Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/104187
Pendleton is featuring this belt buckle necker, accenting its rodeo sponsorship. we launch it and when we launch it that it's primed for success," he says. All in the Package W hile Crown Royal has its signature velvet bag with its colors changing depending on the product (royal blue for Extra Rare, brown for Maple Finished), Pendleton Whisky, out of the Pacific Northwest, pays homage to its cowboy culture. It sponsors the Pendleton Round-Up, a prestigious rodeo, and each bottle highlights the rodeo's bucking bronco symbol and Let'er Buck slogan. The brand's bottle sizes are named after horses from The Colt, at 50ml, to The Stallion, at 1.75 liters. In 2012, Pendleton went one step further, introducing packaging that included a custom 2012 belt buckle. The collectible, limited edition belt buckle was designed by Montana Silversmith and available on select 1.75 liter bottles. Collingwood's packaging also gets it noticed—it's unique shape stands out on the shelf. "When you look at the Collingwood package design, it stands apart from average whisky brands, and presents a very contemporary look that appeal to a younger more modern consumer," Berrueco explains. It might also help that Collingwood bottles can be personalized with self-adhesive labels available through Collingwoodwhisky.com. Regardless of the occasion, Sazerac's single barrel Canadian whisky, Caribou Crossing, is available for purchase in an elegant gift box. Each 750 ml bottle, retailing for $49.99, is placed in a royal blue bag, then nestled into the gift box, ready to go straight from store to recipient. But perhaps the biggest news of the year comes from Canadian Club. "Canadian Club is in the first year of a complete brand restage with new packaging, innovation, and a new ad campaign," Gorman says. "We have new packaging on all of the marquees that have premiumized our look and feel and do the liquid inside justice." The Digital Age I t's the 21st century and no longer is it enough to support product launches with advertising, public relations and point-of-sale materials. New releases also have strong digital strategies. Crown Royal connects with its audience through Facebook and Twitter. "We're primarily engaged with our consumers through our Society of the Crown website and fanbase as well as Facebook, which currently has over 1.1 million 'likes,'" Briese says. The brand also encourages engagement through Facebook applications like "Create Your Own Bag" where consumers can personalize a Crown Royal bag with a custom message. Brown-Forman uses social media to spread its "Lighten Up" message, the Canadian Mist campaign developed to communicate the brand's benefits and attributes, especially taste. "By design [it] educates the consumers on the benefits Canadian Mist offers with a light clean whisky taste," Berrueco says. Before 2012 ended, Beam Inc. announced a new digital media campaign for Canadian Club called "Join the Club." The campaign includes a character spokesman for the brand called the "Canadian Club chairman," and video segments on Facebook and other digital formats that talk brand history and "Whisky Whisdoms," which are aimed to attract men to the category. The campaign will run on digital formats from Among the growing number of superpremium Canadian whisky offerings are Sazerac's Caribou Crossing and Royal Canadian Small Batch whisky. January through July, and then it will continue on Facebook and at retail until the end of 2013. "On both Facebook and Twitter, we can interact with our consumers not only sharing what we know about our great whiskies but learning great new recipes from our consumers on new ways to enjoy our fantastic liquids," Gorman says. Black Velvet turns to social media to interact with its audience. "We are using social media to engage with our core consumers by providing a forum for fans to connect with each other and express a mutual admiration for an iconic brand," Vinci says. "I wouldn't say it is a way to attract new consumers; rather it is a way for Black Velvet fans to connect with each other and celebrate the brand." I Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • January/February 2013 • 39