Four Roses Bourbon UK Campaign: Hiding the Brand Name Raised Awareness by 31%

Alkohol
CPG
Essen & Trinken

Four Roses bourbon was a favorite of top UK bartenders but had low awareness among consumers. Vivaldi Group identified a Discovery Generation of drinkers who choose drinks as an expression of curiosity and style, and built a campaign that deliberately hid the Four Roses name, using the brand's distinctive assets across out-of-home, digital, retailer data and on-trade so that finding it became the reward. The campaign raised brand awareness by 31%.

Client: Four Roses
Industrie: Alcohol, CPG, Food & Beverage
Leistungen: Brand, Innovation & Experience, Marketing Strategy & Acceleration
Region: United Kingdom
Vivaldi lead: Jake Varrone, Associate Creative Director, Copy and Content

The challenge: loved by top bartenders, unknown to consumers

Four Roses Bourbon war ein Hit bei den Top-Barkeepern im Vereinigten Königreich, aber bei den meisten Verbrauchern war er kaum bekannt.

What Vivaldi did: a campaign that hid the brand to make it a discovery

Research identified a Discovery Generation of whisky drinkers who value curiosity and originality and pick drinks to express their style. Vivaldi built a campaign that kept the Four Roses name hidden and played with the brand's distinctive assets, so that finding it felt like a discovery, linking on-trade with consumer communications across paid, owned and earned media.

The outcome: brand awareness up 31%

By intentionally hiding the Four Roses name, the campaign tapped into the Discovery Generation's mindset and raised brand awareness by 31%, with a deeper connection to a new generation of whisky drinkers.

Four Roses UK campaign at a glance

Client	Four Roses Kentucky straight bourbon, with UK partner Spirit Cartel
Industrie	Alcohol, spirits
Region	United Kingdom
Ausgangspunkt	Strong with top UK bartenders, low awareness among consumers
Zielgruppe	The Discovery Generation: drinkers who choose brands to express curiosity and style
Vivaldi scope	Audience research, campaign idea, integrated paid, owned and earned media; out-of-home, digital and retailer data; on-trade links (marketing strategy and acceleration, brand, innovation and experience)
Outcome	Brand awareness up 31%

Why Four Roses needed a new generation of UK drinkers

Spirit Cartel saw an opportunity in UK whisky drinkers’ growing appetite for trying new things, and wanted Four Roses to become the drink of a new generation. The bourbon already had credibility where it mattered most to the trade, with top bartenders, but most consumers had never heard of it.

Vivaldi’s research showed that this group, the Discovery Generation, chose drinks for more than taste: the choice was a way to show their style. They saw themselves as curious and stylish and did not want to follow the crowd, and the more elusive a discovery, the more rewarding it felt.

Anstatt das Logo größer zu machen oder nach Aufmerksamkeit zu schreien, haben wir die Faszination der Marke wachsen lassen und Four Roses in ein verstecktes Juwel verwandelt, das sich noch besonderer anfühlt, wenn man es entdeckt.

This strategy resonated perfectly with the British audience, who thrive on the thrill of uncovering something unique. By not overtly pushing the product, but instead teasing its presence with “Don’t mention it,” we allowed consumers to feel like they were in on a secret, making the discovery of Four Roses more personal and meaningful.

Eine Frau fotografiert mit ihrem Handy eine Werbung an einer weißen Wand für Four Roses Bourbon. Die Marke ist versteckt und es heißt

How hiding the name turned Four Roses into a discovery

Instead of making the logo bigger or shouting for attention, Vivaldi built the campaign around discovery. The Four Roses name was kept hidden and the brand’s distinctive assets did the talking, so finding the brand became an experience in itself and felt more special for being earned.

Out-of-home advertising, digital and retailer data were joined into one connected ecosystem, and an integrated approach across paid, owned and earned media linked on-trade activity with consumer communications. Vivaldi’s guide to accelerating brand growth describes the same principle of earning attention rather than buying it.

Results: a 31% rise in brand awareness

Four Roses brand awareness rose by 31%.
The brand built a deeper connection with a new generation of UK whisky drinkers.
On-trade credibility with top bartenders was connected to consumer communications.
The campaign showed that less can be more when it comes to capturing attention.

Eine Außenwerbung an einer belebten Straße für Four Roses Bourbon. Die Marke ist versteckt und es heißt

Four Roses Case Study Summary

Four Roses bourbon was respected by top UK bartenders but little known among consumers. Vivaldi identified a Discovery Generation of drinkers who prize curiosity and originality, and built an integrated campaign that deliberately hid the Four Roses name so that finding the brand became the reward. The campaign raised brand awareness by 31% and connected the bourbon with a new generation of whisky drinkers.

About Four Roses

Four Roses is a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey distilled in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. In the UK it built its reputation first among top bartenders before this campaign introduced it to a wider generation of whisky drinkers.

Four Roses campaign FAQs

How did Vivaldi raise Four Roses brand awareness in the UK?

By 31%, with a campaign that deliberately hid the Four Roses name and let the brand’s distinctive assets do the talking, so that finding it felt like a discovery. Out-of-home, digital and retailer data were connected in one ecosystem across paid, owned and earned media.

Who is the Discovery Generation?

A group of drinkers Vivaldi’s research identified who choose drinks not only for taste but to show their style. They see themselves as curious and stylish, avoid following the crowd and find a discovery more rewarding the more elusive it is, which is why a hidden brand appealed to them.

Why would hiding a brand name increase awareness?

Because for an audience that values discovery, a brand that has to be found feels more special than one that shouts. Hiding the name created intrigue, turned the act of finding Four Roses into part of the experience and made the brand worth talking about.

What can other spirits brands take from the Four Roses campaign?

That credibility with bartenders can be turned into consumer awareness by linking on-trade with consumer communications, and that the right audience insight can matter more than media weight. For the Discovery Generation, less visibility created more attention, and awareness rose 31%.