Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) is planning several mechanics to take advantage of the Christmas period, such as a fully-integrated marketing campaign including new Coca-Cola TV advertising.
CCE is also to re-introduce the sleeved Coke bottle for Christmas. This will be available in pubs and bars from October. Last year one national retailer enjoyed a 14 per cent uplift in sleeved Coke bottle sales over unsleeved during the Christmas period.
Arran Heal, head of marketing for social occasions at CCE, says licensees can succeed over the festive period by taking advantage of CCE's marketing material. "Licensees can drive sales by making the most of our eye-catching seasonal POS and on-pack graphics. The stylish and contemporary sleeved bottle designs have been specifically developed to drive fun and excitement amongst on-trade consumers over the Christmas period."
Baileys
This Christmas, Diageo will be investing £5m in the Baileys brand, with activity to include TV, outdoor and press advertising. There will be a heavyweight event sampling campaign featuring shopping centres and key Christmas events of Baileys on Ice, Baileys Chocolate Cups, Baileys Latte and Baileys served with coffee.
Baileys shopping centre and key events activity will target 219,000 consumers in November and December nationally. The Baileys Lounge, a chilled, lounge-bar area will be established in high footfall shopping centres, including Touchwood (Solihull), The Shires (Leicester) and WestQuay (Southampton). Similar Baileys Lounges will be present at prestigious pre-Christmas events, the Spirit of Christmas Show at Olympia, London in early November and The Good Food Show in Birmingham later that month.
Courvoisier
Beam Brands is investing £2.5m in Courvoisier this Christmas as it looks to cash in on the festive period.
The investment includes heavyweight advertising throughout September and October with a series of ads as part of the 'Earn It' campaign appearing in national newspaper weekend supplements, men's style magazines including GQ, Arena and Esquire and share squares in the broadsheets throughout October, November and December.
And to help licensees maximise the profit potential of the cognac category in the run up to Christmas, Beam Global is investing in two on-trade promotions, one for Courvoisier VS and the other for VSOP.
"The run-up to Christmas is a key time of year for cognac and as the leading supplier in this category we are investing in pubs with the introduction of two new promotions," says Jeanette Edwards, Courvoisier's marketing manager at Beam Global Spirits and Wine.
One is aimed at increasing rate of sale of Courvoisier VS in mainstream pubs and the other at encouraging trade up to VSOP in quality food led outlets. Both will help licensees to maximise revenue from the cognac category."
Courvoisier VS
Beam Global is working with 2,000 free-trade pubs to drive the rate of sale of Courvoisier VS.
The promotion incentivises pub goers to purchase Courvoisier VS with instant win prizes such as hip flasks as well as the opportunity to win travel vouchers with a value of £2,000.
With every purchase of 25ml Courvoisier VS, a scratch card is presented. A panel will reveal if a hip flask has been won which can be collected instantly from the bar. The travel vouchers can be won by filling in name and address details on the card and posting it into a Courvoisier display unit at the bar. A prize draw will determine the winner.
The kits, which include A2 pillar posters, a backbar display unit, table talkers, 200 scratch cards and hipflasks, will go live in outlet at the beginning of October.
Courvoisier VSOP
Beam Global is also working with quality food pubs to help them to maximise profits by encouraging pub-goers to trade up to Courvoisier VSOP. This promotion focuses on the profit opportunity of cognac and dessert matching.
The kits include a back-bar display plinth, a leather and gold embossed 2007 reservations book, 12 balloon glasses and a booklet that will help licensees to devise suitable serving suggestions that match Courvoisier VSOP with rich chocolate desserts.
Smirnoff Red
This November, Smirnoff is launching a £2m promotion to help drive footfall across the UK on-trade. The 'Win the life of a Russian Czar' promotion links the Smirnoff brand with its Russian heritage.
In the promotion, consumers in the UK on-trade will have the opportunity to win prizes such as a party in a palace in Russia and private jet-flights to Monte Carlo with a weekend on a yacht.
Upon purchasing Smirnoff, consumers will receive a Russian egg which they 'crack and win'. Non-winners can collect two Russian eggs and win a t-shirt or fur hat. Fifteen lucky winners will enjoy weekends away to experience the lifestyle of a Russian Czar.
To give consumers a taste of this lifestyle, select UK bars and pubs will host an intrepid duo of travelling Russian performers that will leap, kick and dance their way around the venue. This, coupled with the Russian egg 'crack and win' prize mechanic, will create in-bar theatre and encourage participation for the promotion.
The 'Win the life of a Russian Czar' promotion will be backed by a £2m above-the-line advertising campaign, including television, press and online activity, executed throughout November.
Point-of-sale posters will be provided to participating venues, with Smirnoff also rewarding UK bars and pubs for top quality implementation of the promotion.
Gordon's
Throughout October, November and December, Diageo will be investing £2.5m in the brand led by a new television advertising campaign launching in October. Entitled 'Gordon's. The G in G&T', the campaign reinforces the heritage and distillation process of the brand.
Supporting the television advertising, Gordon's is also undertaking heavy-weight sponsorships and relationship marketing activity. Gordon's is sponsoring Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, and sponsorship of the Turner Prize will continue into its third year.
Pimm's Winter
Activity for Christmas 2006 aims to consolidate the brand within the speciality spirits category and convert a larger portion of the six million Pimm's No. 1 summer fans to Pimm's Winter.
Pimm's Winter is targeting 2,500 new on-trade outlets for winter, providing point of sale materials containing posters and information on the warm serve - one part Pimm's Winter with three parts clear apple juice, gently warmed and garnished with winter fruits. Specially branded cauldrons, to warm the apple juice, and glassware will also be distributed to outlets.
Guinness
Approximately £7m will be spent over the Christmas period on the brand and key activities include:
- - Advertising presence on television and radio in the lead-up to Christmas
- - Christmas relationship marketing, which will include 200,000 Guinness drinkers receiving a direct mail, and 200,000 fans of the black stuff will be targeted via an online interactive Christmas module.
Eliot's
And last but certainly not least, don't forget to stock up on mulled wine this Christmas.
Many of you prefer the homemade variety, but if time is an issue you should look at Eliot's Mulled Wine dispensers. The product comes blended and ready to use - with no preheating necessary.