In this series, we ask top industry execs and marketers across the country about their biggest fears and concerns. What are the things of marketing nightmares? This week, we caught up with Nadia Niccoli, head of marketing at Diageo Canada, about the biggest problems she faces.
In her current role, Niccoli is responsible for leading the marketing team, setting strategic direction and driving business performance for Diageo brands and marketing activities in Canada. Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with a portfolio that includes Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and Buchanan’s whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Casamigos, DeLeon and Don Julio tequilas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Tanqueray and Guinness.
What are some external forces impacting the alcohol and beverage category, and how are you managing them?
The consumer journey, and what informs consumer choice and loyalty, looks very different than it used to. It’s a lot less linear and predictable – we’re finding that consumers are often entering at different stages and might exit, only to return at another stage. This requires us to take very different approaches to building loyalty. With economic uncertainty also impacting spending behaviours, it isn’t enough to have a consistently great product – the market is crowded and consumers are discerning; they expect more from the brands they’re investing in.
This is leading us to focus on building authentic connections and a sense of community around our products – finding opportunities to align with value systems and consistently re-engaging to reinforce purchase consideration. The Canadian launch of Johnnie Walker’s First Strides program, for example, was rooted in reinforcing the brand’s commitment to championing progress in the Scotch whisky category, but also for women in the arts. So, we unveiled a free immersive art installation at Nuit Blanche Toronto in collaboration with four acclaimed women artists from across the country – curator Ashley McKenzie-Barnes and artists Lido Pimienta, Maria Qamar (Hatecopy) and Miss Me – and people rallied around it. The project called for change in the arts, and the art community listened and took action. Beyond generating a lineup from open until 7 a.m. the next day at Nuit Blanche, Cultural Goods Gallery invited Johnnie Walker to host an extended run of the installation, creating true impact by and for the art community.
What are the current and emerging trends that are shaping consumer preferences?
A big through-line that we’re seeing is consumers opting to drink less, but better. For some, that’s taken the shape of premiumization: people value quality and since COVID, they’re done with saving things for special occasions, instead leaning into intentional enjoyment. For others, the shift towards drinking less is focused on moderation and an increased desire for low-ABV and zero-proof options.
Our goal is to be accessible and provide options for everyone through the breadth of our portfolio, encompassing various price points and types. This includes non-alcoholic spirits brands like Seedlip and the introduction of products like Guinness 0.
How are you responding to the current trend towards sobriety, especially among Gen Zers?
Roughly 40% of Canadians are looking for moderation options and we’re seeing Gen Z and Millennial consumers leading this demand. Making sure we have something for everyone in our portfolio has always been important and this extends not only to our products, but also to the ways we engage with consumers. A great example of this was our Baileys collaboration with Tim Hortons, which featured a non-alcoholic lineup of Baileys flavoured beverages and even a non-alcoholic Baileys Boston Cream Dream Donut. It was such an exciting moment to have these two iconic brands come together in an unexpected way to treat Canadians to an entirely new and alcohol-free flavour experience.
Guinness 0 Non-Alcoholic Draught has also been incredibly popular since its Canadian launch and we couldn’t keep it on shelves fast enough, creating enough demand for us to expand nationally into grocery. The brand has become synonymous with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations thanks to its deep Irish roots, so we even brought out Guinness 0 trollies for St. Patrick’s Day this year to reinforce that with Guinness Draught, Nitro Cold Brew, Extra Stout, and Guinness 0, there truly is a pint of Guinness for everyone to enjoy.
With regards to advertising, how do you maintain relevance in a space that is overwhelmed with sameness?
As marketers in this country, we have on average about three seconds to capture a consumer’s attention. We also know that differentiation and meaningfulness are the true drivers of brand “stickiness,” so we’re focused on building cultural capital around our brands in a way that allows us to stand out and connect with our core consumers in a different way.
There’s a lot of value and cache around the brands within our portfolio which puts us in a great position to lead and drive culture, building them as lifestyle brands around our consumer’s passion points. Unlocking new partnerships in adjacent spaces that allow us to break through, be different and build a new way of talking to the consumer is therefore a big area of opportunity for us. For instance, as part of our Don Julio ‘Por Amor’ campaign, we joined forces with Makeway this year to create “La Familia Sessions,” a series of community events that honour and celebrate exceptional female community leaders. This was inspired by the spirit of the campaign, which posits: “if not for the love, then for what?”
How are Canadian consumers different than those of other countries in this industry?
Canada is one of the most diverse marketplaces in the world and we pride ourselves on having something in our portfolio for everyone. Beyond this, we look at our marketing efforts provincially as consumer behaviours in Ontario are different from B.C., Alberta and Quebec, with different media and influencers that drive measurable impact. With Tanqueray for instance, we had the opportunity to connect with Quebecers last year through their affinity for gin and a beloved Quebecois tradition: le picnic. Inspired by the brand’s Damn Fancy anthem, we brought to life a media and influencer event that was all about elevating the summer picnic occasion (from easy-yet-elevated tablescape hacks to simple and delicious cocktails) and put Tanqueray at the core of a Quebecois tradition.
We strive to take this ethos further by finding ways to drive authentic relevance within communities that have an established affinity for specific products or marques, as with our longstanding commitment to producing limited edition Johnnie Walker bottles for Lunar New Year. This year’s bottle – our eleventh – was a powerful collaboration with Taiwanese-American artist James Jean, to honour the Year of the Dragon.
What can you share about future Diageo marketing initiatives and the marketing strategy going forward?
Above all, we want to mean something for Canadians when they are celebrating life every day, in every way. We do this by putting the consumer at the heart of everything we do – their attitudes, beliefs, behaviours and beyond – and we build our strategy around that.
We’re approaching things from a quality over quantity perspective: fewer initiatives but bigger, better and most importantly, bolder. We’re committed to disrupting culture, being innovative and finding more ways to show up where you wouldn’t typically expect a spirits business to be. To achieve this, we’re looking at how we can create synergies, guided by the principle that the combination of exceptional talent, resources and efforts equal more than the sum of the parts.