Transforming Internal and External Communications for Chivas Brothers
Chivas Brothers, the Scotch whisky business of Pernod Ricard, approached Zen with a pressing challenge. Their communications ecosystem had become fragmented across a range of outdated platforms. These legacy systems made it difficult to share consistent messaging across internal teams, global offices, and public audiences. What they needed was a digital overhaul, one that would consolidate their intranet and extranet environments while maintaining flexibility and control for different types of users.
The goal was not simply to rebuild a website, but to streamline how the brand communicated, informed, and engaged its audiences across the world. From corporate teams to whisky connoisseurs, every user needed access to the right information, at the right time, on the right device.
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To meet the complexity of the brief, Zen designed and delivered a unified platform that served as a central hub for all of Chivas Brothers’ digital communications. The new system was structured to serve three distinct access levels: the public, internal Pernod Ricard employees, and Chivas Brothers staff. This approach allowed content to be surfaced dynamically based on user profiles, delivering a tailored experience while maintaining full control over permissions and visibility.
The platform replaced the former ChivasBrothers.com site and was developed using Umbraco, chosen for its flexibility, scalability, and user-friendly interface. From a technical standpoint, we implemented a secure SAML2 3-stage access single sign-on system, which allowed users to log in once and gain access to all relevant sections of the platform based on their credentials. This ensured seamless integration across Chivas and Pernod Ricard’s internal systems, including their Active Directory, and eliminated the need for repeated logins.
With a mobile-first approach at the heart of development, the platform was optimised primarily for tablet and mobile use. This was essential, as most users, particularly in remote or production environments, would be accessing the content on the go. The interface was designed to be clean and intuitive, ensuring easy navigation and high engagement across all devices.
The platform supported a wide range of content formats, from video and imagery to editorial features and employee-focused updates. Its modular content blocks made publishing new material easy and efficient, empowering Chivas Brothers to manage updates without needing developer support.
In addition to the main Chivas Spirit platform, Zen was invited to support the brand’s Inspirit initiative, a digital campaign aimed at whisky enthusiasts and industry insiders. This branch of the platform was built to deliver rich storytelling, behind-the-scenes access, and deeper engagement with the people and places that define the Chivas portfolio.
We worked closely with Chivas’ internal marketing and social teams to produce ongoing content for Inspirit, including campaign planning, creative strategy, and social asset creation. This helped reinforce Chivas’ position as a modern, premium whisky brand with a strong heritage and a compelling future.
The new Chivas Spirit platform delivered across all fronts. Internally, it provided a stable and scalable solution for employees and partners to access key information, training materials, HR resources, and company updates. Externally, it functioned as a public-facing site that communicated brand identity, values, and culture.
By delivering a multi-access system built on Umbraco, fully integrated with Chivas' wider identity systems, and optimised for mobile-first use, Zen enabled Chivas Brothers to communicate more clearly, operate more efficiently, and better connect with its global network.
The project was delivered on time and on budget. Full training was provided to the Chivas and Pernod Ricard teams to ensure that future updates could be managed in-house with confidence. The platform remains a key part of the brand’s digital estate and has laid the foundation for future campaigns, content expansion, and audience engagement across markets.
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"Can't recommend Alan and his team at The Zen Agency highly enough. Extremely happy with both the look and functionality of our new website, and the associated digital marketing campaign. They have supported me through every step of the process with clear advice and a ‘can-do’ attitude."
Alison Lawson, Marketing Manager - Bell Ingram
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