As the Royal Wedding falls just after Easter, many people in the UK will be enjoying an eight day holiday bonanza within a short eleven day period, and consumers will be looking to make the most of the holiday atmosphere, celebrating all that is great about Britain. Leading drinks companies Diageo GB and Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) are both activating plans to help GB retailers make the most of the opportunity presented by the much anticipated occasions, and are launching holiday editions of their iconic products.
CCE is launching special limited edition themed packaging across a range of Schweppes® SKUs including Lemonade 2ltr, Slim Lemonade 2ltr, Tonic 1ltr, Slim Tonic 1ltr, Soda 1ltr, Canada Dry Ginger Ale 1ltr, Bitter Lemon 1ltr and Slim Bitter Lemon 1ltr available from early April. Since being granted the Royal Warrant in 1837, Schweppes packaging has proudly stated ‘By Appointment to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’. The Schweppes Royal Wedding commemorative packs will feature the Royal Warrant and an eye-catching celebratory silver ribbon design with copy announcing ‘29th April 2011, Celebrating the Royal Wedding, Prince William of Wales, Miss Catherine Middleton.’
Diageo GB will also be running a number of brand specific initiatives to coincide with the Royal Wedding. Smirnoff® vodka will be up-weighting media plans around the wedding weekend, with a £700,000 TV spend planned in April for the ‘Why Compromise’ TV ad which emphasises the quality credentials of the brand. Smirnoff Flavours will also be supported with two weeks of outdoor media in April. The brand will be using social media to drive consumer awareness of Smirnoff at this key time of year by activating relevant Facebook status updates to its 400,000 online fans.
The team behind Gordon’s® gin will be engaging in a relationship marketing campaign, asking consumers to vote on a new cocktail to mark the Royal occasion. The chosen serve will be crowned ‘The Gordon’s Royal Cocktail’ on 29 April and publicised through print activity to maintain consumer awareness and excitement around the brand.
Baileys® Irish Cream liqueur will be back on TV throughout April with its popular, ‘Let’s Do This Again’ TV ad featuring the strapline ‘Baileys, Bank Holidays and Friends. Let’s Do This Again’. This will be supported by Facebook activity including sharing recipes, competitions and news with the 75,000 current online fans.
