Top 10 marketing campaigns: September

Pol Roger celebrates eventing tie-up

Pol Roger has unveiled new adverts to mark its sponsorship of two highlights of the international three-day equestrian event calendar.

This month sees the Champagne house – aided by its new bespoke Land Rover Defender “Polly” – take a leading presence at both the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials and the Longines FEI European Eventing Championship at Blair Castle 2015.

As part of these tie-ins, Pol Roger has signed top British eventers Harry Meade and Laura Collett as ambassadors. The pair feature in the new advertising campaign, enjoying a glass of Pol Roger in “an exhausted yet satisfied and contemplative state that “typifies the emotions of a rider following the immense physical and mental exertion of a day competing at the top level in three-day eventing.”

Pernod plans Twitter crash course

Pernod Ricard is urging bars and pubs to do more to harness the power of social media, which it believes will be key to success during the 2015 Christmas season.

The drinks group suggested that social media, especially Twitter, will play a role in more than one third of UK drinks purchases this Christmas, while more than one in four consumers have said they are keen to engage with outlets via this medium. Despite this enthusiasm, Pernod claimed that just one in eight on-trade venues was ready to capitalise on this opportunity.

As a result, Pernod has drawn up “Twitter tips for Christmas 2015”, containing advice on how to create a profile, tips to engage followers, and even some suggested tweets to help attract new customers.
Ian Peart, on-trade channel director at Pernod Ricard UK, highlighted the estimated 9.5 million adult users of Twitter in Britain, which he described as “the perfect way for on-trade retailers to instantly reach a large audience and encourage real-time interaction with customers.”

New hashtag-hello from South Africa

Wines of South Africa has been warming up its welcome ahead of this month’s Cape Wine 2015 with the launch of a social media campaign.

#CapeWineConnect features a collection of short video interviews with some of South Africa’s top winemakers, viticulturalists and other wine personalities. The light-hearted tone covers topics ranging from winemakers’ “light bulb moments” to social projects, farming methods, wine opinion pieces and winery dogs.

The campaign comes as WOSA urges its members to step up their own social media activity in the run up to the triennial fair, using the #CapeWineConnect tag to highlight their own stories and successes.
Siobhan Thompson, CEO of WOSA, said: “Our show is a multi-media look at the South African wine industry and the #CapeWineConnect campaign allows visitors to start learning more about our wines before they step onto a plane.”

Tennis ace Murray honoured with Famous Grouse cask

The Famous Grouse is drawing on the reputation of fellow Scot Andy Murray for a new limited edition expression.

The tennis star follows the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – known in Scotland as the Earl and Countess of Strathearn – and Scottish actor Ewan McGregor in seeing his name given to an “exceptional” single cask, chosen by The Famous Grouse master blender Gordon Motion.

Bottles of the whisky are only available from the brand’s visitor experience centre at the Glenturret Distillery, as well as its website.

Stuart Cassells, general manager at The Famous Grouse Experience at Glenturret Distillery outlined Murray’s suitability as the latest addition to this series, saying: “Andy Murray and his family are from just down the road in Dunblane, and his hotel Cromlix is about 20 minutes away.

“He’s a regular visitor to the area because of his family and business connections.”

Majestic teams up with Landrover BAR

Ben Ainslie

Majestic Wine has announced a new deal as official wine supplier to Land Rover BAR (Ben Ainslie Racing), the team hoping to bring the America’s Cup to Britain in 2017.

The three-year partnership will see Majestic supply wine to the team’s hospitality areas during America’s Cup events.

Rowan Gormley, who took over as Majestic Group CEO earlier this year, said: “We’re delighted to be embarking on this journey with Land Rover BAR. We wish Sir Ben Ainslie and his team the very best of luck in bringing the Cup back to Britain. I hope they have a majestic sail and their guests enjoy a glass of Majestic wine!”

Beaujolais targets Republic of Ireland

Inter Beaujolais is to continue its marketing campaign in the UK next year in a move that will also see the organisation target the Republic of Ireland for the first time.

The UK campaign will stick to its original format, with seminars, trade tastings and consumer-facing activities across the country, while the Irish campaign will focus on building trade and press relations with trips, a dinner and seminar.

Inter Beaujolais director Jean Bourjade, said: “We decided to have a dedicated campaign for the ROI following a number of successful years exhibiting at Taste of Dublin. This is a dynamic and vibrant market and we look forward to bringing our wines to the attention of the wider trade and consumers.”

New campaign thanks Jack it’s Friday

Jack Daniel’s has joined forces with over 9,000 UK on-trade outlets this September to encourage consumers to make every Friday at “Jack Friday”.

Inspired by the brand’s longstanding tradition of giving distillery workers a bottle of Jack Daniel’s on the first Friday of every month, the campaign aims to show off the whiskey’s versatility and engage the attention of its millennial target market. The initiative will see 50 Stonegate pubs host live music events, while the iNTERTAIN bar group will organise “Jack Friday” sponsored barbecues.

Crispin Stephens, head of commercial planning & activation at Bacardi Brown-Forman Brands explained: “The opportunity for American whiskeys in the UK has never been stronger and as the category leader, Jack Daniel’s needs to lead by example through innovative and engaging marketing to drive this growth.”

Rugby World Cup beer launched

Wadworth brewery is encouraging its pub customers to “play dirty” with the help of Rugby World Cup-themed point of sale material, competition prizes and a new ale – Dirty Rucker – to help them make the most of the tournament, which kicks off this month.

Wadworth’s trade marketing manager Emma Cottam reported “Dirty Rucker has fantastic pre-orders and we anticipate it will be one of the stand-out ales of the tournament.”

Wadworth is also suggesting themed menu options, such as kangaroo sausages for Australia matches or pie and chips for England games. Cottam explained: “We’ve put together some competition and serving ideas which will help publicans promote the beer and give customers a little competitive edge of their own.”

Supplier asks wine lovers to “taste the bush”

A UK-based wine supplier has channeled “classic British humour” to bring a risqué edge to its first ever advertising campaign.

Premier Estates Wine, which sources products from around the world to appear under its Collection and Discovery labels, is inviting consumers to #TasteTheBush in what it describes as a “provocative”, double entendre advertisement.

Appearing on websites including Fox News and Huffington Post, where it will target people who have recently bought wine online, the campaign features an “attractive brunette” at a party who offers a “sensuous” description of her glass of Shiraz. She ends the tasting note with the words “You can almost taste the bush,” before the camera reveals her “strategically placed” wine glass.
Introducing the campaign, Premier Estates Wine founder Budge Dhariwal said its launch “shows how far we have come” since the company was founded in 2005.

Chin Chin for Champagne Week

National Champagne Week returns next month “bigger than ever before”, say the organisers.
Taking place from 1-7 October across 19 sites in London, Birmingham, Bath and even Blenheim Palace, the initiative is backed by 10 Champagne houses, who will feature at masterclasses, tastings and brunches.

Spearheaded by the Searcys restaurant and catering group, National Champagne Week activities will take place at the firm’s own bars, as well as its managed venues, such as The Gherkin in London, The Pump Room in Bath and Selfridges’ Birmingham store.

Rhian Phillips, head of marketing at Searcys, said: “We can’t wait for what is the becoming the biggest week in the Champagne calendar, bringing together those who want to show their appreciation for the world’s most glamorous drink.”

As Prosecco sales soar, she explained: “Our aim is to emphasise the diversity of Champagne with accessible, approachable and memorable experiences.