The brief.
When a rival distillery issued a press release claiming it was Orkney’s first in 138 years, Kimbland Distillery knew the story was wrong – and potentially damaging. With equity funding underway, timing could not have been worse. Kimbland turned to Strand to set the record straight without fuelling a feud.
The strategy.
Simply pointing out the error wasn’t enough. We needed to give publications a fresh angle so they could cover Kimbland without losing face. After talking with founder Sebastian Hadfield-Hyde, we shaped the narrative around a “whisky wars” theme – a lively but respectful story that highlighted Kimbland’s true heritage while avoiding negative commentary on the rival. Our release was pitched to every outlet that had run the original story, plus additional trade and regional titles.
The point.
Most outlets that ran the rival’s claim picked up Kimbland’s story, several amended their original coverage and one commissioned a feature interview with Sebastian. The campaign reached more than a quarter of a million readers, boosted Kimbland’s profile at a critical time and supported its investment campaign.
Testimonial.
“Laura and Julie at Strand came up with a way of framing our response that gave the publications a new story and gave us the recognition we deserved. Their help was invaluable and turned a negative into a positive.”
Sebastian Hadfield-Hyde, Co-founder and Managing Director
