Top drinks marketing campaigns and news in January

Diageo launches Seedlip’s first ad campaign

Drinks giant Diageo has led the fight to keep sales buoyant during January by launching its first advertising campaigns in the UK and US for non-alcoholic ‘spirit’ brand Seedlip. It is the first time that Diageo has set up an ad campaign for Seedlip, after upping its investment in the popular non-alcoholic brand to a ‘significant’ majority stake in August 2019. Developed by Seedlip’s EU marketing director, Ben Thomson, alongside creative agency And Rising, it features the strapline: ‘Drink to the Future’, which sits above a bottle of Seedlip and is framed by the key botanicals that make up the booze-free ‘spirit’.

The campaign, which was launched on 13 January in London and Manchester, appeared in railway and London Underground stations, on buses, billboards and digital, while a separate digital campaign launched in the US based on making the brand applicable to “every” kind of drinker.

Diageo bought a 20% stake in Seedlip in 2016 through its Distill Ventures division, an incubator for emerging drinks brands that provides funding and guidance to help the companies boost their own profits and expand their reach. Emma Wykes, Seedlip COO, said: “We know people are looking for greater range when it comes to non-alcoholic choices, and we hope that with this creative we will inspire both new and existing Seedlip consumers.”

Bordeaux’s ‘first’ wine with augmented reality label unveiled

Saint-Estèphe-based Château Laffitte Carcasset unveiled what it claims is Bordeaux’s first wine with an augmented reality label last month.

Château Laffitte Carcasset’s new wine, called The Corsair, has been released with a label which, when viewed through an app on a smart phone, appears in augmented reality.

The wine, a classic 60% Cabernet Sauvignon 40% Merlot blend, is destined for the export market, and pays tribute to a key figure in the region’s history.

Jean Laffitte was born near Pauillac in 1780, and it is believed that at some point during the 18th century, he left Bordeaux for the Caribbean.

He became a well-known privateer in the US, and is also thought to have established a “pirate hideout” in New Orleans. It was from there he helped the Americans fend off the English during the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.

By coincidence, another Jean Lafitte bought a wine estate in ‘Carcasset’ in 1781, naming the estate after himself and passing it down to his children. Confusingly, the Lafitte family held onto investments in Saint-Domingue, an area in which the first Jean Laffitte was believed to have operated. It is not clear if they were related.

The 35-hectare estate has partnered with the SnapPress app and POSQA, a start-up that supports augmented reality projects, on the initiative.

The producer hopes it bring “young, connected consumers” to the brand, and also to Bordeaux.

Beavertown brews stadium beer for Tottenham Hotspur

London brewery Beavertown and Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur have launched a beer that will be sold exclusively at the team’s stadium, having been brewed in the on-site microbrewery.

The beer, called One Of Our Own, went on pour on 11 January in time for Spurs’ first home game of the year, against Liverpool, who are currently top of the Premier League table. Based on a British IPA, the 4.9% ABV brew was made with only European hops, including Callista, Mandarina Bavaria and Barbe Rouge. Spurs and Beavertown said the beer has been brewed to reflect the preferences of supporters, who have been purchasing Beavertown products at the stadium since it opened in April 2019.

Beavertown announced its partnership with Spurs in May 2018, and revealed that it would install a microbrewery and taproom in the stadium, said to be a Premier League first. The partnership with Spurs sparked rumours of a deal between Beavertown and Heineken, the latter being the official beer partner of Spurs.

Sure enough, in June 2018, the north London brewer sold a minority stake of its business to Heineken for £40 million, in part to fund the development of its major new brewery. Beaverworld, the new brewery, is scheduled to open in March, raising production capacity from nine million pints per year to 90 million.

Champagne Bollinger extends England Rugby deal

Champagne Bollinger and England Rugby have extended their partnership for a further five years, it has been announced.

The new deal marks Bollinger’s 20th year of sponsorship of the organisation, and will coincide with England Rugby’s 150th anniversary next year. The partnership includes match-day advertising and branding rights, and bottles presented to both England men’s and women’s player of the match in the Quilter International and Quilter Cup games.

The house will also be the official Champagne at England Rugby’s home ground, Twickenham stadium, with the Bollinger tent on site pouring the Special Cuvée and Rosé on match days. Simon Massie-Taylor, RFU chief commercial officer, said: “We look forward to raising a glass in 2021 to celebrate our 20-year relationship and to collaborating with Bollinger during our 150th anniversary year.”

Victoria Carfantan, director of Champagne Bollinger UK, said: “We have always been immensely proud of the partnership between Champagne Bollinger and England Rugby, and our deep-rooted shared values. It gives us great pleasure to announce that this partnership has been renewed for the next five years, seeing us through to a quarter of a century celebration. “We hope fans will continue to cheer on the England Rugby team from the Bollinger tent for many more years to come.”

Brewdog and Heineken get behind Dry January

Beer behemouths like Heineken and Brewdog turned Dry January into a sales opportunity with a string of deals and promotions of their low-ABV and alcohol-free beers. According to analysis by EeBria Trade, sales of low and no-alcohol beers have risen by a staggering 381% since 2017.

Brewdog not only offered free refills on its alcohol-free beers throughout its global bar chain, but also opened a bar dedicated to them. Opening in London’s Old Street on 6 January, the Brewdog AF Bar was the first of the company’s global bars to feature a line-up solely devoted to drinks without alcohol, offering 15 taps of draft alcohol-free craft beer.

BrewDog is also expanding its core range of alcohol-free beers with two new additions: Wake Up Call, a coffee stout; and Hazy AF, an alcohol-free take on its existing New England IPA, Hazy Jane, joining Nanny State and Punk AF in its booze-free portfolio.

Heineken rolled out what it called ‘January Dry Packs’. Similar to an advent calendar, it featured 31 cans of its non-alcoholic Heineken 0.0. The beer won a Gold medal in the 2018 edition of The Drinks Business Beer Masters competition. The limited-edition packs were made available in American cities like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, Las Vegas and Washington, DC.

Southern Comfort’s Instagram ads banned by watchdog

Southern Comfort fell foul of the UK’s advertising watchdog after two Instagram adverts were found to portray people under the age of 25 drinking alcohol.

The adverts were posted on the social media site on 29 October by two ‘influencers’.

Both received a complaint, arguing that they breached the UK code for non-broadcast advertising and direct and promotional marketing because they showed someone who seemed to be, or were, under the age of 25. Francesca Perks, a blogger with over 22,000 Instagram followers, posted an ad with two images, one showing her holding a cocktail, the other showing the drink on a table and a bottle of Southern Comfort in the background.

Singer Jack Remmington, who has over 42,000 Instagram followers, also posted two photos, one depicting him with a woman drinking a cocktail, the other showing a cocktail next to a Southern Comfort bottle.

The controversial adverts were part of a UK campaign by Sazerac to promote a ‘Shark Bite’ drink ahead of Halloween on 31 October. Sazerac said that Perks was 22 when the advert was posted. After being alerted by the ASA, Perks was asked to remove the post.

The US-headquartered drinks company also noted that Remmington was 25-years-old when the advert was posted on his Instagram account.

ASA bans ‘anti-hangover drink’ ad

The ASA also banned a health drink company’s advert for containing overblown statements about its ability to cure hangovers.

Bounce Back is a “lightly sparkling tropical flavoured multivitamin, amino acid, mineral and prebiotic drink”, according to information on the brand’s website.

The Glasgow-based company took out an advertisement in The Scotsman on 28 September and 3 October 2019, which included the headline: “Enjoy tonight, live tomorrow – get ready to bounce back”.

Further large text also stated Bounce Back Drinks “launched the UK’s first After-Alcohol Revival Drink.”

“With around 30 million weekly alcohol consumers in the UK relying on sugary drinks and caffeine to try and replenish their bodies after a night out, it’s incredible that it has taken this long to produce a healthy product that positively deals with the after-effects of alcohol,” the main text said.

But it wasn’t long before the UK’s advertising watchdog decided to investigate the brand’s claims.

It is against the ASA’s code to claim that a food could prevent, treat or cure disease. Hangovers also come under this category.

To make matters worse, the brand stated in its advert that its claims were “fully compliant with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) regulations,” something the ASA was concerned implied it was actively endorsing the drink.

Portman Group finds fault with Fourpure’s Juicebox beer

The Portman Group, meanwhile, ruled that in its current form, Fourpure Brewing’s Juicebox citrus IPA, which has been produced since March 2016, holds “particular appeal” to those aged under 18.

Following a complaint by Zenith Global as part of an independent audit of the sixth edition of the Portman Group code, Fourpure’s Juicebox was accused of appealing to children.

Zenith Global argued that the packaging, which includes images of oranges, creates an association with orange juice, an assertion which is further strengthened by the name ‘Juicebox’.

Bermondsey-based Fourpure argued that it had never received any complaints from consumers or regulators since it put its Juicebox IPA on sale in March 2016. It added that no retailers had suggested that the packaging was found to be particularly appealing to under-18s.

The brewer added that it had undertaken a number of decisions in order to differentiate its product from a soft drink.

However, the panel was concerned “that children might see the product in the fridge in their home and think it was a juice drink”, and noted the “Citrus IPA” description was not clear enough to dispel that impression to a child who would be unfamiliar with beer terms.

Francis Ford Coppola to unveil new wines at Oscars

Francis Ford Coppola is using his winery’s partnership with the Academy Awards as a launch platform for two new wines, with a limited edition run presented in gold bottles.

The famous director’s Californian winery agreed a partnership with the Academy in 2017, and a new Reserve Chardonnay and Reserve Pinot Noir will be among the estate’s wines being poured at the 92nd Oscars and Governors Ball in LA this month.

The wines are made with fruit from the Russian River Valley in Sonoma, the Chardonnay hailing from Dutton Ranch Vineyard, and the Pinot from King Vineyard. A limited run of the new releases, including those being poured at the film industry’s big event, are being offered in gold-covered bottles, mimicking the famous statuettes.

In 2017 Coppola signed a three-year deal with the Academy Awards to become its official wine sponsor – a natural fit for a winery owned by an Oscar-winning film director.

A range of different custom blends with commemorative labels were made for the 2017 Oscars by Coppola and winemaker Corey Beck. Located on the former Château Souverain Winery, the estate displays several of Coppola’s Oscars, along with memorabilia from his movies, including Vito Corleone’s desk from The Godfather, and a restored 1948 Tucker Sedan that was used in Tucker: The Man and His Dream.

Provence wine trade body doubles export marketing budget

The Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins de Provence (CIVP) is doubling its overseas marketing budget for 2020 and launching a new trade show to drum up more sales of the region’s pale pink rosé wines

Air Provence, an immersive trade event promoting the regional identity of Provence’s largest appellation, Côtes de Provence, will take place on 6 and 7 April in Provence itself. Organisers expect to attract some 200 producers across the region, giving pink plonk enthusiasts a chance to meet the growers attend masterclasses and head on vineyard tours.

In addition, Vins de Provence is launching a dedicated training programme to educate members of the trade on the “diversity of Vins de Provence’s Rosé wines”.

Hosted by Nina Cerullo, the sessions will focus on an in-depth tasting of wines from Vins de Provence’s three main appellations: Côtes de Provence, Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence and Coteaux Varois en Provence.

Vins de Provence will return as a headline sponsor at London Wine Week from 18 to 24 May at Flat Iron Square near Borough Market, and a Vins de Provence bar will also be popping up at Foodies Festival Brighton from 8-10 May on Brighton Hove Lawns.

Global drinks brands toe the line for underage drinking

Drinks groups from Beam Suntory to AB InBev will add age restriction labels to beer, wine and spirits in an effort to curb underage drinking.

Symbols or written age restrictions will be added to labels on alcoholic drinks produced by 12 of the world’s leading drinks companies as part of their membership of the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD).

IARD’s members include Anheuser-Busch InBev, Asahi, Bacardi, Beam Suntory; Brown- Forman, Carlsberg; Diageo, Heineken, Kirin Holdings, Molson Coors, Pernod Ricard, and William Grant and Sons.

The labels will be displayed on all products worldwide by 2024, according to a statement from the group.

The IARD also pledges to never market alcohol-free extensions of alcohol brands to minors, implement “rigorous online safeguards” to prevent minors from seeing or interacting with brands online, work with retailers to improve age verification policies in-store, and put pressure on online retailers, postal services, and delivery companies to join us in “developing global standards for the online sale and delivery of alcohol.”

Cava DO reaches ‘historic’ agreement over prestige wines

Javier Pagés, president of the Cava DO

The Cava DO unanimously approved a “momentous and unprecedented” plan to strengthen the position of the Spanish sparkling wine in its export markets at the start of January.

The final stage of agreement will be detailed once the specifications have been approved, which will include better differentiation between the Cava styles and a territorial classification system.

The agreement seeks to establish a newfound appreciation of the Cava region’s grape-growing territories, reinforcing the quality of Cava with stringent new regulations.

It also seeks to offer the consumer clearer criteria to inform their decision-making. A geographic zoning system has been created to help the consumer navigate the Cava category more easily.