Top marketing campaigns and news: March

Bacardi launches #RaiseYourSpirits

Marketing strategies took a very strange turn last month as spirits groups, brewers and wineries scrambled to help people suffering as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, whether than meant making hand sanitiser and disinfectant, or lending their support to bartenders currently out of work and in need of essentials.

One of the most active spirits companies has been Bacardi, which launched a new campaign called #RaiseYourSpirits, aimed at supporting bars and restaurants affected by coronavirus.

The spirits giant pledged US$3 million in financial aid and other support to help people in the bartending and restaurant community.

Bacardi has also partnered with Deliveroo Editions to enable UK and Ireland bars to deliver cocktails during the covid-19 crisis, offering a further £1.5 million (US$1.8 million) to the on-trade in Western Europe. More than 120 bars in London and Manchester in the UK will be able to offer cocktails via delivery from 16 April.

Diageo puts brand ambassadors to work on social

Diageo has pledged £1 million to support the bartending community in Britain.

In addition, anyone working in the drinks trade will be given the opportunity to attend a complimentary Diageo Bar Academy Training Course, consisting of virtual training and online learning.

The brand ambassadors for Diageo’s premium spirits brands have taken over the World Class GB and Diageo Bar Academy social media pages. Brand Ambassadors include Ali Reynolds of Johnnie Walker, Christie Knight of Villa Ascenti gin, Adam McGurk of Belsazar vermouth and Kate Jackson of Ketel One vodka.

Each day, a Diageo Reserve Brand Ambassador will host three short videos, showcasing cocktail recipes using items they have available in the home, and focusing on developing skills and techniques such as creating homemade syrups, cordials and more.

Sazerac launches tip jar for bartenders

Sazerac’s Fireball Whisky has also created the ‘world’s biggest tip jar’ to support industry professionals. It donated an initial US$100,000 and will match all contributions, donated via a GoFundMe page, up to US$400,000. All money will be given to the USBG Bartender Emergency Assistance Program.

Molson Coors repositions its ad campaign

Molson Coors has pulled a recently-launched ad campaign for its beer brand Miller Lite encouraging gatherings after it was branded “tone deaf” by US citizens in isolation.

Miller Lite’s advert launched in January this year, but was pulled out of rotation after Americans who have been told to stay at home amid the coronavirus outbreak called it “jarring.”

Called “Hahaha”, the ad was created with DDB as part of its Original Social Media Campaign. The video opens with a man talking to his friends on social media, before cutting to the same man having significantly more fun with his friends in real life.

It has since been replaced with a new initiative, the Virtual Tip Jar, encouraging people to donate to its own fundraiser for bartenders unable to find work while lockdown measures are in place.

The new ad reads: “Taps are off. But tips are needed. Click to donate to the millions out of work. We’ll start with $1,000,000.”

Twitter musing leads to rescue campaign for English wine

As for wine, a tweet by the CEO and winemaker of English winery Black Chalk, Jacob Leadley, has inspired an industry wide movement encouraging customers to buy direct from producers to support the industry during Covid-19.

Dubbed #theBIGEnglishwinegoodfriday, the virtual event will, as the name suggests, be held on Good Friday (10 April) at 7pm across social media platforms.

The campaign was inspired by a tweet by Leadley on 27 March reading: “If every person in the UK that loves English or Welsh wine bought a bottle direct from their favourite producer I think we might secure an entire industry and their workforce on one very enjoyable evening.”

Berkmann backs on-trade with new business model

UK agent Berkmann Wine Cellars is now giving 12.5% of revenues from its direct to consumer wine orders to two charities supporting the hospitality industry during the UK’s coronavirus lockdown.

The online platform, called Help 4 Hospitality, gives consumers access to an exclusive range of wine. The initiative enables Berkmann to sell wine direct to consumers during a time of restricted supply, while also supporting hospitality businesses that have been forced to close to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Alex Hunt MW, Berkmann’s Purchasing Director, said the agent has “crafted a really exciting, eclectic range of wines” to drive the campaign

“From high quality favourites like Prosecco, Pinot Grigio and Malbec to some rarities from our Fine Wine cellar we are covering a multitude of occasions, and with the wines spanning fifteen countries of origin, a broad mix of styles too. There are also three pre-selected mixed cases, allowing people to sample Berkmann’s portfolio at an especially attractive price.”The Help 4 Hospitality shop can be found here.

Bibendum launches app for pubs and bars

Meanwhile, on-trade supplier Matthew Clark has launched a new app that will allow pubs, restaurants and bars to operate delivery order and click and collect without any up-front costs.

The new Local app can be set up simply, requiring a Stripe Connect account along with a logo, menu, and contact details, it said, while customers can order through the restaurant’s website and find local delivery using a postcode search.

Drinks marketing guru warns against alcohol promotions

Drunk young adult male holding glass of alcohol, studio shot.

Although it is tempting to offer the public incentives to buy wine, beer and spirits to enjoy at home while bars are shut, Tom Harvey, client director at drinks marketing agency YesMore, has advised brands not to exploit people’s higher than normal levels of anxiety to sell booze.

In a blog post on the agency’s website last month, Harvey said: “This isn’t just about those people with a known drinking problem. We’re all isolated now; drinking to get through it and often drinking alone. This isn’t a good combination. This isn’t a time to be putting any extra strain on our bodies, or on the NHS.”

Harvey published a list of guidelines he believes will help brands to navigate the murky waters of coronavirus drinks advertising.

The marketing boss said retailers should be mindful of their messaging (i.e., steering clear of slogans such as “gin and bear it”), encourage customers to set their own limits, and encourage “off-days” from drinking.

Harvey also said retailers who are “brave enough” could, enforce a rule to “only sell alcohol alongside food during this time in an effort to look after your customers health.”

Pol Roger dishes Churchill’s drinking habits

In non-coronavirus news, Pol Roger used last month’s launch of its cuvée Sir Winston Churchill to share a few facts about the British statesman – including his daily consumption of Champagne.

Using an art gallery in London’s Hanover Square to unveil the new cuvée, which hails from the 2009 harvest, Simpson commented that it was an apt location because the former British prime minister was a prolific painter.

But the famous figure is best known for his huge consumption of drink, and almost ceaseless puffing on cigars, with Simpson initially telling attendees at the event on Tuesday evening that Churchill smoked over 250,000 of them.

As for his Champagne consumption, Simpson said that the Champagne house estimates that Churchill drank 42,000 bottles of Pol Roger in his lifetime – which he said, in comparison to his cigar habit, “seems almost tame”.

This total equates to roughly 2 bottles / pints (a measure formerly used for Champagne bottles destined for the UK) a day from 1908 – which was the date of the first invoice – until his death in 1965.

Conor McGregor’s whiskey label backs first responders

Mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor’s Irish whiskey brand, Proper No. Twelve, is set to donate US$1.3 million to first responder charities around the world.

McGregor created the Irish whiskey brand with business partners Audie Attar and Ken Austin in 2018. Since then over 200,000 cases of the whiskey have been sold in the US.

McGregor donates US$5 from every case of Proper No. Twelve sold to first responder charities around the globe.

He is due to donate $1 million to the New York-based Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which will go towards paying off the mortgages for families of firefighters across the US who were killed doing their job and left behind young families.

Additional donations will be made throughout April for first responder firms in Ireland, Canada, the UK, Australia, Russia, Poland and South Africa set to benefit from McGregor’s charity donations.