Balblair
Time is Precious When Making Great Whisky
When there’s a great story to tell, tell it slowly.
Balblair is an award-winning single malt Scotch whisky produced in Ross-shire since 1790. It’s old and very precious. It also tastes amazing thanks to a particularly slow distillation and lengthy maturation. How do you convey that sense of time-honoured unhurried luxury?
In a cinematic way with classic storytelling, that’s how.
Internationally acclaimed photographer and director David Eustace was commissioned to create ‘Precious Time’, a short movie that explores a narrative
of distillery manager John MacDonald writing a letter from his past to present self bringing to life the concept that time is the most important ingredient in each drop of Balblair, from their 12 Year Old to 25 Year Old whiskies.
At 1 minute 30 seconds long the film is short – to maximise engagement – but beautifully paced, like the whisky itself.
“Precious Time is cinematic, and almost as heart-warming as when the Queen met Paddington Bear.”
Douglas Blyde, Falstaff
The Stellar Strategy:
Slow down time
Focusing on time as a key ingredient in both whisky and life, our strategy focuses on the opportunities that slowing down time can deliver.
Key media, influencers and opinion makers were invited to the distillery to experience first-hand the remote, elemental Scottish landscape – the distillery sits on a site overlooking Dornoch Firth where Picts settled some 3,000 years ago – and the craftmanship behind the whisky.
Each guest was invited to take a moment and write a letter to themselves reflecting on how precious time is. These letters were then printed, framed and sent back to each person as a reminder to always reflect on the moment they had at the Balblair distillery.
For the launch of the short film, key media were invited to a dinner in London with the director David Eustace. All elements of the meal were slowed down from the slow cooked dishes to a reflective whisky tasting to ensure every precious moment was savoured.
Coverage appeared across all the agreed campaign ‘gold’ media titles including The Times, Forbes and The FT.
Campaign Highlights
Following the campaign the film, along with the PR strategy, ran across key global markets.
