Whisky Connosr is an exciting new online resource/social network for all things whisky related.

Designed and developed from the ground up by Founder Jean-Luc Thiébaut, this stunningly well made site was for me, one of the most exciting things we saw at IdeaShop.

Whisky Connosr started out as a simple online journal for Jean-Luc to record notes on the various whiskys he has sampled as an amateur connoisseur

Today it has close to 3000 active members and 2000 listed whiskys

Aim:

Jean-Luc clearly had a great foundation to work and some excellent ideas on how to turn the site into a viable revenue stream but he was keen to hear our thoughts on how he could further develop the user base and spread the word of Whisky Connosr to the internet masses.

Ideas:

1. Become *THE* whisky information resource on the web by offering the site as a platform for key bloggers in the industry to have there opinions heard. Analyse the space and engage key bloggers, etc who’s style, opinion, etc fit with the brand you’re trying to create.

2. Setup an Expert Reviewer category for the site to allow these key bloggers some form of notoriety & status within the whisky connosr community. Value exchange is key when trying to engage bloggers. There has to be something in it for them.

3. Create a Whisky Connosr *badge* or *seal* for contributing bloggers that highlights them as a credible source of expert information for visitors to their own blog. This will play to the bloggers ego while simultaneously promoting Whisky Connosr as a professional and credible whisky Institution if you like.

4. Develop fresh, interesting, engaging multimedia content with those Expert Reviewers that will draw new users back to the site in other ways than just simple search;

- weekly podcasts

- video reviews, etc.

Try and grab the attention of newsmedia such as Metro, Evening Standard, Guardian, Sunday Times to try and promote the site. One idea we had was to use the data gathered from the site’s user base to develop quirky (anonymous) statics that will make a good headline.

Once Whisky Connosr reaches a good critical mass of users, engage distillers, retailers, and other trade bodies by attending trade shows, conferences, etc and selling the clear benefits of Whisky Connosr.

Richard O’Brien
Digital Producer
Ogilvy One
twitter.com/richard_obrien

Tags: entrepreneur, Idea Shop Brixton, social media, Whiskey