Moët's Summer Sparkler - Analysis and Reaction

LINK TO ARTICLE

Moët's Summer Sparkler

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/mots-summer-sparkler-07292011.html?chan=autos_living+well+--+lifestyle+subindex+page_living+well+features


ANALYSIS


The article was written by Nick Passmore, a wine journalist in New York about his encounter with a specific way of serving champagne.

Summer seems to come with a ditch in sales numbers of champagne and Moet and Chandon tried to overcome that by developing an action plan for that period of the year.

It consisted in a new matte, trendy bottle packaging enitled "Ice Imperial". The particularity was not in the product, nor in the packaging but in the way of conusming it- a total shake-up in the world of fine wines.

After centuries of delicate crystal drinking glasses, the Ice Imperial was a champagne destined to land in a large (white and opaque) goblet, topped with ice-cubes and mint. LVMH, owner of the brand encourages mixes with different fruits and flavours to add a "free, fun, and fresh" dimension to a wine which is often seen, (it appears) by consumers as too serious to drink in summer!

MY REACTIONS

To me, this marketing tactic seems appealing and I appreciate the efforts of the brand in being innovative.

However, it seems to me risky that a luxury brand should play with its reputation in such a way as they are actually going against their brand culture.

First of all, traditionally, champagne was a wine which could be drunk at any occasion of the day or any time of the year - summer included. Second of all, it is always served fresh, another reason to make it a good summer drink. The brand should thus choose these aspect to market its product during hot days.

Thirdly, champagne is seen as a gourmet product, which should be appreciated delicately. It goes with the image of the product. Adding ice cubes forces one to drink fast (and waste the flavour), before the ice cubes melt, otherwise the whole beverage is diluted like a warm mojito.

Finally, marketing the product like a soda targets another consumer, who may not appreciate the true taste, but will only be attracted by the trendy aspect. Although good for the brand in the short run, this is dangerous in the long run for the true pool of traditional consumers who may be worried about where the brand is going...