Dubliner Irish Whiskey Is Making Sure The World Doesn't Get Another Boring Whiskey

Our role was to create standout by carving out a distinct place for the brand to attract this new generation of whiskey drinkers and drive penetration growth. In a traditional category, the opportunity was to target the world’s most populous generation who are coming of age financially – male and female millennials (aged 25-39). 

Dubliner Irish Whiskey – from old to bold The world doesn’t need another boring Irish whiskey. There’s a new wave of younger whiskey consumers who are bold in spirit and seeking genuine new experiences without compromise. We think it’s time someone ripped up the rule book, gave two fingers to tradition and injected some fresh thinking sprinkled with a little attitude to challenge convention and complacency. 

The Challenge The Dublin Liberties Distillery came to us with the desire to make their brand The Dubliner the #1 challenger brand, but in a hugely competitive market and with big growth plans, the brand lacked a clear and differentiated positioning. 

The Insight Most Irish whiskey brands talk about their heritage, provenance, casks and distilleries, etc., meaning that the category can be overwhelming and confusing to our target consumer and those not in the know. 

The opportunity was to establish a brand whose attitude is as important as the liquid itself. 

It shares the same fresh, dynamic outlook and personality as its home city. Its tone of voice is straight-talking, provocative, quick-witted and entirely uncomplicated. Its brand look and feel is fresh, youthful, simple and fun. 

But our target audience doesn’t want ‘complicated’. Complicated is confusing, traditional and boring. They’re putting off traditional commitments like marriage and home ownership in favour of straight up experiences in straight up places. They want premium, not pretentious. And they want authenticity and genuine personality from these experiences. 

The bold, iconic logo takes centre stage on the bottle, as our consumers are digital natives who process and respond to visuals faster than words. The simple, artistic nature of the new logo drives brand recall and is confidently transferred to merchandise and gifts. 

Packaging execution There was very little equity in the previous, predictable look and feel – just the Dubliner green, so we’ve stripped everything back to allow the whiskey itself to shine. Taking inspiration from the simplest expression of the brand, the new typographic identity is based on stencils used on whiskey casks. 

Impact Dubliner Irish Whiskey now has a clear and distinct positioning in the marketplace. Its bold and distinct packaging is a true reflection of the brand’s personality and has opened up cool collaborations that wouldn’t have been possible before. 

Caoimhe Good, Global Brand Manager for Dubliner Irish Whiskey says; “The new packaging opened doors for the brand, giving us permission to behave in a bolder, more contemporary manner. Previously, the brand was quite restricted in what could be achieved due to its traditional branding and messaging. With a fresh new look, we were given license to act more relevantly as the new branding resonated with younger consumers and enabled us to reimagine our brand personality and collaborate with modern, like-minded brands. As for data – we tend to lean to social and the growth and engagement we have seen since launching going from 3,000 followers to 10,000. Our engagement grows month on month on month, going from a mere 100k to approaching the 1 million mark. The type of collaborators that want to work with us now, due to the new design and positioning, firmly play in the contemporary space and are culturally on the button.” 

The Idea Dubliner Irish Whiskey claims to be nothing other than what it is – great whiskey that’s ‘big on flavour’. While its competitors play it safe, The Dubliner aims to reach new consumers by simply telling them what they need to know and telling them straight – as only a Dubliner could do. 

Finally, a DLD (Dublin Liberties Distillery) logo and emboss is proudly stamped on every bottle as a simple nod to the brand’s home. 

In keeping with our no bullsh*t philosophy, the label is straight talking and sticks to the facts – e.g., Bourbon Cask 3-year-old single malt and grain Irish Whiskey. This is coupled with simple colour coding to differentiate between variants, which has largely been retained from the previous design to aid navigation amongst loyal consumers.