Johnnie Walker ranks on ‘most innovative’ list

Diageo’s Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky is the only drinks brand to feature on a new list of the world’s 50 most innovative companies.

Johnnie Walker has come in at number 31 on a new list of the world’s most innovative companies

Joining global power brands Google, Netflix and Twitter, Johnnie Walker came in at number 31 in the New York-based publication Fast Company’s countdown of the world’s 50 most innovative companies in 2014.

The Scotch brand was awarded the spot “for thinking globally, but pulling heartstrings locally”.

Fast Company’s annual list is said to “exemplify the best in the business from across the economy and around the world” and bases its rankings “not just revenue growth and profit margins but also progressive, sustainable business models and an ethos of creativity”.

The publication noted Johnnie Walker’s ability to capture the “global middle class” and its 80% growth from the emerging markets in 2013.

The fact that Johnnie Walker’s contributes to about half of Diageo’s total sales volume since it surpassed 20 million cases for the first time last year was also highlighted.

“It does this in part by deploying local teams to plumb the collective psyche of its target markets and then customizing its “Keep Walking” campaign to speak to the new regions’ aspirations,” Fast Company read.

In particular, the Scotch brand’s evocative advertising campaigns in Brazil and South Africa, and its opening of an exclusive membership house ­– House of Walker – in Seoul were heralded as driving innovation.

Summarising the brand’s approach to innovation, Johnnie Walker’s global brand director Gavin Pike said: “There are opportunities in countries around the world to capture a zeitgeist, the sense of momentum.”

It was reported in October last year that Diageo would be pumping £7.2 million into rejuvenating Johnnie Walker in the UK.