Top marketing moves in drinks: November

Heineken to sponsor Euro2020 and Champions League

Heineken will be the Official Beer Partner of next year’s UEFA Euro men’s football tournament, and has also extended its sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League for the next five years.

The two separate agreements means the brewer is now the major beer sponsor of Europe’s leading club and international football tournaments. Its partnership with the UEFA Champions League is already 25 years old, and the new deal extends the brand’s sponsorship through to 2024.

The new Euro partnership will see Heineken given exclusive pouring rights in the 12 European cities the tournament is being played in (its home city of Amsterdam, as well as Baku, Bilbao, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Glasgow, London, Munich, Rome and St Petersburg), in addition to branding in the stadiums and launching a TV and digital marketing campaign featuring former French international and Arsenal star Thierry Henry.

Hans Erik Tuijt, global sponsorship director for Heineken, said: “Heineken has enjoyed an unrivalled relationship with football fans through our UEFA Champions League sponsorship. We are excited to be able to build the relationship further with the UEFA Euro 2020 partnership. Guy-Laurent Epstein, marketing director of UEFA Events, added: “This is an incredibly exciting time for football in Europe.”

Ryan Reynolds mocks Henry Cavill in Aviation Gin ad

(photo: PA Wire)

Deadpool’s alter ego, Hollywood heartthrob Ryan Reynolds, has sent-up Justice League and Man of Steel star Henry Cavill in his latest advert for Aviation Gin.

Reynolds uploaded a video to YouTube recently with the title: “I am so sorry about this.” In the video, Reynolds is sporting a moustache.

“Does drinking Aviation Gin make you feel like a superhero?”, the Deadpool star asks, before taking a sip of gin.

“I wouldn’t know.”

When he puts the glass down, his moustache is badly edited away, a dig at the now infamous CGI removal of Cavill’s moustache in the post-production editing of Justice League, a 2017 film based on the DC Comics superhero team. Reynolds is well known for his gin ads that send up celebrities.

In February, the star teamed up with Hugh Jackman so the pair could respectively promote each other’s brands. After years of jokingly feuding back and forth on social media, the actors “called a truce” and agreed to make adverts for each other’s respective drinks brands.

Even Ryan Reynolds is not safe from Ryan Reynolds. Last year, he also posted a video where he appeared to be interviewing, and insulting, his “brother” – played by Reynolds himself.

Celebs banned from alcohol packaging in South Korea

It will soon be illegal for drinks producers in South Korea to use images of celebrities to market their products, according to local ministers who are attempting to change the country’s advertising laws.

South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare is looking to enforce the ban in a bid to stop glamourising the consumption of alcohol.

The current law allows photos of celebrities to appear on bottles of soju, beer and other drinks packaging in the country – a trend that has proved lucrative for local stars.

According to Korea Times, Irene, from girl group Red Velvet and singer, and actress Suzy, are models for the nation’s top two soju brands.

“Popular celebrities, such as actors or singers, wield great influence over children and teenagers, so putting their photos on alcohol bottles and cans should be avoided,” Rep. Nam In-soon of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea told the newspaper. The ban comes after the South Korean government faced criticism for its lax attitude towards drinking in comparison with smoking.

Cigarette packets now come with health warnings but little has been done to prevent the glamorisation of drinking. The health ministry has a dedicated department responsible for anti-smoking projects, but lacks one for deterring alcohol consumption.

Richmond & Towers wholly owned by employees

PR agency Richmond & Towers is now 100% owned by its staff after recently creating an employee trust.

The firm, which works with Pernod Ricard-owned Irish Distillers, Havana Club rum and Altos Tequila, has launched the Suzanne Richmond & Marjorie Towers Employee Ownership Trust, and is now 100% owned by its workforce.

Chief executive, Nikki Thompson, said the model is the right fit for a business “where so much is dependent on our people as individuals and the way they work together as a team.

“Rather than working for a small number of shareholders, everyone at R&T is now working for themselves and for each other. We are sure that our clients will see the benefit of this approach too. All the comments that we have had so far are incredibly positive.”

Former CEO, Rob Metcalfe, has taken on the role of chairman, while Thomson becomes chief executive.

Matt de Leon has been promoted to the role of managing director. “We are a growing business focused on delivering brilliant results for our clients,” said de Leon. “It’s right that everyone at R&T should share in our future success.”

Deb Oxley OBE, chief executive of the Employee Ownership Association, said Richmond & Towers is “securing the future of the business, including its ethos, values and employees.”

Nielsen launches restaurant tracker in the US

Data analyst firm Neilsen CGA has launched a tool that will allow restaurants in the US to track their weekly performance against that of their competitors.

Free tool RestauranTrak is an industry first designed to help level the analytic playing field in the US restaurant scene. The tool wil be launched in 44 US markets, including major cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

“Nielsen CGA’s RestauranTrak aims to empower players in the industry through granular insights to capture and compare common business factors such as average traffic or check value against their local market, bringing visibility into under- and over-performing metrics on a weekly basis,” Nielsen said.

A collaboration between Nielsen CGA, Emerging and Omnivore, the tool will provide a comprehensive analysis of food and alcohol consumption in the US on-trade. “The on-trade has never been more competitive, and the margin of success is narrower than ever.

We are dedicated to better supporting the food and beverage service channel to thrive, and we believe RestauranTrak is a much-needed tool for America’s restaurant industry,” said Scott Elliott, senior vice-president of Nielsen CGA. “As the US bar and restaurant landscape continues to face headwinds data-fuelled insights will be a crucial tool for success.” Nielsen has operations in over 100 countries, covering over 90% of the world’s population.

Bowmore to produce whisky for Aston Martin

After gaining a trademark for its name and wing logo to be used in relation to alcohol, Aston Martin has partnered with Bowmore on a range of limited edition whiskies and “innovative lifestyle experiences”.

Aston Martin said that Bowmore will become its exclusive spirits partner and will create exclusive bottlings that reflect “both brands’ commitment to heritage but also to cutting-edge design and manufacturing techniques”. Together with the whisky, the two brands will also be offering a series of exclusive events and experiences around the world.

Messaging from Drink Smart, Beam Suntory’s platform for communicating responsible drinking, will be incorporated into future projects between Aston Martin and Bowmore.

Commenting on the announcement, Albert Baladi, president and CEO of Beam Suntory, the owner of Bowmore, said: “It is exciting for an extraordinary brand like Bowmore to enter a global partnership with a brand of such high esteem and heritage, leading in its industry for beauty and craft for decades.”

It is not the first time that the car maker has ventured into alcohol. In 2015 it teamed up with Dom Pérignon to create a bespoke Champagne ‘cellar’ that fits into the boot of a car. The same year, Prince Charles announced that his DB5 had been converted so that it was powered on bioethanol derived from wine. Aston Martin has also lent its name to an £8,000 silver Martini set