The Sexton – European Brand Positioning

A 360-degree cultural and consumer insight programme that uncovered The Sexton’s growth space and reshaped its European brand positioning.

Method Toolbox

Brand Strategy Development, Expert Commentary, In-Store Research, Multi-market, Primary Consumer Research, Semiotics, Trends Research

Framing the Problem

The Sexton is a whiskey brand from the Bushmills distillery that had been generating an almost cult-like status among certain consumer cohorts in a number of markets. The team were pleased with the brand performance, but wanted to understand specifically what about the brand was engaging consumers and to update the brand positioning to reflect this. This was a Europe-wide project, with Germany as one of the key markets.

Our Approach

Bricolage took a 360-degree approach, with insight coming from a range of sources including desk research, semiotics, primary consumer research and trade experts. The project unpacked cultural drivers and agents of change in the main markets and aligned these with a dissection of what the brand was currently doing to engage consumers.

The Breakthrough

Our research uncovered tensions and barriers within the wider whiskey category that The Sexton was perfectly placed to overcome for consumers. As a result, we identified the opportunity space for The Sexton to play within and revamped the entire brand positioning framework to reflect these learnings, helping prime the brand for further growth.