ion-Wisma Atria walkway. It is said to target young and trailblazing executives, who are not afraid to challenge the norm. 

In a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, a spokesperson from Bread Butter Bacon said this targeted group of audience reflects Auchentoshan's attitude and the way it makes its whisky. "Like the Auchentoshan brand, they are also most often the first to chart their own path towards their goals, making them the pioneers in the fields they excel in," the spokesperson added. Auchentoshan also worked with Division Communications to develop the trick-eye installation at Cathay Cineleisure. 

According to Bread Butter Bacon's spokesperson, the goal of the campaign was to give a fresh twist to a brand of rich heritage, while deepening its relevance to the audience with regard to the current zeitgeist. "While still staying true to the global look and feel, we crafted the ads with messaging that speaks to our target audience and are relevant to their lives. We leverage heavily on the platforms where they frequent the most such as social media platforms," the spokesperson said. She added that it also included large, OOH ads with a "unique, tongue-in-cheek messaging" to further establish a hold on the customer consciousness. 

The brand also acknowledges the difficulty consumers may face pronouncing its brand name, and educates its consumers about how it should be pronounced through its video ads, and its OOH assets assures consumers that Auchentoshan is "hard to say, [but] easy to drink".

While the spokesperson said it is still early to collate any direct gains from the campaign, the brand has been receiving positive feedback from its trade partners that the campaign has generated an increase in interest and attention from consumers. "With the inclusion of the audio pronunciation of Auchentoshan (OCK-UN-TOSH-UN) in our video ads, we are confident that consumers will be able to call for the brand in a manner that’s as smooth as the liquid is," she said. 

Sally Lim, senior marketing manager at Beam Suntory, Southeast Asia, said the team isn't looking to just be creative with its campaign, but to also possess the insight to appeal to its target audience. Wendy Chua, brand manager at Beam Suntory, Southeast Asia added that while choosing an agency to work with, the team wanted to work with a creative team that was just as smooth [as the brand] in characters. "Bread Bacon Butter is able to distill their ideas and simplify the communications," Chua added. Bread Butter Bacon also leads Auchentoshan's creative strategy and content creation for its social media campaigns in the region. 

Auchentoshan's campaign comes as the brand  has been gaining positive growth momentum in recent years, and is looking to invest in increasing consumers’ outreach to share its products with more like-minded consumers, according to its spokesperson. The brand also boasts to put its consumers at the centricity of its marketing efforts. "We constantly assess consumers’ preferences and behaviors to ensure that we present Auchentoshan to them at the right occasion, place and time," the spokesperson added.

Apart from producing whisky, the brand has also recently developed the Auchentoshan Home KTV set, which allows consumers to host their own KTV sessions in their homes. This came as Auchentoshan saw more gatherings taking place at home and with KTV joints are not in operation. Auchentoshan's spokesperson also said it will be putting more emphasis into areas such as home and digital consumption, which the brand sees increasing shifts in. 

Founded in 1823, Auchentoshan is a maker of single malt Scotch whisky seated under the Beam Suntory brand. Based in the city of Glasgow, it boasts to be one of the few distilleries that produce a whisky that is triple distilled. 

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