Dive Brief:
- Jim Beam is overhauling its bottle design — the first major update in decades — which it will use in its more than 100 global markets, reported Ad Age. Previously, Jim Beam used design variations in different regions.
- A new square shape replaces the formerly rounded bottles. Other smaller updates include "higher quality paper and real gold foil and matte finishes," Jim Beam told Ad Age.
- Spokeswoman Mila Kunis will stay onboard, and new ads featuring Kunis are in production. She has been with Jim Beam since early 2014 when she debuted as part of the brand's global "Make History" campaign and was the first female spokesperson for a bourbon brand, Jim Beam told Ad Age.
Dive Insight:
With these changes, Jim Beam is balancing a fresh packaging update for the brand while maintaining the consistency of Kunis in its marketing plan. U.S. sales for the brand's core variety increased 8% in the 52 weeks ending April 17 to $122.4 million, according to IRI, excluding bar and restaurant sales.
Kunis herself was a fresh face for the brand and bourbon category as a whole. Megan Frank, VP of global marketing for Jim Beam, told Ad Age that while Kunis is "a little unexpected," her "premium yet approachable qualities" make her "authentic to the equities of the brand."
Kunis is also key for attracting millennials and women, who made up about 37% of whiskey drinkers as of late 2014 versus about 15% in the 1990s, according to NPR. Last year, actress Christina Hendricks also appeared in a Johnnie Walker Black Label ad. Flavored whiskeys have become increasingly popular, confirming whiskey companies' motivation to attract more females. The consistency of using Kunis, a female spokesperson, could be a strategic growth opportunity to drive relevance.
The new square bottles more closely resemble the packaging for key competitor Brown-Forman owned Jack Daniel's, whose top-selling black label holds 10.42% dollar share of the U.S. whiskey market versus 5.71% for Beam Suntory-owned Jim Beam, according to IRI. In 2013, Jack Daniel's sued a Tennessee distiller for trademark infringement after the distiller used square bottles and a font type that closely resembled Jack Daniel's.