Diageo
Don Julio
Elusive. Unexpected. Flawless. And the liquid is pretty good too.
About a decade ago, Diageo asked the agency (Omnicom’s Colangelo) where we were all working to take a look at their “other” tequila, Don Julio.
Till then, they’d focused all their attention on legendary category leader, Cuervo.
But, Patron’s meteoric rise and mixologists’ hunger for 100% agave products, it was time to put a new pure-bred horse in the race. Now in the luxury space that the value of authentic provenance & and a resonant founder’s story cannot be overstated.
Don Julio – the man and his tequila – checked both boxes: spectacular provenance, created by a literal rags-to-riches entrepreneur to become the first luxury tequila: the best seller in Mexico… BUT: almost unknown here.
Our charge? Research, document, and present his inspiring story. Celebrate his artistry. Set the stage for new works of tequila art. Give connoisseurs and bartenders an authentic alternative to the Patron construct.
The result?
2018: 1.5m
2017: 1.3m% change: 21.6%
Place last year: 4
Last year’s Tequila Brand Champion, Don Julio, joined the million-case ranks for the first time in 2017 after growing an impressive 44.4%. In 2018, the brand yet again achieved the highest growth in the category, with an increase of 21.6% to 1.5m cases. According to Diageo’s financial year ending 30 June 2018, Don Julio grew by “strong” double digits, boosted by the US and Mexico. Diageo completed its full acquisition of Don Julio in 2015, announcing a US$400m investment in the brand’s production facilities that same year.
The UK drinks giant broke ground on the expansion work at its Atotonilco production site in Jalisco, Mexico, in May 2018. Don Julio now sits alongside George Clooney’s Casamigos Tequila, which Diageo acquired in 2017 for US$1bn.
In July last year, Don Julio Tequila launched its first innovation in six years – a reposado Tequila finished in casks previously used to age Scotch whisky for the Buchanan’s blend.
Don Julio, today, is 15X the size it was when we started it down the road to stardom.
Watch how the journey began.