The Challenge

When BBH began working with Johnnie Walker in 1999, it was suffering a sales decline of 9.3%. At a product level, each variant was positioned and marketed separately; at a market level there were 27 campaigns running worldwide, each with a different idea and look and feel; and, at a consumer level, each market’s relationship with whisky was unique: consumer profiles varied in terms of age, mind-set, cultural diversity and economic prosperity.


Our Solution

To respond to this challenge, we developed an enduring brand idea that could transcend borders and adapt to local as well as global business needs. The whisky category had long represented masculine success but we wanted to discover an articulation of this success that would be relevant to our target in all our markets. We discovered that the most powerful expression of masculine success in the 21st century was personal ‘progress’. From this territory the campaign idea was born – ‘Keep Walking.’

Over the last 11 years Keep Walking has had numerous expressions. The foundation of a universal human truth and a powerful icon have enabled it to transcend geography, whilst allowing sufficient breadth to meet the variety of needs the world has thrown at it. Keep Walking has run in 120+ countries over 8 years. During this time, over 50 TV executions have been made, 150+ print executions, radio ads, websites, sponsorship, internal awards, consumer awards, even a charitable fund and most recently a film starring Robert Carlyle for internal communications.


Walking with Giants

The challenge for the next 10 years is to evolve with our audience and consumers, appealing to a new generation who are engaging with media, brands and each other in new and exciting ways. People still need to be inspired, they still need to hear messages of progress, we’ve just changed the mouthpiece. Walking with Giants is the latest expression of Keep Walking, it features real and inspiring stories of the progress and achievement of global icons like Lewis Hamilton and Richard Branson in the UK and consists of widgets, trailers, banners and podcasts designed for a digital age.

To create emotional “in-market” connection and local relevance, local giants were used for each of Johnnie Walker’s key markets. An example is the inspiring story of Marc Herremans, a Belgian iron man triathlete, who is one of Belgium’s local giants. This campaign reached a total of 2.7m unique consumers, proving that individual giants have the potential to engage specific niche audiences.

Results

Keep Walking and the recent Walking With Giants series has made Johnnie Walker a brand that doesn’t just speak personal progress but lives it. So far, the global Keep Walking campaign has generated an incremental $2.2 billion in revenue for Johnnie Walker. “Keep Walking” has helped reverse the brand’s fortunes: with value and volume sales up 48% and 94% respectively.

Since the launch of Keep Walking sales of 9 litre cases have gone from 10.2m in 1999 to 16.3m in 2008, an increase of 59.8%. This represents an increase in Johnnie Walker’s volume share of the scotch market of 3.9%. So far, the global Keep Walking campaign has generated an incremental $2.2 billion in revenue for Johnnie Walker. BBH London were also extremely proud to be the winner of the highly prestigious Grand Prix award by IPA Effectiveness for Johnnie Walker last year.