Challenge traditional notions of success and show young men and women that it is possible to win the right way. Championing a new, more generous way to succeed – using social enterprise as our proof point.

We created The Venture, a $1M prize fund for aspiring social entrepreneurs the world over and issued a rallying cry to those who shared our values. Using eloquent spokesmen to front the campaign we invited our audience to be part of a movement that was redefining what it means to be successful. With a series of local competitions across 16 countries followed by a global grand finale, The Venture was not only an opportunity to start a provocative and culturally-relevant conversation but to literally put our money where our mouth is.

With The Venture competition at the centre, we implemented the campaign in 3 phases. First, we sought to inspire young whisky drinkers with provocative films featuring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Oscar Isaac and Liao Fan. We set out our belief by challenging traditional notions of success and inviting them to join The Venture. We also told the stories of successful social entrepreneurs the world over with 2 minute documentaries. Each of the 16 participating markets launched their competition, many with high profile media partners (Veja in Brazil, FastCompany in the US). We supported social entrepreneurs in making their dreams a reality, amplifying their stories in social media and using Indiegogo as a crowdfunding platform. After a series of local finals, the competition culminated in a week of intense training for the 16 winners plus a grand finale in San Francisco in July (the campaign having launched the previous October).

The Venture was activated in 16 countries worldwide in year 1. We received 1140 entries, 90,000 votes and raised £150,000 additional investment on indiegogo from those who believed in the finalists. The campaign films achieved over 160M views – 50% over target with a 30% reduction in cost per view.

On a market by market basis, we saw increases in relevance, contemporaneity and “standing for something important” across our audience. In Brazil alone, relevance increased from 9% to 58% vs. previous year, contemporaneity increased from 12% to 50% and “standing for something important” by 55% – evidence that we are connecting with our young whisky-drinking target.

The Venture received endorsement from the social enterprise and wider business communities as well as the British government. It has become a new brand platform and property for Chivas - expanding to 27 participating markets in year 2.