Leo Burnett toasts small business with branded cider

by Marketing ON 15 April 2013

The Sydney arm of global creative agency Leo Burnett is leaning on its heritage to lead a marketing campaign that, interestingly, aims to reward small business, if not target them. ‘Help from Leo’ commends start-ups who have pushed through tough economic times to establish brands, reminiscent of the agency’s depression-era origins.

Designed to give one new Australian business the opportunity to win up to $100,000 in creative and strategic advice from Leo Burnett, the competition features a ‘specially-brewed’ cider as its hook.

Leo's Cider - Bottle Image_LR “By creating, designing, marketing and distributing our own product, we have a much deeper understanding of our client’s businesses and the challenges they face,” says Andy DiLallo, chief creative officer.

Todd Sampson, CEO of Leo Burnett Australia, explains the campaign is simply a case of giving a leg-up to the up-and-comers and rewarding them for effort.

It has little to do with establishing a new market among start-up businesses, Sampson says: “No, we are not specifically looking to focus on start-ups but for this idea we are.”

“If we can help, even in a small way, someone realise their dream – well that’s a good thing to be a part of.”

Further, DiLallo and Sampson are both eager to gain insight, and perhaps inspiration, from emerging creative potential in the marktetplace.

“It may also give us the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of some of Australia’s newest and most interesting start-up ventures,” says DiLallo.

With the campaign engineered by a melding of history and progression, Leo Burnett pays respect to its 1935 Great Depression origins surrounding the allegory of the common apple, which its founder placed at the front desk as a defiant symbol of hope.

“We wanted to do something that highlighted our entrepreneurial heritage and to give back to those willing to put themselves out there and have a go,” says Sampson.

The ‘Help from Leo’ promotion is open now and entries close 3 May 2013. Entry requirements for the competition include a short written statement of up to 250 words describing the business’ vision, or a video lasting up to 90 seconds. Australian small businesses that registered for an ABN as of 2 April 2013 can enter the promotion.

Cider poster

Piss pots to picky palates: alcohol brands ‘premiumise’ Aussie tastes

by Marketing ON 7 November 2012

Alcohol brands have succeeded in boosting yield in the face of declining consumption by ‘premiumising’ Australian drinking tastes, according to a report.

Analysis from IBISWorld forecasts the shift from a beer drinking nation towards higher priced ciders, spirits and wines will continue to accelerate, fuelling a 20.5% increase in alcohol spend over the next five years.

“Once a nation of beer drinkers, beer consumption has declined by 15% over the past decade to now account for 37.1% of total alcohol consumption, while wine and spirits have grown in popularity to account for 25.3% and 17.9% of alcohol consumption respectively”, Karen Dobie, general manager of the business analyst’s Australian operation explains.

Spend on alcohol is forecast to reach $33.1 billion during the 2012-2013 financial year, despite consumption dropping to 9.8 litres per capita per year from a peak of 10.6 litres in 2006-07. By 2017-2018, spend is forecast to hit $39.9 billion.

The growing spend and increasing competition from European and US imports will see more Australian manufactures launch premium products in the coming years, Dobie predicts.

“Australia’s beer drinking palate is becoming more sophisticated, with a number of European style beers now being produced on our shores. Traditional full-strength lagers such as VB, Carlton Draught and Tooheys are losing market share in favour of cider and premium beer.”

Cider has grown to account for 7% of total alcohol consumption, and is forecast to hit 13% by 2017-2018, while craft and boutique beers have grown to account for 5% of total production.

In the wine segment, European styles such as Sangiovese, Tempranillo and Pino Grigio have seen strong growth as Australians fork out for more exotic blends. Australian brands, such as Jacob’s Creek, ha ve also been actively investing in their brand to premiumise their offering.

“Australian wineries have responded to this trend by rebranding themselves as premium to keep up with the resurgence of Old World wines”, Dobie adds.

Ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, which account for nearly 64% of spirits revenue, are also undergoing a makeover as producers develop new products to capitalise on changing preferences, such as RTD cocktails targeted at female drinkers.

Ranga rebrand: Bulmers promotes ginger pride

by Marketing ON 4 September 2012

To plug the launch of its new ginger cider variant, Bulmers has launched a Facebook page promoting ginger pride.

Created by Liquid Ideas, the campaign for Bulmers Ginger carries the tag line ‘Proud to be Ginger’ and will culminate with a ‘Ginger Party’ in Sydney. To go into the running for tickets to the event, punters are asked to describe which ginger they’d take as their date in 25 words or less.

Bulmers Ginger is the first ginger cider to launch in Australia, introducing a new variant to the barnstorming cider market, which is the fastest growing alcohol category in Australia. According to Nielsen’s Scantrack Liquor study, the category grew 43% in the 12 months to June 2012.

While the Facebook page has a tongue-in-cheek tone, it could potentially fall prey to the Advertising Standards Board’s recent ruling that fan comments on Facebook pages are effectively ads and need to be monitored by the brand.

On a ‘house rules’ tab of the page, Bulmers writes, “Comments posted to this page do not necessarily represent the opinions of Bulmers or Carlton & United Breweries.”

And if you’re thinking of making any disparaging ‘red hair, no friends’ remarks, think again. Bulmer’s also writes that the page is for the love, not ‘trolling’, of proud, confident gingers. “We will review comments and will moderate or remove any that are inappropriate, offensive, inaccurate or unlawful, so keep it clean folks, there’s a time and a place.”

Bulmers Ginger will hit the market following the Ginger Party launch event, to be held on Tuesday 18 September at The Standard in Sydney.

Review reveals new road for Fosters

by Marketing ON 18 February 2009

Following the announcement that Foster’s Group would be selling off its wines interests and rumours of potential employee cuts after a small number of Melbourne staff were laid off, the drinks company has declared the death of its multi-beverage strategy, but shied away from plans to split the company in two.

A report in The Age says the drinks company yesterday released the results of a 10-month review of its wine business, announcing changes that will mean the loss of more than 400 jobs and annual savings of $100 million within three years.

It will sell or close down 37 low-selling Australian wine brands and 36 vineyards across Australia and its US interests, primarily California.

After the review, the company has flagged write-downs to its assets and restructuring charges totalling between $330 million and $415 million.

It will also launch a campaign to reduce costs in overheads, procurement and manufacturing.

Foster’s has decided to undo its multi-beverage strategy, which involved the same sales force selling beer and wine, with those functions now being split.

“The current conditions in debt and equity markets mean this is not the appropriate time to sell or demerge Foster’s wine business,” asserts chairman, David Crawford.

The organisational restructure will separate the Australian wine operations from Fosters beer, cider and spirits division.