'We’re still mid-flight on Buchanan's World Cup campaign, but the initial results are very encouraging' - Diageo's whiskey portfolio global brand director, Neil Shah, speaks to Global Drinks Intel

In May last year, Diageo signed a sponsorship arrangement with FIFA to be the ‘official spirits supporter of the FIFA World Cup 2026’. With the tournament finally kicking off today (11 June), Global Drinks Intel caught up with the group’s whiskey portfolio global brand director, Neil Shah (below), to learn more about how the tie-up is being leveraged for, among four others (Casamigos, Don Julio, Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff), Diageo’s Buchanan’s blended scotch whisky.

What’s your background, and where do your current responsibilities lie?

I’ve been with Diageo for ten years, during which I’ve worked in a number of different categories and business units. I started in RTDs in Europe before moving to New York to become the global marketing director for Smirnoff. Then, I moved to the UK, where I was the lead on Guinness in its biggest market.

Today, I’m based in Amsterdam, where I’m the global brand director for our whisk(e)y portfolio business. I oversee a number of our brands globally, including Buchanan’s.

You moved from Guinness to whisk(e)y? Is that not a tad masochistic, with Guinness performing so well while spirits generally is not at its best?

As the number one diversified player in this space, our whisk(e)y business has real momentum. The opportunity to continue to accelerate the recruitment of new consumers around the world is the same for both brands. For me, then, it’s quite a consistent opportunity.

You’re busy with Buchanan’s at the moment, with the blended scotch being one of the headline brands of Diageo’s FIFA World Cup sponsorship arrangement.

Buchanan’s today is one of the top ten scotch whiskies in the world by value. This is a brand with 140 years of heritage and very deep roots in the Americas, particularly among Hispanic and Latino consumers in the region. That’s down to its taste profile, which was created by its founder, James Buchanan, to suit more international palates – it’s lighter flavoured, less peaty and a bit sweeter than other scotch whiskies.

Buchanan’s is a heritage brand, and one of the most important aspects when continuing to build a heritage brand is to find the right balance of what’s made the brand distinctive over time, while also making it culturally relevant to LPA (legal purchasing age)-to-34-year-old consumers.

We conducted some insight work recently and noticed that the definition of ‘family’ was being rewritten by these younger consumers, who feel that they can belong to many diverse and sometimes new families – their ‘chosen familias’ – with the same emotional connection as traditional families. We’ve capitalised on this research with our ‘Estamos en Familia‘ [marketing] platform, which is in its third year.

Soccer is probably the ultimate ‘chosen familias’ moment. It’s also the number one passion point for Latino and Hispanic consumers. The dream for Buchanan’s, then, has been to partner with the FIFA World Cup, especially as it’s taking place this year in the brand’s backyard.

How hard did you have to fight internally to get Buchanan’s a berth for this year’s tournament?

This is the first time a spirits company has partnered with FIFA, so it’s a really important opportunity for Diageo that offers unprecedented scale. As a result, we’re looking to activate a range of brands across the portfolio. Buchanan’s is a match made in heaven for a soccer tournament taking place in North America.

How will consumers see the brand show up during the World Cup?

This is the first time in over a decade that Buchanan’s will be releasing a campaign across the Americas under one platform. We’ve created three spots in collaboration with Puerto Rican musician Rauw Alejandro (above) that spotlight the pride and passion that Latino and Hispanic fans bring to football.

On the ground, the brand will be present in fan zones across the 16 host cities. We’re also launching four limited-edition packs (main image) in partnership with [lifestyle brand] Kids of Immigrants, who are a cultural partner that we’ve collaborated with for a number of years.

Is the priority to grow Buchanan’s in its established markets or to introduce the brand to new ones?

Diageo is a portfolio business with a range of different brands – particularly in whisk(e)y – that suits all manner of consumers, occasions and markets. Our partnership with the FIFA World Cup this year is within the Americas, so for now, we’ll very much be focusing on bringing Buchanan’s to life during the FIFA World Cup with Latino and Hispanic consumers in the Americas.

Is it important for the brand that a particular team goes deep into the tournament, and perhaps even makes it to the final?

We exist for Latin and Hispanic consumers across the Americas, a region that’s represented by many teams in the World Cup. We want to spotlight what fans feel when watching the game rather than any particular team. We’re not going to be picking sides.

Personally, I have a team in the Americas that I’d like to see win, but that would be off the record!

How is Buchanan’s performing currently?

Buchanan’s is the second-largest scotch whisky brand across the Americas. Between 2020 and 2024, according to IWSR, the brand grew by more than 50% in value terms. In our H1 results (to the end of December), scotch saw a return to growth with Buchanan’s being a key driver of this, with its organic net sales up 13%.

Our top markets are the US, Mexico and Colombia. The brand exists all over Latin America, including Central America and the Caribbean as well.

How is the current trading environment in the US for Buchanan’s amongst its established consumer base?

The main thing to say here is that we’re very excited about the momentum we’ve generated for the brand with its ‘Estamos en Familia‘ platform. We have a lot of conviction behind how we’re going to take that to the next level as we partner with the FIFA World Cup in service of creating vibrant experiences for Latino and Hispanic fans.

Where is Buchanan’s positioned internally on the consumer premiumisation scale for Diageo?

At its core, Buchanan’s is a premium, 12-year-old scotch whisky. We have offerings further up the price ladder, including Special Reserve 18-year-old and Green Seal, which we launched more recently in North America and targets nighttime occasions.

We are a premium brand.

The brand sounds well-placed for the group’s strategy on price going forward.

Even outside of Diageo, the important thing is to create category entry points that meet consumers and their changing needs. Currently, we have a very strong portfolio on the brand that allows us to do that. We’ll continue to look to do that in the future, to make sure that we’re relevant to how culture and consumption habits evolve.

The latest change in consumption habits appears to be all about RTDs.

Today, Buchanan doesn’t have an RTD. We’re continuing to scan consumer habits and behaviour, so watch this space!

Is the absence of an RTD extension by design?

The way we look at opportunities such as RTDs is to look at where consumer behaviour is, how the brand can effectively meet those consumption needs and where we want to take the brand in the future.

Up to now, we’re very confident in the portfolio that we offer consumers, but we’re continually looking at opportunities to meet consumers at different occasions and moments.

What’s your definition of success for this campaign?

We have a performance culture around measuring and evaluating as we go, to make sure we’re maximising the impact of our investment. We’re still mid-flight on the World Cup campaign, but the initial results are very encouraging. We’re really excited about how we will continue to have impact as we continue to deploy the campaign.

Success will be to continue to grow the brand-love around the brand, but also creating opportunities, occasions and experiences for LPA-plus consumers to enjoy our signature serve, the Bucanita (above), during, pre- and post-World Cup celebrations.