Johnnie Walker

Company: Diageo plc

Brand value: US$2,771 million

Headquarter city: London

Change since 2017: 17%

Industry: Alcohol

Year formed: 1819

Johnnie Walker, with its distinctive square bottle and “striding man” image on the label, has become one of the best-known whisky brands in the world. The Johnnie Walker portfolio has recently expanded beyond the long-standing Red Label and Black Label variants, with new premium options: Double Black, Gold Label Reserve, 18-year-old Platinum Label, and Blue Label. Advertising for many years centred on the “Keep Walking” tagline, which in 2015 was updated to “Joy Will Take You Further”, focusing on the role of joy as the key to personal success. At the time, the “Joy” campaign was said to be Johnnie Walker’s biggest marketing push to date. In the US, the brand called itself Jane Walker to mark International Women’s Day 2018, and said it would launch a limited-edition whisky to attract more women drinkers to the brand, with proceeds going to charities including Monumental Women, which works to honour influential women throughout history. In the UK, Diageo has this year unveiled plans for a Johnnie Walker “liquid library” at the World of Whiskies store at Heathrow airport’s Terminal 5. The installation features drawer displays and an interactive digital experience for shoppers to explore.