Diageo taps BICsters to help brand The Naked Turtle

Diageo, a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands across spirits and beer, will be partnering with the BIC Corporate Capstone this spring to develop branding and integrated marketing communications materials for The Naked Turtle White Rum. Headquartered in London, England, Diageo produces over 200 brands – old and new, large and small, global and local – that are enjoyed in more than 180 countries around the world. Diageo is a business built and sustained through innovation; developing new ideas is crucial to its growth strategy. Its established brands include Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Baileys, and Guinness.

All semester long, BIC will be working with Diageo's Jason Chebib and Joyce He on one of its newest brands, The Naked Turtle White Rum, created by Diageo in 2012 and now in limited test markets. It's a rare spirit that has social impact built into its brand identity. According to The Naked Turtle’s website:  “Our journey began in 2012 when a small team hatched up a big idea. We decided to create a rum that could inspire a more colorful way to live and give. Recognizing that goodness starts from within, we made sure our rum was made with love and quality ingredients. But we wanted to spread that love even further by partnering with the Sea Turtle Conservancy to bring our true purpose to life: to save baby sea turtles with every bottle made.”

Diageo is looking to BICsters to help The Naked Turtle stand out from the crowd of alcoholic beverage brands by disrupting the traditional marketing model via drivers that resonate with today’s consumers.  In 2018, our objectives are to step-change awareness of Naked Turtle and increase consumer interaction and access to the product.

Each Spring semester, the BIC Corporate Capstone is led by BIC Professor and Program Director Nancy R. Tag who divides students into separate communications teams to fulfill the brief of a corporate client. Past clients have been Univision, Universal Music Group, and Heineken. HUSA Brand Manager Katherine Preville said of the experience: “Participating in the BIC Capstone was an incredibly rich and memorable experience.  Having an opportunity to review and hear ideas from passionate and driven grad students was refreshing and thought provoking.  The immense effort taken by the students to create diverse, rich, and unique content while trying to stay true to the brief provided was clear and a good way to get a fresh perspective.  It was a great experience and an honor to participate in the program.”