Sterling Reserve Making every moment Come Alive
Sterling Reserve range of premium whiskies has captured the imagination of the young whisky drinkers. The right blend of superior product, impeccable packaging, wide distribution and targeted marketing initiatives has empowered the brand to stand tall in highly competitive segments.
Allied Blenders and Distillers Private Limited (ABD), India’s third-largest and fastest-growing spirits company, rolled out the Sterling Reserve range of premium whiskies across the country from end-2017 onwards. The range has two variants – Sterling Reserve B10 in the premium whisky segment, and Sterling Reserve B7 in the semi-premium whisky segment. Since its launch, Sterling Reserve has received a phenomenal response from consumers. The brand enjoys the rare distinction of having sold more than 1.7 million cases within the first year of its launch.
Product
Sterling Reserve B10 is an impeccable blend of imported Scotch malts and the finest Indian grain spirits. The Scotch malts are from different barrel origin bourbon oak casks. The blend is chill-filtered to perfect balance with a smooth finish and ten unique tasting notes.
The top note reveals a honeyed sweetness, nuttiness of barley as well as a fruity and heathery perfume. The palate is brought alive with notes of rich oak layered with citrus, vanilla and berries. The product experience is wonderfully smooth with a crisp and lively finish.
The masterful blend of Sterling Reserve B10 has been awarded a Gold Quality Award by the Monde Selection 2022. It has also won the Remarkable Product rating by the International Taste Institute (Brussels) 2021.
Sterling Reserve B7 is crafted to perfection with Scotch malts from different barrel origin and carefully selected Indian grain spirits. The soft toasted touch of charred oak combines with the aroma of malty, fruity, light peaty and floral flavours to give seven distinct tasting notes. The product experience is well-rounded and smooth – perfect for moments to celebrate and savour.
The peerless blend of Sterling Reserve B7 has been awarded a Gold Quality Award by the Monde Selection 2022. It has also won the Superior Product rating by the International Taste Institute (Brussels) 2021.
Proposition
The Sterling Reserve brand has echoed the thoughts and beliefs of young consumers across the country. Its raison d’etre of offering a newer, better and sophisticated experience to young consumers also found voice in the communication and engagement initiatives of the brand.
The uphill task for the brand was to stand apart and be differentiated in the minds of the consumers, especially young consumers, versus the legacy giants in the segment. The brand chose to address for this challenge by constantly defying norms and making marketing choices that are unique to the category while also resonating with the value system of modern younger whisky drinkers.
The building blocks of this strategy leveraged a larger-than-life brand philosophy alongside differentiated product truths & complimented this with the brand IPs and limited-edition packs. All done to collectively fuel heightened mindshare, engagement & continuous curiosity about this new entrant on the block.While celebrity brand ambassadors have traditionally been used as the face of Indian whisky brands to connote accomplishment; Sterling Reserve has put the consumer at the centre of the brand’s narrative.
To start with, the brand’s philosophy was leveraged on the insight of constantly striving for perfection which got translated into Chase The Next. This belief system was demonstrated through different avenues of storytelling across mediums, all based on the central thought of striving for perfection.
The new philosophy of the brand seeks to own a statement of differentiation in the segment which positions the brand as a catalyst that lets you live it up without being weighed down by the pressures of daily life. Rather than the traditional narratives around masculinity and success, the brand chooses to speak to a younger audience in a way that is accessible and intuitive via its tagline ‘Come Alive’.
Promotion
The B7 and B10 variants got heightened focus by leveraging on the key process narratives that became the brand’s distinguishers. Adding distinctiveness to the taste and the blend story of the variants resulted in disruption in the blend expectations of the category. These product narratives were amplified online and at the point of sale thus establishing a distinct advantage over competition.
Sterling Reserve crafted its media mix with the guiding principle of delivering high reach as well as engagement. Traditional mediums esp. TV have been strategically used to efficiently deliver on high reach whereas the digital space has been put to use for more meaningful interactions with consumers.
By participating in trending conversations the brand is able to carve a stronger niche for itself as being truly contemporary.
Through the plank of ‘Sterling Reserve Projects’, the brand created a variety of platforms that tapped into growing youth connect spaces making it a seamless partner in the consumer’s content consumption. Sterling Reserve Music Project is a talent discovery platform for artists in the independent music genre, while the Sterling Reserve Comedy Project seeks to find India’s next big stand-up icon. The Sterling Reserve Gaming Project was an e-gaming hub for consumers to re-create the magic of hanging out together in the unprecedented Covid times. All the platforms are strongly amplified on social media and often leverage ‘digital icons’ to drive relevant dialogues online.
During the lockdown, the platform pivoted to keep content creation live despite production limitations. It launched Sterling Reserve Music Project Breakout – a digitally-run talent search for emerging artists in the independent music scene – that ensured the YouTube channel remained populated with exciting new content.
Sterling Reserve Comedy Project returned for Season 2 of India’s only audience vote based search for the country’s next big stand-up comic. The activation returned with a premium set, brand new contestants and a panel of celebrity judges for the finale along with host and mentor Varun Thakur.
Sterling Reserve also disrupted the category with limited edition packs used as a tactical bait to swing consumer’s preference at the last mile. Consumer insights with respect to consumption and trending behaviour were tapped into to create the B7 Gaming Pack and B10 Earth Edition.
Sterling Reserve Blend 7 launched the Gaming Pack where the exterior packaging could be torn open to reveal popular board games printed on the inside that could be played with a set of dice and pawns placed within the pack. The pack also came printed with a QR code that led to an online mobile gaming hub.
Tapping into the growing consumer consciousness towards more sustainable life practices, Blend 10 introduced a first-of-its-kind pack made of upcycled fabric discards, saving 25 million liters of water and providing artisans with over 30,000 hours of gainful employment.
Apart from the digital platforms, Sterling Reserve has also executed offline activations like the Notes of Perfection Tasting Series with acclaimed mixologist Mariki Sayles.
The tasting sessions saw Sayles taking customers on a virtual journey through Scotland describing the whisky making process and also giving them an insight into what has gone into making Sterling Reserve Blend 10.
In every choice made by the brand across product, placement, proposition and promotions boundaries were pushed to deliver content and experiences that were unique, path breaking and relevant to the target audience.
Performance
The brand tasted success by crossing the million-case mark in the very first year of its launch. This feat was followed up with The Millionaire’s Club Report of 2020 dubbing it the Fastest Growing Spirits Brand with sales of 2.9 million cases in FY 19-20.
In 2020, Sterling Reserve closed the year with a substantial sale of 2.9 million cases, becoming one of the few brands in the category to sustain pre-COVID volumes. This earned the brand the title of Brand Champion in the Indian whisky segment as adjudged by venerated industry publication The Spirits Business. The brand has now grabbed this prestigious accolade for four years in a row.
Sterling Reserve Blend 7 is now the third largest brand in the Indian semi premium whisky segment, a key segment fuelling industry growth. It also continues to be the fastest growing spirits brand in the world and the Projects have gone on to win several accolades.
