Chase Vodka Design strategy case study. Looked into the evolution of the brand, used Ralf Beuker's 'The 5 Design Layers' model to conduct a design audit of the brand and its current packaging. By analysing the physical product using the Layers categories of Aesthetics, Interaction, Perfomance, Construction and Meaning of the layers it was concluded that Chase positioned itself as a luxurious British Vodka without losing its focus of creating a fantastic vodka product.

1. RUPINDER DOSANJH
S11734461
MA Design Management
DESIGN STRATEGY
DES7001
2011

2. MA Design Management / DESIGN STRATEGY MODULE / DES7001 / 2011 1
CONTENTS
THE CONTEXT....................................2
THE BRIEF...........................................3
THE DESIGN STRATEGY.....................4
THE PARTICULARS............................5
DESIGN AUDIT....................................5
SAMPLE..............................................5
DESIGN LAYERS ANALYSIS...............6
THE RESULTS...................................10

3. MA Design Management / DESIGN STRATEGY MODULE / DES7001 / 2011 2
The Context
Chase Vodka is the product of a Small Business that was set up by the Entrepreneur William Chase,
trading under the name of Chase Distillery Limited, which produces various alcoholic products from
their Distillery based in Herefordshire.
The company employs ten people, consisting of five in the office and five
involved with production (Chase 2011). It prides itself on being the only
British produced vodka using potatoes grown in Chase’s Herefordshire
farm (Chase Distillery 2010).
The Spirit and Liqueurs market in the UK was worth approximately
£8.4mil and vodka accounted for 32.4% of the entire market in 2009
(Keynote 2010).
All products are produced at Chase Distillery, Rosemaund Farm using
traditional methods which allow them total control over the whole
process:
“use a unique hand-crafted copper batch pot to
produce our vodka. Although this makes for a
laborious process, it allows us total control of the
vodka making process, from seed to bottle”
(Chase Distillery 2010)
Chase Vodka is branded and promoted as a ‘premium vodka’
and is stocked in Selfridges, Waitrose and Sainsburys. The
Distillery have their own online shop via the website and
control distribution by dealing directly with selected bars,
hotels and wholesalers.
Clockwise, the process used to
create the UK’s only potato vodka.
From collecting the potatoes,
mashing, fermentation, stripping,
rectification, finishing & hand
processed bottling
William Chase, the Entrepreneur
behind the Chase Distillery
Hand-crafted copper batch pots

4. MA Design Management / DESIGN STRATEGY MODULE / DES7001 / 2011 3
THE BRIEF
TARGET AUDIENCE
The brand is targeted at sophisticated, mature
audience who prefers a higher quality of living
and enjoys the fruits of their labour. Most are in
professional careers for a number of years.
Another target
audience are young,
up and coming city
dwellers who prefer
niche underexposed
brands.
Both groups consist of university educated or
entrepreneurs, conscious consumers with an
average income of at least £25,000.
FEATURES
“WHAT IT HAS”
EXPERIENCE
“WHAT YOU’LL FEEL”
BENEFITS
“WHAT IT DOES”
IDENTIFICATION
“WHO YOU ARE”
Marty Neueier
The Brand Gap (2003)
Target Audience Word Clouds. Mosaic UK (2011)
Tyrrells Vodka
After the sale of Tyrrells Potato Chips brand,
Tyrrells Vodka had to be rebranded due to
conflicts with the buyers. But Chase used this as
a way to create a differentiation from his previous
venture (The Telegraph 2010).
A strong brand identity was needed to
communicate the personality instilled into the
product by Chase. A ‘product story’ was created from the processes
used and embedded into the brand strategy to differentiate it from the
competitors.
By explaining the process and purity of the product, the Distillery hoped to
connect with the customers by reinforcing its high quality standards.
It was also a great opportunity to take the Chase brand into a different
direction from where Tyrrells was and to reach a more affluent audience
with more sophisticated tastes.

5. MA Design Management / DESIGN STRATEGY MODULE / DES7001 / 2011 4
THE DESIGN STRATEGY
This case study will be focussing on the company’s need for creating a strong brand strategy.
As Neumeier (2003) asks that ‘three little questions’ need to be answered:
1) Who are you?
2) What do you do?
3) Why does it matter?
Using the above questions as guidance, a set of brand values could be created and thus, instilled
into the product and throughout the company. Brand values are defined as a type of code by which
a brand can live by. The values can act as a benchmark to measure performance and behaviour
(Brandchannel.com 2011).
BRAND VALUES
Borja de Mozota explains brand values as a ‘sedimentation process, which envolves and changes’
(2003).
‘Quality Produce’ (Chase Distillery 2010)
The company is proud to emphasize the raw materials used
to create their vodka is grown and controlled on their own
farm.
‘Provenance and pedigree’ (Chase Distillery 2010)
The product story is embodied by these two characteristics.
It gives the brand an authenticity that conscious, niche
product craving
consumers will buy into.
‘Super Premium’ (BBC 2010)
Chase Vodka is establishing itself as a ‘super premium’
(BBC 2010) vodka. The distillery is placing itself with well-
established competitors such as Belvedere and Grey Goose.
By highlighting Chase Vodka’s production methods, the
company is able to justify charging an average £38 (Selfridges
2011) for their product.
The overall design strategy encompasses Marketing & Branding,
Innovation, Technology, Research and Development and Sales.
image courtesy of emerson•utracik
(Flickr 2011)
Googleimages(2011)
STRATEGY & VISION
EXECUTION
DESIGN
EXECUTES
STRATEGY
INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY
RESEARCH
&
DEVELOPMENT
MARKETING
&
BRANDING
SALES

6. DESIGN AUDIT
By performing a design audit we are able to deconstruct the product and see whether the brand
values have been achieved. We will be using an adapted design layer model, based on Ralf Beuker’s
‘The 5 Design Layers’ (Acton 2011).
SAMPLE
There are many product variations of Chase Vodka. For this study we shall be analysing their Special
Edition Chase Vodka Gift Pack. It consists of a gift bag, gift box, Chase Vodka bottle and finished
with a tag.
THE PARTICULARS
Adapted version of Ralf Beuker’s ‘The 5 Design Layers’
Aesthetic Sensorial layer What the product does to the senses:
looks, smell, touch & sound
Interaction Behavioural layer How the user interactions with the product & what kind of
behaviour it invites
Performance Functional layer What the product does, problem it solves & functionality it
brings
Construction Physical layer How the product is made, construction & technologies used
Meaning Mental layer Meaning & emotions the product conveys

7. MA Design Management / DESIGN STRATEGY MODULE / DES7001 / 2011 6
GIFT BAG
DESIGN LAYERS ANALYSIS
INTERACTION AESTHETIC
MEANING
performance
Gift Bag
Aesthetic Looks like gift bag from a top end shop.
Ribbon detailing & foil block logo emphasizes attention to detail paid to product.
Gives it a touch of luxury.
Interaction Invites user to ‘carry’ the bag rather than holding it in hands.
Performance Acts as a carry case of box & bottle. Solves handling issues - allows user to hold like a shopping
bag. Strong enough to carry weight. Finishes off ‘whole packaging’ process.
When gifted to someone, no need for extra packaging (e.g. wrapping paper).
Construction Matt coated paper construction. Folded & glued.
Meaning Reinforces connotations of a high quality luxurious gift.

8. MA Design Management / DESIGN STRATEGY MODULE / DES7001 / 2011 7
GIFT BOX
DESIGN LAYERS ANALYSIS
Gift Box
Aesthetic Chase Distillery logo & product description foil block printed.
Wrap around graphic print of roots in light grey contrasts against dark grey box.
Union Jack tag made from fabric.
Back of box contains ‘product story’ & signature of William Chase (owner).
Interaction User will feel heavy, good quality & very robust gift box.
Performance Acts as a casing for the bottle placed inside it.
Construction Cardboard. Internal contains foam to hold bottle neck in safe place during transportation.
Meaning Feels special when removing box from bag.
AESTHETIC
AESTHETIC
INTERACTION
performance

9. MA Design Management / DESIGN STRATEGY MODULE / DES7001 / 2011 8
BOTTLE
DESIGN LAYERS ANALYSIS
Bottle
Aesthetic Clear bottle with white wrap around graphics. Elegant.
When touched, user feels the print of graphics. ‘Chase’ logo overprinted onto white roots in black
ink. Union Jack print emphasizes it is a British made product.
Interaction User will be first greeted with sheer weight of product.
Read the short description printed on side & is invited to consume product.
Performance Bottle acts as a elegant casing for product.
Distinct design makes it easier for user to distinguish from other products.
Construction Glass. Plastic casing around bottle neck.
Meaning Transparency & use of white emphasizes it’s a simply made product. Elegance & clarity
AESTHETIC
AESTHETIC
INTERACTION
INTERACTION
MEANING
performance

10. MA Design Management / DESIGN STRATEGY MODULE / DES7001 / 2011 9
TAG
DESIGN LAYERS ANALYSIS
Tag
Aesthetic Tag catches the eye of the user. Touch to bring user’s eye closer.
Read tag for product description.
Interaction Invites user to remove tag from bottle neck or read while still attached to bottle.
Performance Gives a description of ‘product story’. Makes the description available to read if missed by the user
on the gift box & bottle.
Construction Constructed from matt coated 300gsm artboard. Similar to a business card.
Finished with a half fold & black string to house around neck of bottle.
Meaning Nice finishing touch. Attention to detail. Conveys key brand value of ‘provenance & pedigree’
AESTHETIC
INTERACTION
MEANINGperformance

11. MA Design Management / DESIGN STRATEGY MODULE / DES7001 / 2011 10
DESIGN LAYERS CONCLUSION
the results
The designer has managed to manifest the brand
values throughout the packaging. By using tactile
textures, tones of greys, foil blocking, black
and white colours it emphasizes the placement
of where the company wants to position their
brand.
Unlike other brands of vodka (e.g Ciroc made
in France, Absolute created in Sweeden), the
product is 100% British made. When the product
is viewed on the shelf, the packaging makes it a
focal point against the competitors.
Since its name change and brand development, the Distillery has launched a range of ‘vodka-based
fruit liqueurs; raspberry, elderflower, rhubarb and blackcurrant’ (Room 58 2009).
‘Williams Gin’ and ‘Chase Marmalade Vodka’, like Chase Vodka
is created in the Distillery using gluten free potatoes has also
proved to be highly successful in its own right and is a staple in
many high end bars such as The Ivy and The Ritz.
Chase stated in his interview with The Bottom Line that the
Distillery will go into profit after two years (BBC 2010). As the
winner of the prestigious World Spirit Awards 2010, Chase
Distillery intends to build on this success. The company has
expanded into more global markets such as the USA, Brazil,
UAE and China. After a second still is installed, production will
be boosted from 5,000 to 25,000 bottles (Guardian 2011).
Borja de Mozota states that the hidden face of a brand is made up of production, research and
development, innovation, technology and taking
risks (2003). However, the Distillery has reversed
this and effectively used these aspects to build
their brand upon. Throughout their packaging,
print media and online content. On their website,
the process of production is documented along
with a video containing William Chase explaining
production, research and development,
technology and innovation.
People are spending less on mid ranged vodkas, however are willing to pay a premium for a good
product. The vodka industry has been trending towards premiumisation of brands. Major companies
such as Diageo and LVMH are now investing millions on their brand strategies and targeting
consumers who are willing to pay more than £30.
The Chase Vodka rebranding is a great example of a product that has not lost its focal point unlike
other premium vodkas in the same market. The brand has not taken over the product and thus,
remains true to the product, the vodka.