The Big Interview: Loch Lomond Group

Colin Matthews, CEO of Loch Lomond Group, talks to Sport Industry Group about the brand’s move into the sports sponsorship market. Matthews recently signed a five-year partnership with The R&A, which sees Loch Lomond Whiskies become The Official Spirit of The Open and Women’s British Open.

This is the first sponsorship of its scale for Loch Lomond Whiskies. Can you give some detail on the brand and its history?

There has been a history of distilling on the shores of Loch Lomond for more than 200 years. Our own distillery in Alexandria was commissioned in 1966 and, apart from a brief hiatus in the 1980s, has been producing malt whiskies since then.

Before our current management team took ownership with Exponent Private Equity in March 2014, it was operated by the Bulloch family who focused on producing whisky for blends and selling in bulk to brand owners around the world.

We’ve now shifted the focus to develop a consumer-facing business. In the past four years about £25m has been invested into the brand, our distilleries, warehouses and bottling plants which has allowed us to double our international business since the takeover.

We now have almost 300 employees worldwide and are one of only two distilleries in Scotland to have both a malt and grain distillery on site. We’re also one of only four distilleries to maintain a cooperage on site, too.

Tell us about the reasons to sponsor both The Open and The Women’s British Open?

In 2015 we became a partner of the Ladies Scottish Open, which was our first move into a sport sponsorship. It was actually this relationship that opened our eyes to the effect of using golf as a platform to speak to our target audience. We found that players and stakeholders were incredibly supportive of the brand and from there we began conversations with The R&A.

Golf and whisky are two of Scotland’s most famous exports to the world. Our market intelligence indicated that golf fans are more than twice as likely as non-golf fans to drink whisky at least once a month, so there’s an obvious relevance in terms of the end consumer.

Furthermore, our products are sold in more than 125 countries worldwide and several of our key markets are shared with those of The R&A. The Loch Lomond Whiskies brand has a significant global presence and we have ambitions to develop this even further, which is why a sponsorship property like The Open – which is broadcast to more than 600m households worldwide – fits so well.

What are your initial objectives for the sponsorships?

The core strategy right now is the international development of the business. Whilst awareness is important for the first stage of the partnership, we’re not interested in just plastering a logo on a board. As much as it’s a cliché, we want deeper engagement with golf spectators, whisky drinkers and our network of distributors across the world.

This isn’t just a transaction for us, it is a genuine long-term partnership that will benefit our brands and ultimately the game of golf. And it’s important to mention that we see this partnership running throughout the year, not just during Open week. I’ve been involved in sponsorships in other sports in previous roles, and sometimes the event would happen then they’d shake your hand and say, “See you next year”. This won’t be the case with us and The R&A – we don’t want to set up our whisky bars at the courses and then disappear.

How will the activations look for the brand?

We’re rolling out a global, Open-themed point of sale promotion in the coming weeks. We’re also increasing our digital presence and proactive PR, in addition to various engagement opportunities with spectators on-site at our partnered events as well as with casual golf viewers.

We’re also incredibly excited about launching a series of limited edition Open whiskies which will be available ahead of this year’s Championship.

How much sport and sponsorship expertise is there at Loch Lomond Whiskies and have you brought in any external agencies to support your team?

We have a rich pedigree of sponsorship experience at board and senior management level. I was involved in various Formula 1 and darts partnerships during my time at Rothmans and Imperial Tobacco. Our chairman, Nick Rose, is Independent Non-Executive Chairman of Williams F1 and members of my senior marketing team have worked on properties including the Ryder Cup and US Open tennis.

In terms of external support, we worked with IMG to negotiate and agree terms with The R&A before hiring Right Formula for consultancy and activation around the partnership. Right Formula work alongside our existing agencies, BIG Partnership and The Drinks Cabinet.

As a Scottish whisky brand, how exactly will the brand establish a point of difference to appeal to consumers?

Our brand mantra is “Never Follow” and we genuinely believe that we stand out from the crowd, both in terms of the quality of our products and how we will activate around our sponsored tournaments. I can’t think of many brands of our size who have signed with such global properties, so I guess there’s an element of us being an underdog and punching above our weight. We want this to be reflected in our creative activations.

Consumers can expect to see us challenge the status quo. Much like The R&A, we want to help bring our products to a new audience. Indeed, one of the reasons why we chose to sponsor the Women’s British Open was to help change the perception that whisky is just for old men. We’re passionate about introducing our range to male and female golf fans in their 20s and 30s.

There has been considerable discussion in Scotland recently about alcohol brands and their role in sport sponsorship. Was this a consideration during your discussions with The R&A?

We are obviously aware of the landscape, but I make sure that we are very much a brand with a social conscience and that we encourage our consumers to enjoy whisky responsibly. We believe in quality over quantity in everything that we do, so our malts are absolutely aimed at whisky drinkers who enjoy the occasional dram in moderation.

Is Loch Lomond Whiskies looking to increase the golf sponsorship portfolio? Either with additional tournaments or by using players as ambassadors?

Our current focus is on The Open, Women’s British Open and the Ladies Scottish Open. As such our focus first and foremost is to make these events a success for the brand.

In terms of any ambassadors they would obviously need to be an appropriate fit in order to be able to represent us credibly and authentically. We’re having some promising conversations… watch this space!