Quality Spirits International (QSI) is the world’s No1. Private Label Scotch supplier.

From the heart of Scotland, QSI offers a wide range of affordable, quality Scotch whisky brands to retailers and distributors around the world. In addition to Scotch Blends and Single Malts, their portfolio also includes Irish Whiskey, Gin and Bourbon.

With over 30 year’s experience, and customers in over 70 countries, a QSI bottle is sold somewhere in the world every 1.3 seconds.

Following the Covid Crisis, QSI faced a number of challenges: a saturated market, increased competition from both established and emerging brands, changing consumer preferences, and the need to differentiate their brand.

To address these challenges, we worked with QSI on a strategic marketing campaign aimed at strengthening their market position and fostering customer loyalty. Underpinning this campaign was the creation of a new visual identity that could be carried across their website and other marketing materials.

As part of the creative refresh, we transformed QSI’s logo and branding. We took inspiration from their most recognisable product, Grangestone Scotch Whisky, utilising the bottle silhouette in the negative space of the ‘Q’ in QSI. Coupled with sophisticated letterforms and a subtle homage to the copper stills used in distillation, the new logo effectively conveys an elevated sense of experience, credibility, and quality.

Shaping the broader visual identity, we built upon the bottle silhouette. We used enlarged and rotated segments of the bottle as a versatile element to partition images and as a holding device for text. Paired with beautiful landscape photography and refreshed bottle images, the new style felt confident, distinct and recognisably QSI.

For the website, we established three core goals:

1. Develop a site that motivates customers to inquire about QSI’s products.
2. Showcase QSI’s bottle portfolio through striking imagery and design.
3. Utilise clear and concise language to guide B2B decision-makers efficiently.

While auditing QSI’s previous website, we identified a need to consolidate numerous ‘microsites’ representing QSI’s varied brands. To enhance user experience, we integrated these under a single umbrella. This strategic move simplified customer interactions by allowing them to browse multiple brands effortlessly within the same site.

We kept this focus on user-friendliness, making sure that the website was easy to navigate, as well as visually appealing and full of rich and varied content. We positioned calls to action throughout the site, encouraging important customer enquiries. Special focus was given to the product pages, to ensure potential buyers could easily understand QSI’s product offering.

To stand out from the competition, QSI needed stronger messaging to help them connect with their audience.

We coined the term "Spirited Excellence" to encapsulate QSI's unique value proposition. With “spirit” hinting at their product offering, the term also celebrates the enthusiasm of the team and the quality of the brand. This phrase serves as the cornerstone for their digital channels, helping to elevate the QSI profile while effectively communicating their values to both new and existing clients.

Understanding the important role of storytelling in establishing emotional resonance, we collaborated with QSI to craft compelling narratives around their spirits. These stories brought to life the craftsmanship, heritage, and unique qualities of each product. Integrated into marketing collateral, social media campaigns, and brand activations, these narratives not only engaged but also educated the consumer.

Through a consistent and synergistic brand message, we seamlessly wove these narratives into QSI’s broader values, capturing themes of Independence, Professionalism, Expertise, and Excellence in an evocative manner.

Following a successful brand refresh and website redevelopment, we helped QSI expand their digital reach further, developing their newsletter and launching a brand new LinkedIn channel.

We tailored our communications to engage QSI’s key consumers through a blend of brand visuals, storytelling, and content themes that resonated with the B2B community. Our strategy hinged on creating content that not only illustrated QSI's brand narrative but also showcased the depth of their offerings.

Furthermore, we established a series of recurring content themes to provide a structured yet dynamic content calendar that would regularly engage and educate LinkedIn followers. Through this nuanced communications strategy, we strengthened QSI's industry standing, delivering a sophisticated and engaging brand experience to their professional clientele.