Hot-Shots

The UK’s most influential spirits players mixed it up at the drinks business / Moët Hennessey / Reformed Spirits Company forum, Robyn Lewis reports

Ever found yourself asking what the future prospects for premium and super-premium spirits brands are? Or what is the role of education in developing premium spirits in the UK? Perhaps how to develop interest in aged premium spirits has crossed your mind of an afternoon in the office? What about the subject of how advertising can help build a brand? If so, you are not alone. Moreover, some 60 industry delegates joined the drinks business, Moët Hennessy and The Reformed Spirits Company on February 22 this year to discuss these very dilemmas.

The brainchild of Moët Hennessy and The Reformed Spirits Company, who then approached us at db with the idea, the day of seminars was a roaring success. Held in the suitably “premium” surroundings of the ballroom at Moët Hennessy UK’s head office in Grosvenor Crescent, it was, as Charlotte Hey, editorial director and publisher of the drinks business said in her opening speech, “an event that all of us involved truly believe to be the first of its kind in the UK”. She explained, “Each seminar has been designed to give you insight into the challenges facing the sector and will provide a unique opportunity to debate and discuss vital issues with your peers and colleagues from across the industry.”

Journalist and vodka aficionado Ian Wisniewski, hosted all four seminars, guiding the four panellists in each session and the audience through a day of hot debate. First up, in the seminar entitled, The Future Prospects for Premium and Super-Premium Spirits Brands, was David Meyers, managing director, Moët Hennessy UK; Roger Harrison, marketing director, Pernod Ricard UK; Alex Maule, director of premium research at Synnovate; and David Bromige, creative director, The Reformed Spirits Company. It was this seminar perhaps more than any other (and despite being the very first discussion of the day) that had the audience debating the long and short-term future of the brands they have created and nurtured – and some of the subjects raised were still being thrashed out over lunch.

Before lunch, however, it was “What is the role of education in developing premium spirits brands in the UK?” And the turn of Giles Fisher, spirits buyer for Waitrose; Mark Ridgewell, owner of education specialists Taste & Flavour; Alistair Viner, buyer for that venerable British shopping institution, Harrods; and Alex Kammerling, drinks and bar consultant formally of IPBartenders. The main debate in this seminar involved the difficulties in addressing the dilemma of how to educate consumers in the UK on- and off-trades? How to inspire them and provide them with the information for which they are asking in a way they can easily digest.

For the post-lunch session the panel consisted of David Paskins, of the Gorgeous Group; Jamie Forbes, bar manager at Scottish bar The Albanach;  Simon Weston, director of the Bamboo mixology agency; and Craig Harper, drinks consultant, who were discussing “How to develop interest in aged and premium spirits”. What became clear is that there is a definite consumer move to aged and brown spirits and that, encouragingly, our panellists reported, they are keen to learn and hungry for knowledge. And this is a subject that brought us neatly to our final session of the day, “How advertising campaigns can help build a brand: education versus emotion”.

This panel included Claudia Brendel, senior research manager, Freshminds; Alistair Bryan, director, AIS; Darius Sanai, head of contract publishing, Condé Nast; and Alex Field, PR manager for Belvedere and Hennessy at MHUK. The sectors of perfume, interior design, shoes and jewellery were touted here as inspiration for growing brands, and the drinks industry was encouraged to look to newer forms of media – viral, e-marketing, pod-casting and so on. Alex Field, meanwhile, concentrated on PR, arguing that whichever way your ad campaign goes it will be ineffective without good PR support.

Also included in the day was a surprise Q&A with GQ editor Dylan Jones, which gave the audience a unique opportunity to quiz the man who very much sets the fashions and agenda for a good chunk of their target audience. The event ended with cocktails and canapés for all the delegates and a chance to network and discuss the issues the day had thrown up.

There will be more comprehensive coverage of this event in the drinks business spirits report 06, which will be out this spring. db  April 2006