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IMC - French Champagne Industry
IMC - French Champagne Industry
IMC - French Champagne Industry
Champagne has been produced in France since before the Middle Ages and has benefited from
its perceived characteristics of sophistication and premium quality around the world. More
recently, champagne as a type of sparkling wine has been subject to various types of protection
including safeguarding of the name, establishing champagne as a trademark, and even limiting
the export of champagne to maintain its prices in international markets. There are over 70
champagne houses who are members of the Union Des Maisons De Champagne (Champagne
Houses Union in English) which are considered to be the big brands of champagne and the largest
producers of the wine.
Champagne, being predominantly consumed in North American culture at special events such as
weddings and New Years Eve celebrations, has seen a rise in competition in the Canadian market
from other sparkling wines. These wines offer a more affordable price point for Canadian wine
consumers and have begun taking sales away from French champagne producers whose prices
stay locked at a higher point due to efforts to maintain the prestige of the brand by a controlled
supply of the product.
It is our recommendation that the French champagne industry and the Champagne Houses Union
work together to attract a new clientele in the 20 35 millennial age demographic while still
supporting and valuing their established client base of women age 35 65. Our team proposes
using a combination of social media campaigns, trend-setter and taste-influencer support, and
traditional advertising to reach out to both new and faithful audiences. While one of our primary
goals is to increase the frequency of consumption of champagne, the quality and prestige of this
household name must be carefully considered while crafting and executing our strategies.
Maintaining the sense of a premium product with quality ingredients as well as champagnes
unique position in the alcoholic beverage market is a top priority for this campaign. We believe
that champagne can hold its position as a leader in quality and regain its position as market leader
of sparkling wine by allowing consumers to have your taste of excellence, today.
With the rise in popularity of sparkling wine in Canada, true French champagne has seen a decline
in its sales. Cheaper sparkling wines made outside of Champagne have started to take away sales
for the more cost-conscious consumer. This competition has prompted the French champagne
industry and the Union of Champagne Houses to take action and to revisit their marketing
communications strategy for the Canadian market. An integrated marketing communications
plan is required to help the French champagne industry increase the consumption of premium
French champagne in new and existing customer bases in the Canadian market.
We have two main communications objectives for the French champagne industry:
1. To increase the sales of champagne products across Canada by 15% by December 31, 2016.
2. To increase awareness of the differences between champagne and sparkling wine, as well as
the Canadian consumers knowledge of champagnes uses for various occasions by at least
5% by December 31, 2016.
Social Media:
o Create a website and social media profiles on both Twitter and Instagram to
represent the French Champagne Industry. These profiles will represent Frances
major champagne houses, including Mot and Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, which
are a part of the organisation Union de Maisons de Champagne (UMC).
o These social media profiles will be used to promote dynamic, original content as
well as share content from influential champagne consumers.
o Develop and implement an engaging social media campaign on Twitter and
Instagram in order to reach target audiences, especially the millennial market.
o Research influential Canadian lifestyle and food bloggers, such as The Coveteur,
Ania Boniecka, Chole Wise and Gracie Carroll.
o Secure partnerships with these Canadian lifestyle and food bloggers in order to
promote champagne products in Canada.
o Once partnerships have been secured, provide product samples to these various
Canadian bloggers and social influencers so that they can write sponsored posts
on champagne products as well as promote these items through strategic product
placements on Instagram.
o Sponsored blog posts about champagne products can be cocktail recipes,
coverage of special events, or personal narratives that demonstrate how these
influential bloggers incorporate champagne products into their day-to-day lives.
o In order to garner the most exposure to target audiences, ask that the sponsored
blog posts be placed in high-traffic sections of the blog, and that they are
accessible through subpages of the blogs until the sponsorship ends.
2. Reach out to various fashion and lifestyle media outlets to obtain exposure and coverage.
Media Releases
o Develop media releases to be sent to major news media outlets regarding the
revitalization of champagne products, as well as inviting them to a special
champagne tour in Champagne, France.
Media Tour:
o Host a special champagne tour for the media, specifically lifestyle and fashion
media outlets, in Champagne, France.
o The champagne tour will allow the French champagne industry to emphasize the
idea that champagne is superior to sparkling wine as the tour will demonstrate the
Methode Champenoise, which is the unique way in which champagne is
produced.
o Samples of champagne products from various champagne houses will be provided
to reporters and other media personnel so that they may review it for their
editorial columns.
o Surveys will also be disseminated at the champagne tours and tastings event to
better gauge the opinion of the media.
Media Kits:
o Prepare media kits, which would include a media release providing details on the
revitalization of champagne products in Canada. The media kit would also include
a detailed description of the Methode Champenoise, information on the 76
champagne houses in the UMC, and company contact information.
o These media kits would then be disseminated to variety of traditional (print) and
digital media outlets for potential coverage, including:
Vogue
The Coveteur
Refinery6
Dolce Vita Magazine
LXRY Magazine
Toronto Star
CBC
Lush Magazine
Pie Magazine
NUVO Magazine
Lifestyler
Preferred Magazine
Bold Magazine
Gourmet Magazine
Edible Vancouver
Eat Magazine
3: Utilize traditional forms of advertising to promote champagne products in Canada.
Advertising Campaign:
The French champagne industry can employ various methods and tools to evaluate the
effectiveness of the Integrated Marketing Communications Plan strategies and tactics. These
methods will include:
Monitoring the media will allow the French champagne industry to pull
qualitative information from news articles published about the tour and
tasting event, including the following:
Was the event enjoyable?
Was the event informative?
How do the champagne products compare to sparkling wine
products? Has it been well-received?
Were there varying opinions amongst the various news outlets?
How does the media feel about the French Champagne Industry?
Do they believe the event was successful?
Would they recommend champagne products to others?
Individual reporter feedback can be obtained at the event itself.