Naked success: No secret, Learn how

UNLOCKING KEY LESSONS FOR LONG-TERM BRAND WINS

Does your brand have the staying power to remain top-of-mind year after year? Naked Malt does. Eight years ago, we were tasked with creating a brand from scratch, and today, Naked’s ongoing success is anything but accidental. Built on a solid foundation of brand identity, strategic insights, and creativity, Naked has achieved significant milestones:

  • A GOLD Design Effectiveness Award
  • Consistently ranked as a Top Trending and Top Selling Scotch Whisky
  • A +80% brand growth since its redesign (Kantar, 2020)

Since its inception as Naked Grouse and subsequent transformation into Naked Malt, the brand has gone from strength to strength under Edrington’s stewardship. Let’s dive into the lessons behind this sustained success, practical insights you can apply, and why this collaboration has been so impactful.

1. WHERE IT ALL STARTED: INNOVATION OPPORTUNITY PLATFORMS

Naked’s success story begins with a pressing challenge for The Famous Grouse: how to reverse the decline in blended Scotch whisky and appeal to a new, younger audience. The need for premiumisation was clear, and Kinship was tasked with leading the development of opportunity platforms—identifying areas of exploration grounded in key consumer trends, expert viewpoints, and category insights. The goal? Find the most ‘meaningfully unique’ premium proposition, priced at £30-£35.

Through deep consumer insight, we identified a new market opportunity: blended malt whisky that speaks to consumers’ emotional needs while retaining the craftsmanship of a premium product. Naked Grouse as a standalone brand was born from this innovative thinking, filling a critical gap in the market for premium, yet approachable whisky.

Statistic: 79% of companies now rank innovation among their top three priorities, up from 75% in 2022. This shows the increasing importance of building an innovation-led brand strategy.

TOP TIP: Asking open-ended questions and working with your creative team to explore the full range of brand possibilities can unlock new market opportunities.

2. RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS: COLLABORATIVE TEAMWORK FOR SUCCESS

Collaboration with research partners has been pivotal throughout Naked’s journey. The consumer insight “I am truly happy when I can be myself” was uncovered early in the process and validated multiple times over the last eight years. This insight wasn’t just a creative springboard—it became the guiding principle of Naked’s brand strategy, tapping into the desire for freedom from convention.

By continuously sense-checking this core attitudinal insight, Naked has stayed relevant to its audience, using it to inspire everything from brand messaging to the visual identity. Working closely with our research partners ensured that the insights were actionable and enduring.

Example: This long-term insight directly influenced the creation of the Live Naked campaign, which led to Naked Grouse becoming the fastest-growing contemporary blended whisky in its category.

TOP TIP: Involve your creative team in research sessions. By attending in real-time, creatives gain first-hand exposure to consumer feedback, aligning the entire team from the start and improving post-research results.

3. MARKET UNDERSTANDING: INSIGHTFUL IMMERSION FOR EFFECTIVE STORYTELLING

Gaining in-market insights was crucial in building a globally relevant brand identity for Naked. During the early stages of the rebrand, immersion trips to Naked’s key markets—such as Taiwan, the US, and Greece—were essential. Taiwan, being Naked’s largest market at the time, required an in-depth understanding of local consumer preferences, on-trade habits, and cultural nuances.

One of the most valuable insights came from our visits to Turkey recently, a region with unique challenges, including dark market restrictions and limited resources. Working closely with local distributors and store owners, we developed a tailored growth and seeding plan for Naked. These insights informed not only brand storytelling but also critical strategic decisions in-market.

Example: The strategic deep dive in Turkey led to the successful execution of a short and medium-term growth plan, focusing on incremental gains across Edrington’s portfolio. This project was crucial in aligning teams with distributor goals and boosting brand presence in a challenging market.

TOP TIP: Get your creative team to engage with store owners and bartenders during immersion trips. Their real-world insights can lead to unexpected solutions that align global strategies with local needs.

4. CHALLENGING CONVENTION: MANAGING STAKEHOLDERS AND DRIVING CHANGE

According to McKinsey, transformations are four times more likely to succeed when influential employees are actively engaged in the change process. This insight was key when we helped Naked challenge whisky conventions during its 2017 launch. There was always a risk of pushback—stakeholders were hesitant to defy traditional norms in such a conservative category.

However, Kinship worked closely with the client to excite and engage stakeholders, presenting data-backed insights and a clear visual strategy. Naked’s bold, attitude-driven Live Naked campaign broke free from the traditional whisky image, focusing on authenticity and simplicity. This led to three consecutive years of double-digit growth and the creation of an iconic, black-and-white visual campaign.

Statistic: “Naked Grouse relaunch has resulted in +80% brand growth since the redesign” (Kantar, April 2020).

TOP TIP: Embrace a challenger brand mentality and push boundaries. In today’s competitive market, taking risks and defying convention is essential for standing out and driving change.

5. EVOLUTION TO REVOLUTION: STRATEGIC PRESENTATION OF CREATIVE IDEAS

At Kinship, we’ve found success by presenting creative ideas on a spectrum—from evolution to revolution. Each option answers the brief, but with a different weighting on a particular challenge. This method allows us to stretch the boundaries of creative possibilities while keeping the solution grounded in the strategy.

For example, during Naked’s transformation from Naked Grouse to Naked Malt, we explored revolutionary design concepts that radically reimagined the brand, while also showing more evolutionary steps that maintained familiarity. This balanced approach helped stakeholders make informed decisions, ensuring the brand retained its core while evolving into something fresh and exciting.

TOP TIP: Keep creative briefings fun, collaborative, and focused on pushing boundaries. Encourage your team to challenge the brief and explore revolutionary ideas without fear of stepping too far.

6. SPRINT & SCRUM: CONSISTENCY AND ENGAGEMENT ACROSS MARKETS

Speed and consistency were critical in the global rollout of Naked Malt. The entire process—from the initial creative brief to the brand’s global launch—was achieved in just six months. The sprint-and-scrum 2 day approach, combined with a Naked Experience session, ensured all teams were aligned, efficient, and engaged throughout the process.

These sessions included immersive experiences where market teams shared their “naked moments” and explored real-time challenges of one identified market (emerging or established). The workshops fostered a strong sense of collaboration between global and local teams, ensuring consistency while allowing market-specific needs to be addressed.

TOP TIP: Implement a sprint-and-scrum approach in your key markets to streamline processes, align with global strategies, and encourage cross-market collaboration.

7. DELIVERING MARKET NEEDS: FLEXIBLE SOLUTIONS FOR GLOBAL CONSISTENCY

Post-COVID, flexibility became even more crucial for Naked Malt, especially in addressing market needs for Value-Added Packs (VAPs). Markets needed these consumer engagement tools quickly, but high central production costs and long shipping times presented obstacles.

To address this, we developed a flexible VAP strategy that allowed markets to produce localised packs within a global framework. This not only reduced costs and lead times but also ensured that market teams could capitalise on opportunities as they arose.

TOP TIP: Empower your markets to create solutions within a globally approved framework and approval process. This ensures consistency without stifling local adaptation.

8. CROSS-AGENCY COLLABORATION: ALIGNED GOALS FOR SMOOTH EXECUTION

From the outset, Kinship has worked alongside Naked’s other agency partners—PR, digital, and specialist agencies—to deliver seamless, cross-functional projects. Clear roles and responsibilities, along with shared objectives, ensured that every agency was working towards the same goals.

A standout example of this was the Naked Escape consumer engagement campaign. By briefing all agencies together and maintaining weekly catch-ups, we ensured smooth coordination and effective execution, leading to measurable success in both consumer engagement and sales targets.

TOP TIP: Host agency days to build relationships between teams and ensure everyone is aligned on the brand’s objectives. Create tasks that require cross-agency collaboration to foster a cohesive working environment.

9. DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM OUTSIDE THE CATEGORY: SPARKING INNOVATIVE THINKING

Sometimes the best ideas come from outside your own category. Early on, we took inspiration from food journalists, baristas, and artisans to inform Naked’s brand strategy. This fresh perspective helped the brand stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Another example of thinking differently was the Naked Sessions—an immersive education experience designed for bartenders. Instead of standard presentations, we developed a sensory-led training session that engaged bartenders and brought Naked’s ethos to life in a memorable way.

Statistic: Naked Malt climbed six spots on the global Top Trending Brands list, moving from #10 to #4 in 2023 (Spirits International).

TOP TIP: Work with your agency to draw inspiration from adjacent industries. Whether it’s hosting talks or attending experiences, cross-category insights can lead to breakthrough creative solutions.

CONCLUSION: IS YOUR BRAND SET UP FOR LONG-TERM SUCCESS?

Consistency, a challenger brand mindset, and deep collaboration have been key to Naked’s continued growth. By investing in the right places, making informed decisions, and working as one connected team, we’ve been able to build lasting success.

The question now is: Is your brand set up for long-term success? Do your internal processes align with your external strategies? Are you driving success through innovation and creative effectiveness?

With proven expertise in elevating brands from within, we’re here to take your brand to the next level.

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