Woodford Reserve

Brown-Forman’s Woodford Reserve is the #1 super premium bourbon in the world and one of the most dynamic spirits of any kind, having grown by double digits every year for 20 consecutive years. Woodford is a quality, authentic product, receives constant favorable media attention and is managed by a skilled brand marketing team. But that team is extremely busy, and when it came to finding a new agency partner, the search frequently fell to the bottom of their to do list.

Sheepdog was brought in because of our knowledge of the U.S. agency landscape and new business process. We developed the brief and criteria, identified and vetted a long list of a dozen contenders, and managed a two-stage process that was user friendly to both the agencies and the client. Along the way we made a point to be highly accessible to the agencies. We wanted the process to be transparent, timely and fair.

In the end, four agencies made final presentations at Brown-Forman’s offices in Louisville, and a clear winner was selected. Unlike pitch consultants who are all about process over content, Sheepdog stayed centrally involved in evaluating the agencies’ thinking, team, creative work and fit, and also managed scope and fee proposals and reference checks on the chosen agency.

In today’s hyper specialized marketing environment, the ideal agency partners are as elusive as they are important to find. For Woodford, Sheepdog was able to facilitate a professional search that sets the brand up for a promising long-term partnership.