McDowell’s No.1 is an Indian Brand of spirits manufactured by united spirits Limited (USL). It is a subsidiary of Diageo. The brand began with the launch of McDowell’s No.1 Brandy in 1963-64. McDowell’s no.1 is the largest umbrella spirits brand, which comprises three categories i.e., Whisky, Rum, and Brandy.
Scottish Distiller Angus McDowell is known as the creator of McDowell’s brand.
Owner-United Spirits Limited (USL)
Tagline- No1 Yaari Ka No1 Spirit
Introduced- 1963-64
Country- India
History of McDowell’s No.1
McDowell’s was established by Mallya in 1959. Moreover, company’s first distillery was established in Cherthala, Kerala.
McDowell’s first launch was McDowell’s Brandy in 1963-64. After brandy, McDowell’s launched whisky in 1968. Furthermore, they launched rum in two variants i.e., Celebration (dark) & Caribbean (white) in 1990-91.
The company was incorporated in 1999 as McDowell Spirits Ltd and changed its name from McDowell Spirits Ltd to McDowell and Company Ltd on 1 April 2000. The company changed its name again, to the current United Spirits Limited (USL), on 17 October 2006.
That’s all about the brief about McDowell’s
Now, let’s talk about what makes McDowell’s so famous among liquor enthusiasts?
The answer is its Marketing Strategy, the only reason which makes McDowell’s a largest-selling Liquor Brand.
Here’s the brief about McDowell’s No.1 marketing case study
Marketing Mix of McDowell’s No.1
The marketing mix is the combination of 4Ps (price, product, place, and promotion) that influence people to buy the product of a company.
Let’s discuss the 4Ps of McDowell’s No.1-
Price Strategy of McDowell’s No.1
McDowell No.1 already knows that most alcoholic drinkers will prefer the affordable price for buying spirits. So, the following are the strategy:
- McDowell’s kept their prices lower than the other brands
- They always fix their prices on distribution cost and value of production.
Product Strategy of McDowell’s No.1
McDowell’s deals in alcoholic products. Moreover, they also offer soda bottles and water bottles. Following are its product strategy:
- They sell a variety of products based on different taste experiences i.e., whisky, rum & Brandy.
- They believe in offering luxury products to their customers for a superior experience.
Promotion Strategy of McDowell’s No.1
For promoting their product they spend a higher amount on sponsorships. Following are their promoting strategies-
- They sponsor Bollywood films and music concerts in India.
- McDowell’s packaging & bottle designs are distinctive and appealing.
- McDowell’s priority is to maintain superior quality.
Place strategy of McDowell’s No.1
- McDowell’s have brand subsidiaries in Africa, Japan, The middle east, and United Arab Emirates.
- They Are serves around 20 countries.
- It covers most of the parts in India by opening its distilleries.
So, in the above paragraphs, we have discussed the 4Ps of McDowell’s. Now, let’s begin with a SWOT analysis.
SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threats) of McDowell’s No.1
Basically, SWOT analysis assists us in deep diving into a company’s strengths and weaknesses.
Strength of McDowell’s No.1
- McDowell’s is difficult to replace because the brand has a special heritage.
- Their customer and brand loyalty rate are supreme.
Weakness of McDowell’s No.1
- They don’t have well managed social media presence. Moreover, they don’t have an Instagram account.
- McDowell’s is a well-known spirit company, but its major drawback or weakness is that it’s harmful.
Opportunities of McDowell’s No.1
- Customers are buying capacity is increasing
- They have a global distribution network, which is built by their good marketing strategy.
Threats of McDowell’s No.1
- More government involvement leads to higher tax payments and Regulations.
- One of the major threats is high market penetration.
That’s all with the SWOT analysis of McDowell’s No.1.
Now, we are further Proceeding with information about Marketing campaigns and their strategies.
Marketing Campaigns by McDowell’s No.1
Let’s discuss their Campaigns,
McDowell’s is always known for its iconic marketing Campaigns, which is why they touch the hearts of their customers. All their campaigns show friendship and celebration of a dearest friend’s success. Here are some of its Famous Marketing Campaigns-
“Dhoni Ki No.1 Yaari” – Marketing Campaign of McDowell’s No 1
This was the first marketing campaign introduced by McDowell No.1.
The Advertising is featuring M.S. Dhoni who is the great cricketer and past captain of India.
The film show the actual friendship between M.S. dhoni and his childhood friends, whom he met after his return to Ranchi and they celebrated their friendship with McDowell’s No.1.
McDowell’s tried to show the nostalgia of spending years together by using heart touching tagline i.e., “Bachpan ke Yaar”.
“No.1 Yaari Jam” – Marketing Campaign of McDowell’s No 1
This was another famous campaign by McDowell’s No.1 i.e., No.1 Yaari Jam which is a music platform launched in 2017. This was a partnership between McDowell’s No.1 Soda and Hungama.
In India, it released five engaging soundtracks by renowned musicians. It was directed by the popular duo Salim & Sulaiman Merchant.
The No.1 Yaari Jam allows music enthusiasts to create new music and share their stories with the world. This platform has inspired people across India. According to McDowell’s No 1, culture and music are at the core of its philosophy.
“Jashn Yaari Ka” – Marketing Campaign of McDowell’s No 1
McDowell’s No.1 Platinum Gourmet Snacks established the “Jashn Yaari Ka” Campaign.
Vicky Kaushal was the face of the campaign, and the advertisement featured memories from his life before becoming an actor.
The campaign was characterizing his journey from doing an engineering job to becoming an actor. Moreover, they show How his Yaar’s Stood for him during his achievement and celebrated the moment with great enthusiasm.
The campaign is about celebrating Yaars’ (a friend’s) successes and joyous moments. Like its previous campaigns, this campaign also showcased friendship and brotherhood.
Let’s talk about the target audience of McDowell’s No.1
Target Audience of McDowell’s No.1
Target audience means those that whom the company wishes to sell its products. Following are the targets of McDowell’s-
- Adults who are more than the age of 21 years and elders.
- They also target people who are urban and young.
Brand Ambassadors of McDowell’s No.1
It’s common for companies to use popular celebrities to represent their brands. This can also prove to be a highly effective marketing strategy. It has been seen that McDowell’s spends a good amount of money on celebrities to advertise their brand.
They signed Farhan Akhtar as a brand ambassador of soda extension.
Another was M.S. Dhoni an Indian cricketer as a Brand Ambassador of its Platinum whisky.
Furthermore, Vicky Kaushal was the face of their new campaign for Platinum whisky.
Social media Presence of McDowell’s No.1
- McDowell’s Doesn’t have an impressive social media presence as I told you above one of its major weaknesses is below average social media presence. Moreover, they don’t even have an account on Instagram.
- McDowell’s has a page on Facebook which they use to share their marketing Campaigns.
- McDowell’s also has Twitter account where they use the hashtag “no.1 yaari” to share their tweets. Furthermore, it was seen that they are more active on twitter.
Competitors of McDowell’s No.1
Bacardi
The company was founded in 1862. Barcadi and McDowell’s were in close competition since 2012.
In 2014 celebration rum of McDowell’s overtook Barcadi and it become the first largest selling liquor, while Barcadi is the second in the race.
The reason behind this was they always focus more on innovation.
Imperial Blue
It is one of the budgets friendly whiskies which were launched in 1997 but still, McDowell’s has more sales as they maintain their supreme quality and customer trust.
Old monk
The old monk launched in 1954 and they capture the huge market for dark rum, but McDowell’s Celebration rum become its long-term competitor and the old monk has one-fourth sales in competition with McDowell’s.
Conclusion
In the above article, we have seen how they were attracting customers with heartwarming advertisement campaigns. Moreover, it was seen that there each campaign was about celebrating friendships.
In my perspective, McDowell’s is maintained a good market Strategy which helps them to build customer trust. Furthermore, they are maintaining quality and taste for years which makes them supreme. But it is also seen that somewhere they lack behind in maintaining social media presence.
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