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Beefeater's branded content

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: all American’s are Anglophiles. Rightly or wrongly, being able to confer a sense of Englishness on a product has connotations of something cultivated, distinguished and subtly superior. The latest print advertising from drinks manufacturer Pernod Ricard for its Beefeater Gin brand is a case in point. Developed in conjunction with publishers savvy to changing conditions in the advertising market, the result is a brilliant execution of how to tap into the brand’s heritage and America's Anglophilia.

The example pictured here runs across four full pages in the current issue of Men’s Journal, a US lifestyle magazine aimed at men aged eighteen to thirty-five. If you think that’s impressive, in the previous month’s edition Beefeater ran a ten page feature! This goes well beyond traditional advertorial and is an example of a new wave of highly targeted, content led advertising termed “branded content”.

Developing effective branded content is difficult. Brand messages need to be artfully woven into material that readers, listeners or viewers will actually want to consume. This particular execution does a great job because it relates to the interests of its audience (active lifestyle, desirable foreign culture), communicates the brand’s history and individuality in a modern and relevant way (the only gin still distilled in London linked to the uniqueness of the personalities profiled in the feature), delivers innovative and socially applicable ideas for product usage (a gin Bloody Mary anyone?) and has a contest to generate buzz.

What’s intriguingly smart is why Pernod Ricard has selected Beefeater for its branded content experiment. Acquired by the company only a year ago, the brand is middle market and does not have an especially strong profile. It looks like an attempt to develop Beefeater into a fashionable brand. Assuming we're right, focusing on its key attributes and communicating them in a lifestyle compatible format to a group comprised of educated early adopters and trend setters is very shrewd.

If Beefeater gains traction with this advertising, expect more branded content from this and other Pernod Ricard brands. And if hip target audiences show lasting preferences as a result, expect this approach to quickly spread to other brands, and other markets.

    

Read the full Beefeater ad: Download 003_beefeaterad.pdf

Managing 'unwelcome' brand attention

“I'm sure Dom Perignon or Krug would be delighted to have their business,” said Frederic Rouzaud, managing director of champagne makers Louis Roderer, when asked by The Economist if the association between the RnB/hip-hop scene and the Cristal brand was proving to be detrimental. Rapper Jay-Z was quick to launch a boycott. Pronouncing the comments as “racist”, the artist showed he had a sense of irony when he promised that his 40/40 Clubs would now stock Dom Perignon and Krug instead. But what can, or should, marketers do if they think their brand is receiving ‘unwelcome’ attention?

The patronage of celebrities can do wonders for sales. Indeed, for some product lines, such as high fashion, it’s fundamental to their marketing. The flip side is that you may get some endorsements you’d rather avoid. While it’s possible to manage the process to some extent, it’s important to remember that you’re dealing with real people and real opinions.

It may indeed be better for Cristal to do without the support of Jay-Z and the RnB/hip-hop community, but I doubt Mr Rouzard sought to achieve this in the midst of negative media coverage and accusations of bigotry. However unintended, his rash comment added fuel to the flames and drew greater attention to the very issue from which he was trying to distance his business. The fact is, if someone of whom you take a dim view favours your brand there’s little or nothing you can do about it – at least not in the short term.

First of all, ask yourself if it really is such a bad thing that a person or group of people has become associated with your brand. When John Lennon had his Rolls Royce Phantom V repainted with a psychedelic design it prompted the car maker to make a formal complaint, but with hindsight the brand was never in danger of harm. Sold for more that $2 million in 1985, the car is now in a museum. Such notions of timelessness and desirability are more than likely to be welcome.

If you’re unsure, the best course of action is to do nothing and monitor the situation. If anyone asks how you feel about it, say something like, “Oh, we don’t worry too much about that,” and smile your way through it. The chances are that, like most fads, the unofficial brand association will quickly fade.

If the situation seems to be more enduring, sales are noticeably suffering and the brand really is being damaged, don’t react to the problem by speaking in public. Instead, think about what you can do to reassert your brand values. Luxury fashion label, Burberry, faced a serious problem in the UK when its trademark check became the preferred choice for downmarket ‘chav’ culture (click here for a Wikipedia definition). When tabloids nationwide pictured disgraced former soap star Daniella Westbrook and her baby dressed head to toe in the design, the brand became something of a national joke.

Rather than grumble to the media, Burberry instigated a plan to reduce the significance of the check. Chav signature products, such as the baseball cap, were discontinued. Elsewhere across the product line, the check was either removed or its visibility was reduced. While the connection between Burberry and chavs still exists, the firm’s strategic approach to the problem means it has now diminished by a great deal.

If you own or manage a luxury brand, you could be the next target. If this happens, take time to see how the attention is affecting your brand; it’s better to sustain a little damage while you evaluate what best to do rather than make the situation worse by acting out of haste. It could be that you gain a whole market and it doesn’t necessarily follow that this will alienate existing customers. If you decide that you’d rather do without the association, the best immediate course of action is to do nothing and hope that things change. If they look intractable, then consider very carefully how to regain control. Like Burberry, a long term strategy that deeply affects how you design and market your products may be what's called for, so it's no easy decision. And remember, the best laid plans can easily backfire if you’re seen to be doing something negative.

MAXjet Airways wins the entrepreneur’s vote

My recent roundtrip on MAXjet, a new all "business-class" airline between the US and UK, has me convinced that it has hit the right balance of service and price for those of us who travel between the US and UK on our own pocketbook. MAXjet is targeting business travelers and those who don’t want to sit in the cheap seats, but are unwilling to pay full-fare business-class. Its initial service hubs, NYC’s JFK and Washington, D.C.’s Dulles airports currently offer one departure and arrival (on four or six days a week, depending on airport) to and from London’s Stansted Airport (more on this later). Check-in is a breeze, and you are properly greeted at the beginning of the very short, if non-existent queue. At JFK and Stansted, MAXjet has very convenient placement at the departure terminal – you move very quickly to the security checkpoint.

Its seating is not as luxurious as flat beds found in British Airways or Virgin Atlantic business class service, but the price is usually a fraction of either of these carriers for service that offers most of their benefits. In fact, most people I’ve spoken with feel that it is better than US-flag carriers’ business class (American Airlines, Delta, et al) and usually less expensive as well. MAXjet seats don’t quite recline all the way; just enough for most of us to sleep overnight. And the controls on the seats work beautifully. The cabin is setup two-two-two which makes it very comfortable. I recommend a center section seat, both of which are aisle seats, so that you don’t have to climb over your seatmate to get to the loo or have them climbing over you.

In flight, you are treated to attentive service, with meals that are quite good. The bar service is complete and wine selections, including a number of Southern Hemisphere reds, was very interesting. Instead of a monitor built into the seat, MAXjet provides a portable entertainment system that has movies, TV shows and music built in. It’s a very cool device and a great compromise (I heard that it was too expensive to build the system into seats).

If there is anyplace where the MAXjet service is less than ideal it’s the bathrooms. As the company flies refitted Boeing 767s, the standard-size accommodations are not luxurious. In addition, on my flight, they were not updated – almost worn out, in fact. MAXjet would be smart to upgrade and refit the baths as soon as possible.

Lounge facilities at JFK are provided by Korean Airlines and they are fine. In addition to basic beverages and snacks, there is a series of Internet workstations, so those of us who have abandoned laptops could check email. At Stansted, the MAXjet lounge was luxurious, including champagne service and cappuccino and espresso served from a proper Italian machine. Gate assignment at Stansted meant a bit of a walk to our flight from the lounge, but that might be a variable day-to-day.

Stansted Airport Considerations

If your lodgings are in The City or central or eastern London, Stansted is pretty convenient. For the West End or Kensington, Heathrow is much closer. For those staying at The Great Eastern Hotel, adjacent to Liverpool Street Station, you can take the Stansted Express train (45 minutes) directly to Liverpool Street and walk a few steps to the hotel. On my last trip, my hotel was near the Earl’s Court underground stop in Kensington, and my cab ride was about 90 minutes.

The Price Factor

With fares as low as $1499 roundtrip, MAXjet provides a new level of service for travelers who seek amenities, but for whom a budget exists. On Virgin or BA business class, recent restricted fares were about $3200 r/t (you can fly on BA Premium Economy for about $1200 r/t, but it’s not nearly as good service as MAXjet). Depending on dates (and load factors on each airline), American and United can be cost competitive. American has two-three-two seating in business, which means that you might be in a center seat, even in its business class. And, with any of these other carriers, you’ll be traveling with a lot more people; MAXjet only flies with 102 people, fully booked.

A New Idea Realized

MAXjet was conceived as a way to improve the service level on transatlantic flights while offering a solid value. I’ve met the team that runs the airline, and they are purposeful and know their business well. Marketing is very well conceived, with outdoor campaigns hitting travelers along their routes to the airport and regional radio with Jonathan Pryce as voice talent. Its direct sales team must be doing their job creating corporate accounts; on my flight an IT executive from HSBC was on board. In addition, its booking system is now integrated with online travel sites such as Expedia, which will increase exposure and bookings.

Wither Eos?

The other new entrant in the transatlantic premium-only space is Eos. Like MAXjet it flies the Stansted to JFK route, but with a service that is more akin to First Class, yet priced below full-fare business class from BA or Virgin. Its 48-seat layout provides abundant space and its service is reported to be wonderful. But, is there room for this model?

Price wise, it’s less attractive to the small businessman and entrepreneur and so competes more with BA, Virgin and the US carriers. While they’re more expensive, they offer more destinations, powerful connections and feeder systems and much greater flexibility due the number of flights per day - plus loyalty programs that take travelers nearly anywhere in the world. Added to that is that much of their traffic is on corporate accounts, making price less of an issue to many of their passengers, who are also less likely to be tolerant of Stansted’s inconvenience to much of London. Recent changes at Eos, including executive and marketing staff have resulted in much stronger advertising and better PR results – so maybe they’ve got a chance.