At the start of every year, David Gates takes a cold break from alcohol. It's not just a detox from last season's festive indulgences, but also from his job requirements — as marketing director of Diageo Asia, the daily tumbler is all in a day's work.
But a one-month fast may be too short if all goes as planned. After instilling a lucrative taste for scotch across the region — Johnnie Walker and J&B in particular — Gates' challenge now is to broaden Diageo's portfolio in Asia, surely a sign of more drinks to come.
The initiative shouldn't come as a surprise, given Diageo's first semester results which prompted the company to re-allocate parts of its Europe marketing budget to its international streams — a region defined as outside North America and Europe.
While North America achieved a seven per cent increase in net sales, Europe's results remained unchanged. International, meanwhile, attained 12 per cent growth largely due to the doubled volume growth of Johnnie Walker in China.
For Gates, the answer is Smirnoff and Baileys, critical strings to Diageo's global bow. Considering the fact that Diageo has hardly marketed these two proven growth drivers in Asia, you can understand Gates' excitement.
Up until now, the company has been content to let its brand gravitas do the talking among a field of category leaders such as Captain Morgan rum, Tanqueray gin and Jose Cuervo tequila.
But, newly-armed with a chunk of the international region's 28 per cent increase in marketing budget, Gates is resolved. "The first step was for us to say it and mean it, which we haven't done before."
The obvious question is how, and although Gates admits that he has yet to answer this question in full, he quips that the solution must be "something outstandingly creative".
"As marketers, part of the duty is to inform but also to provide entertainment for our consumers," he says. "The most successful promotions in the world enhance enjoyment, not intrude like alcohol promoters."
He takes a 'do-or-die' approach to digital media in particular, and is working with recently-appointed OgilvyOne to come up with a solution deserving of award show metal, such as Nestlé Japan's KitKat campaign which he admired as a judge at this year's Asia Marketing Effectiveness Awards.
In fact, so determined is Gates to find the next 'KitKat' campaign that he's even initiated a competition among his team, giving away an Apple Mac to whoever executes the most creative campaign.
Furthermore, having spent more than 10 years outside native Europe, Gates understands that the marketing output must resonate with local tastes and calls regionalisation "a necessity".
He describes his brands' regional campaigns as less esoteric than their Western counterparts, and finds it crucial to understand his audience's changing cultural reference points.
"In the past, I think there was almost an acceptance of 'West is best', but that's not the case anymore," says Gates. "People are more sophisticated and more inward with where they look for their cultural references."
To tap into this insight, Diageo recently created a cross-disciplinary team devoted to figuring out how to leverage Asian pride. Gates is also beefing up his knowledge on Asian female drinkers, a growing consumer base. "Just look at cities like Tokyo, Shanghai and Singapore, where women's role in society is becoming equal to men," says Gates. "Women are living it up, and that's where the power is now. What it does for the alcohol industry is increase consumption for drinks like Baileys."
And though Baileys is only available in Japan, the Philippines and dutyfree stores, Gates is quietly confident that the liqueur has cult potential. "Baileys has the industry's highest conversion rates, meaning that more people who try Baileys for the first time immediately become loyal fans more than for any other liqueur," he says. "Thus, we have a very complicated marketing plan for Baileys — if we can just get people to try it."
