Diageo opens new collab centre to unveil trends of the future

Diageo has opened up a collaboration centre that will serve as a destination to uncover the latest industry trends, category insights and emerging technologies. The centre, located in the US, is designed to help Diageo’s customers, distributors and agency partners unlock new opportunities and address the challenges of future-proofing the beverage alcohol space, keeping pace with new consumption occasions and a rapidly evolving consumer landscape.

Embracing Diageo’s suite of data tools and predictive analytics, the centre’s primary focus is to bring to life insights for members of Diageo’s network which will allow them to uncover opportunities and responses to strategic challenges. Visitors to the centre will leave with a heightened understanding of the trends currently shaping beverage alcohol purchase and consumption, which they can then apply to their strategic plans in order to unleash new levels of momentum for their business, and the category.

“We are focused on being consumer-centric and leading the industry in insight generation and leveraging data,” said Claudia Schubert, president US Spirits and Canada. “We’ve doubled down on our collaboration agenda with this state-of-the-art experience right here in North America. The Diageo collaboration centre will be a gamechanger, transforming the way we share insights, collaborate and generate new opportunities with our customers, distributors and agency partners.”

The centre complements Diageo’s existing global experience centre located in London, and is strategically positioned adjacent to Diageo’s North America Innovation Lab, offering visitors additional collaborative opportunities with innovation lab team members, and rounding out a campus focused on forward-looking development.

Guests of the centre will participate in an individualised educational experience that spans two zones: “See It” which utilises immersive technology to share trends and insights around the disruptive forces shaping society, and “Live It” which provides simulated examples from various purchasing occasions and consumer touchpoints, such as the home, bar and store.

Over the course of a day, guided by Diageo’s team of beverage alcohol experts, visitors will journey through eight unique rooms. Blending the analogue with the digital, state of the art facilitation technologies and methods will enable attendees to see and live the future, taking a first step toward responding to the transformational wave of change on the beverage alcohol industry’s horizon.

“We set out to create a different type of meeting experience, where people could come together in partnership to think freely, innovate, brainstorm and feel unrestricted to take risks and come up with incredible new ideas,” said Steve Wallet, VP, category, shopper and eCommerce. “The collaboration centre is all about understanding the consumer and the shopper, as well as recognising what the true needs of our customers, distributors and agency partners are and how, through their experience at the centre, they will be able to advance their businesses in exciting new ways.”

Visitors to the centre will interact with, and learn firsthand from, live resident mixologists about emerging trends in the on-premise that will imminently manifest in the off-premise. The centre also offers the option to take the physical virtual with virtual reality technology, making the experience accessible to those unable to visit in-person, and for post-visit follow up meetings.

The Diageo collaboration centre was developed in line with Diageo’s Society 2030 targets, the company’s 10-year action plan to help create a more inclusive, responsible and sustainable world.

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