03 March, 2018

As their main assignment in the Integrated Strategy and Planning module,our 2nd year MSc in Digital Marketing Strategy students collaborated with Cork-born Kinsale Gin to help them develop an ownable and unique brand positioning strategy.

Led by lecturer Kim Bolger, the students worked together as a project team to tackle a best practice approach to building, positioning and articulating a strong brand from the ground up.

Rather than working individually, or as one consolidated team, students were broken out into task teams to simulate a real agency working environment and take on the real-world challenge of delivering a brand story for the Kinsale Gin team. The teams were supported by tried and tested approaches and frameworks that were shared in class to help them find, frame and communicate learning in a meaningful way.

After their individual groundwork, the students worked together collaboratively to develop a unique, relevant and magnetic story which the brand could credibly own.

Teams and tasks included;

1. Project Management: Managed timelines, editing, workshops, meetings, final edits and debrief design as well as setting up the project in cloud collaboration software.

2. Secondary Research: Consolidated a body of secondary research from Bord Bia and on a mobile global scale on the gin market, informing the Primary Research approach and research specifications as well as creating forensic snapshots of the competition and mapping where they believed the unique position in the gin market could be.

3. Primary Research: Designed and conducted qualitative research with influencers (on and off-trade) and targeted consumers in the form of in-depth interview and creative focus groups to understand motivations and connection points for Kinsale Gin

4. Trends: Researched and consolidated socio-cultural and sectoral trends that it was believed would have an impact on the client’s positioning and future-proofing within the Irish market and further afield.

The last hurdle was working together in structured workshops. This helped to weave collective information to develop the brand narrative and starters for 10 on an integrated marketing strategy through which that narrative could be told.

The students also worked together to create a professionally edited take-away for the client in the form of a brand magazine that synopsised the main take-outs and positioning for Kinsale Gin.

“Away from life’s battles, the noise, the din, there’s a place where tide and time stands still. With salty charm that soothes you in, Kinsale’s the tonic, Kinsale’s the Gin”

This was presented to the client at the end of Semester 1 and we are looking forward to seeing Ernest, Clo and Tom (Kinsale Spirit Company) take the strategic brand position to market in 2018 and beyond.

Special thanks from Kim & the students to our clients, Ernest & Clo, who gave their time freely to ensure that the students had a clear understanding of their challenge as well as the generous guest speakers who met us at relevant points across the project to share their experience and expertise; Alan Morris – Laya Healthcare, Kevin Cullinane – Cork Airport, Paul Moran – Rebel Chilli, Deirdre Waldon – Fuzion PR, and Brian Wilson – Wilson Design (designers of the Kinsale Gin logo).

“This really is a massive asset for us and we would never have found the time to consolidate and make sense of all of this information on our own. The project has been very beneficial for us, so thanks for getting us involved and making it happen!” Ernest Cantillon, Owner at Kinsale Spirit Company.

To explore how CIT can collaborate with you, email us today extendedcampus@cit.ie or call us on 021 4335302