Pernod Ricard in champagne push
Pernod Ricard is adopting a content marketing strategy for its champagne brands G.H.Mumm and Perrier-Jouët as it looks to step up marketing actvity for its premium brands.
The company is planning to serve branded G.H Mumm content on social media platforms and to mobile devices in a bid to raise the global profile of its only mainstream champagne brand.
It is hoped the campaign will boost demand over the festive period, which the company claims accounts for 40 per cent of its annual champagne sales.
The brand launches its ‘So Champagne’ global initiative later this week and will use an online hub to “educate gentleman” on how to drink champagne in a “modern way.”
Charles-Armand de Belenet, global marketing and communications for G.H Mumm, says: “When we go into emerging markets we’re seeing that there’s a need for tips on how to serve champagne.”
The campaign is running alongside the brand’s ‘Champagne Protocol’ app which launched in February and is being updated with content every six months.
De Belenet says while sales for the brand have been positive, rising 6 per cent for the year to June 2012, the content focus needs to offset further declines in Western Europe by creating long-term revenue streams in emerging markets such as China, Brazil and Nigeria.
Elsewhere, Pernod Ricard is rolling out a special limited edition bottle for its Perrier-Jouët Epoque range and will also be collaborating with young artist and designer Claire Coles on a further limited edition gift pack.
De Belenet says the brand is looking at how can it leverage social media content to become a “truly luxury brand.” He adds that the brand has found it “tricky” to make people feel engaged with the brand online in the past while still maintaining that exclusivity that category has.
“Perrier-Jouët is not a mainstream brand so our objective is not about increasing sales, its about making sure it’s seen in the right places”, says de Belenet.
He adds: “I look at how a luxury brand like Burberry uses content on Facebook and on mobile and I feel that we should be adopting a similar approach with our communications. We can use digital to target influencers who can boost the image of the Perrier-Jouët brand for us.”
