Day 3: Drinking in Diageo

Friday 30 October

It's our final day on the Study Visit and we start with a bang - at the world's largest producer of alcoholic beverages, Diageo.

You might not know the name but you'll almost certainly be very familiar with some of their drinks brands: Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Baileys to name but a handful.

We're here to meet Rowan Pearman, Diageo's Head of Corporate Public Relations, together with Alicia Tetlow who leads the company's Brand Communications team. They take us through an energetic and highly varied presentation, discussing Diageo's approach both to corporate PR (i.e. PR for Diageo itself) and brand work (PR for the alcohol brands Diageo owns). It's an interesting mix which touches upon some really cutting edge tactics and also covers issues such as sustainability and corporate social responsibility. We finish with a lot of questions and some excellent answers!

Catherine's thoughts on Diageo:

It’s our penultimate stop in London visiting the world’s leading premium drinks business Diageo. (17th largest company in Britain to be exact!) I certainly felt curious concerning this company as in the previous days the majority of corporations felt extremely glamorous and exclusive. Whereas Diageo was an undoubtedly recognisable, global company including various international brands such as Baileys, Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker and J &B to name a few!

As we entered the impressive building at Henrietta Place, London my curiosity began to grow. We were swiftly met by Rowan Pearman Head of Public Relations along with Alicia Tetlow who leads the company’s brand communicaton team.

As we arrived upstairs all of our eyes were drawn to the alcohol beverages surrounding the office, including a case full of Smirnoff. We entered a room which had a work-driven yet relaxed atmosphere, the wall was certainly striking covered with a Baileys advertisement including the recognizably seductive Baileys ‘lips’ image.

Both professionals were exceptionally friendly and I immediately began to enjoy the presentation they had kindly prepared. Diageo is driven by earning recognition, Rowan explained, and committed to helping Diageo become famous for great people, brands and performance. Corporate Relations has a crucial role in helping Diageo achieve these goals.

Diageo follow and build to achieve the 5 pillars which credit the company to be special and to have an outstanding commercial performance. These pillars are; innovation, brands, performance, people and finally responsible drinking.

Alicia explained one of the most testing and innovative challenges is to reach people concerning responsible drinking. One of their recent and successful campaigns included the whisky Johnnie Walker teaming with retired Formula One World Champion Mika Hakkinen. Supporting the champion is the youngest formula one world champion Lewis Hamilton. Both are drinking ambassadors and have spread the important message of responsible drinking whilst actively promoting the Johnnie Walker brand slogan of ‘keep walking.’

We were shown an array of campaigns they have achieved including recognising Sir Arthur Guinness’s 250th year anniversary of when the remarkable drink was founded.

Diageo was a visit which helped us absorb a great deal of explanation about Public Relations.

Shady's thoughts on Diageo:

Diageo by reputation is an extremely impressive organisation; initially I was intrigued by their obvious company publicity, displayed in large windows of the building, illustrating their products and promoting the agency’s name. The reception area is a grand marble, leather couch-lined entry for a company that clearly occupies not only one or two floors, but the entire property.

Whilst waiting for Rowan Pearman, the Head of Corporate PR at Diageo to collect our group, I perused the various publications available for appraisal on the coffee tables. When reading the ‘Summary Review 2009’ I realised that Diageo, regardless of the current financial climate, managed to greet the challenge by surpassing the sales figures from the previous year. This further increased my desire to learn about the company and what role PR plays in its international success.

I also read the Chairman’s statement, where he declared ‘strength through leadership’. This was truly evident in the boardroom, where our talk took place. This was the first agency to seat us in such a 'businesslike' space, product illustrations lined the walls and we were offered Diageo’s own brand spring water to sate our early morning thirst.

The presentation consisted of a detailed introduction into the role of PR at Diageo, what it means to promote a politically sensitive product to a global market and continue to appease intercontinental stakeholders whilst directing the modern, professional ethos of the company: to create and manage ‘activities that build positive brand perceptions and product understanding through key influencers and influences’.

Personally I enjoyed the expert knowledge displayed via visually stimulating flow charts and representations of the various stages in the method of their public relations; I also found the demonstrated difference between Corporate and Brand PR, especially interesting.

Overall I found the visit to Diageo educated us most about their PR process and the success of the company, exhibited worldwide with incredible figures in all continents. I was not only impressed by the case studies and clients the company held but by the efficiency of Rowan and Alicia (Head of Brand PR), who were both accommodating yet remained entirely professional, thereby demanding a certain respect for their extensive knowledge and evident success. I entertain the idea of one day working for such a commercially prosperous PR agency, meanwhile I will anticipate hopefully, an internship with the seriously admirable and lucrative Diageo.