Imagination and creativity : The keys to success for Desperados

Desperados attempts to become the reference brand in terms of artistic creativity. For this, the brand has developed a partnership with the 9th Concept, a Parisian artists collective, made up of painters, graphic designers, photographers, videographers and musicians, and puts its bottle at the heart of its communication.

 

This collaboration, which has been going on for over ten years, leads to the creation of limited editions every year. The design of the bottles is revisited by the artists of the 9th Concept, who let their imagination run wild and upset the traditional codes of beer, in order to modernize the image of the brand. Up to now, almost 60 Limited Edition bottles have been created !

  

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9th Concept's creations

In addition, Desperados promotes its imagination and creativity in an original way. For example, the brand organized in 2009 an exibition in Paris : « Imagine Desperados by ... ». The brand invited the visitor to discover its creative universe through the exhibition of its  advertising campaign revisited by famous nightclubs and cultural magazines (such Tracks and the Inrockuptibles) in their own way, as well as the exhibition of its Limited Edition bottles, created by the 9th Concept. This allowed Desperados to position itself not only as a brand but also as an editor of creative content and a promoter of a certain form of culture.

 

 

The second major initiative of the brand took place in 2011 with the creation of an ephemeral bar in Paris, the « Wild Bar », entirely dedicated to the brand ! Many events and parties are organized in order to immerse the guests in the world of the famous beer flavored with tequila. For example, Desperados has recreated  a clandestine workshop where the artists of the 9th Concept work directly on posters and custom bags with their visual identity. The brand also organizes original parties during the weeks of the operation : the program includes body painting, showcase of the 9th Concept's musicians as well as the opportunity to taste cocktails made with Desperados like for example the Despejito. Desperados has gone wild !   

 

Finally, the brand offers the beer drinkers the opportunity to create their own Desperados bottle in the website « Imagine your Desperados ». No need to be an experienced designer, this creative workshop offers a large range of colors and designs, some created by the 9th Concept. An online voting is organized in order to select the most distinguished label. And even if you are not selected, you can still order your bottle ! The consumer feels more responsible and listened through this community site.

J.G.

 

GUINNESS – The most famous stout beer

GUINNESS … an Irish stout beer? For sure, but it is moreover one of the world’s best loved beers.

Since more than 250 years, Guinness has been keeping and managing its image thought the years.

10 millions of pints per day, sold in 150 different countries. Here is an overview of the success of a brand.

  

The beginning

Born in 1725, Arthur Guinness is the founder of the brand. He bought the old St James’ gate brewery in 1759 in Dublin where the history of his beer began. Nowadays, he remains an important image of the brand. The Guinness storehouse, created in 2000, is the most visited attraction in Ireland. Located in St James’ gate original headquarters, this museum gathers history of the brand, its family and its creator, Arthur. 

A bit of story

Arthur Guinness began to brew ale and porter beers at the St James’ brewery. However, facing the increasing demand on porter beer, he decided to stop brewing ale beer in 1799. Porter beer is the origin of the stout beer of today. Guinness started to export his beer abroad in 1769, first in Great Britain, Africa … then all over the world … reaching more than 150 countries today.

Identity card

 Brand and strategy

Stout and Irish are the main beer features that most of beer consumers would use to define a Guinness beer. However, Guinness is much more than a beer: This Irish brewery has become a strong icon of the country which managed to go across wars and time. This strong belonging to the country reveals the traditional image of the brand: Guinness has shared more than 250 years with Ireland.

From a short story telling that a soldier recovered from injuries in Waterloo battle by drinking a Guinness, the Irish brand oriented its image on the benefits of the beer for its consumers with the slogan “Guinness is good for you” or “Guinness for strength”. Multiple advertisements use them starting from the beginning of the XX th century, focusing on the virtue of a Guinness beer on health.

 

At the end of the XX th century, unproved benefits and perception of alcohol do not allow Guinness to maintain its brand strategy. 

Guinness is a beer, Guinness is a stout, Guinness is Irish but not only: Guinness is “Made of more”. Tradition was linked to exception in order to symbolize the brand today. Guinness clearly targets men: Strength and deep colour reflects it. However, Guinness has been made for exceptional men ...  

 

Taking a draft beer in a pub, waiting the Nitrogen bubbles to disappear, letting the beer to get its deep dark red colour and its white head … Here is the image that the brand reflects about specificity and traditional pouring of the draft stout beer: “Good things come to those who wait”. You do not pour a Guinness as the other ones … because Guinness is not as the others ... Here again, exception is a key, Guinness suggests to behave as a wise man and exception will come to you ... like the taste of its beer  ... after 250 years of tradition !

Events / Sponsorship:

Guinness Irish Festival : http://www.guinnessfestival.ch/ 
Book of world records : http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/ 

International soccer championship : http://internationalchampionscup.com/news/article/guinness-international-champions-cup-announced/ 
Guinness Rugby: http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/guinness.php/

References:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3266819.stm

http://www.guinness.com/en-gb/thestory.html#

http://www.guinness-storehouse.com/*

http://www.foodrepublic.com/2013/03/12/11-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-guinness

http://blog.couponnetwork.fr/non-classe/la-communication-originale-de-guinness

The Vikings are back in France !

Have you heard about SКøll, this new beer that tries to overrun the shelves of our stores? Some say that it is a Viking's beer. Desperados, get ready for the invasion : the Vikings are back in France !

 

Kronenbourg has launched in early 2013, a new beer flavored with vodka and citrus fruits (grapefruit and lime). What an amazing combination ! Coming from Denmark, this beer is named SКøll, which means « Cheers » in the Northern countries. 

 

The brand plays on its Scandinavian origins : The bottle is adorned with the famous Viking helmet and the Nordic blue predominates in the colour codes which provides a sensation of intense cold, freshness and refreshment. Otherwise, the bottle is trapped in ice, what makes you want to grasp it and to drink until your desire is quenched. The universe developed by the brand is different, trendy and young !

 

 

The brand also plays on the specificities of the packaging  : No need for a bottle-opener, the 33 and 66 cl bottles are fitted with a capsule unpin for easy opening ! And finished the warm beers thanks to a freshness signal on the 50cl cans for an ideal drinking temperature. When the stick is gray, the beer is not fresh enough, when it is blue, you can enjoy your ice cold SКøll !

 

With this beer, Kronenbourg positions itself in the market of the specialty beers and come into direct competition with Heineken : North and South confront themselves. So, are you more North or South ? Skoll with Vodka or Desperados with Tequila ? Which one will you choose ?

 

J.G.

 

Desperados, the premium beer that makes the difference !

 

Desperados is a lager beer, brewed in France and flavored with tequila. It was established in 1995 by the Fisher Brewery, an old Alsatian brewery. Since 1996, the brand is part of the Heineken group.

It is said that its name comes from the fact that after being created, this beer was still unnamed and the company was desperate to found one ! Did you know it ?

Brand ID card

 

Today, Desperados is one of the four leading brands of the Heineken group (with Heineken, Pelforth and Affligem), and it is ranked 4^th in the French market with 8% market share in value, according to IRI panel data.

 

The brand belongs to the group of specialty beers, which include all the beers that tell a story due to their origin, composition or geography (abbey beers, brown ale, white or flavored beers). They are very successful in France, in a context where beer sales are declining. The other brands present on this segment are Corona (InBev) and Skoll (recently launched by Kronenbourg).

 

Beer has always been a symbol of conviviality and celebration. However, this market is encountering difficulties for years partly because of the image we often assign to beer: that of a poor quality drink consumed by men watching TV and lounging on the couch.

Another reason of this decline : We observe the same trend than in the wine market. Beer consumers drink less but better by focusing on quality or originality taste. As a result, most of the brands confront them with products more and more sophisticated and expensive, with also important investments in marketing.

 

Desperados benefits from this market trend. Today, one of its strategies is the premiumisation of its portfolio, by offering to the consumers, products that are more upscale and more expensive in order to improve its turnover. Did you know that Desperados was the most expensive beer in the French market ? It is two times more expensive than Heineken !

 

Innovation also remains a strategic focus area for Desperados. Since its launch, the brand has been continuously investing in order to offer beer drinkers, innovative and audacious recipes. The brand has reinvented the freshness with Desperados Lime, shaken the night life with Desperados Red (flavored with Tequila, Cachaça, Guarana and red fruits), provoked the consumers’ senses with Desperados Fuego and its lightly spiced notes, and recreated the Cuban atmosphere with Desperados Verde, which reveals the essence of the legendary Mojito cocktail with its blend of lime and mint.

 

 

J.G

Sharing a beer

Beer is more than just a drink ...

Yes, of course you drink it ... But more than quenching your thirsty, you probably use to share a beer with a friend, a colleague, or a relative. Moments of beer consumption are moments of conviviality: a social instant.

Talking about conviviality is talking about a group.

Talking about a group is talking about every kind of groups sharing one common interest: Nationality, sex, age range, socio-economic category, but also groups sharing the same activity like sport, music, party,  ... without forgetting typical group of people sharing a beer and watching a match on TV!

Beer brands have properly understood this notion of groups and marketing campaigns use them to specially address their products to social instants: Match on TV, party with friends,  ...

 Budweiser - Wasssup (What's up?)

Here is an example of young friends' community who are sharing lifestyle and of course the same beer. Bud shares instants of their life: watching a match, working on computer, ... 
 

Heineken - Fridge

In that video, Heineken addresses community of active workers, probably having dinner together during the week-end, introducing their new house/flat to their friends. 

Women are impressed by the new dressing, whereas men are amazed by this incredible enormous fridge ... full of beer !  

Higher range of social community (versus Budweiser), 30+ years old, and men are targeted here. Fashionable women like trendy shoes and clothes ... and their husbands like Heineken ! 

Foster - Pizza/Match

This picture can be seen as the typical men's beer consumption, at home, eating pizza, watching a match. I guess you do not invite a kangaroo everyday at home, however Foster  clearly affirms its origins here. 

On one side, the brand focuses its market target on its own country. What is better than drinking Australian, if you support the national rugby team - the Wallabies !? 

Moreover, on other side, drinking a beer of a foreign country is also a way of travelling from home, and Australia remains a wonderful country to visit for most people.  
Being Australian or dreaming of Australian lifestyle, and moreover if you are fan of sports on TV, Foster welcomes you in its community.

Today’s figures point:
If we have a look on beer production, according to http://www.brewersofeurope.org, we can observe that beer production is decreasing in Europe mainly due to the decreasing of consumption.
Germany is from far the biggest country producer of beer in Europe.

About Beer Market

Hi everybody !

Today is D-day: We are writing our first article on your favorite drink: BEER of course!

What we are going to talk about in this blog is the way the beer consumer is acting/reacting during his purchase and consumption processes. Thanks to this first analysis, we could study the various brand strategies in order to seduce the consumer. To manage your “beer-culture”, we will post a “figures point” at the end of each article.

And don’t worry, we’ll have fun enjoying the world-top beer advertisements for your great pleasure, so don’t hesitate to come and read us regularly!

Thousands of beer brands are present on the market worldwide, enough to satisfy everybody although tradition and innovation are key-points in this market.

There is not ONE profile of beer consumer, even if clichés tends to associate beer with men, women are more and more likely to drink a fresh beer from time to time.

 

Beer is an affordable product which is bought with low-involvement and from once a year to three times per week (Oh yes, I’m pretty sure that some of you will identify themselves, don’t be ashamed!). Actually, 60% of beer-consumption is at home and you well-imagine that the 40% remaining is when you drink one at the restaurant, the pub or the little bar around the corner. It is not the same price, but always the same pleasure.

To come back to the clichés, beer is also often associated with men watching football with their pizzas and their beers… YES, it happens! But not every time and not for every man dear ladies! Beer consumption goes from drinking a fresh beer alone when you come back home after work to Saturday evening with all your friends including this moment when you are so hot that you cannot resist, with your colleagues, with your father/son, at the edge of the swimming-pool on a sunny afternoon, etc., etc., etc., etc…  

(Actually, you could comment and tell us YOUR perfect moment to drink a beer)

We said above that tradition and innovation were key-factors. Indeed, some beer consumers love to taste traditional/handmade beers which are not commercialized in hypermarkets, in specialized pubs or even better at the brewer’s. But famous brands tend to innovate in order to touch new/different targets. Concerning the latest trends that we can observe on the market we have beers without alcohol, fruit-flavored beers, beer barrels, and soon the dehydrated beer! Believe this or not but this concept has been created by an American company. (For the scepticals, I let you enjoy the video below which explains the process...)

 

http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/l-histoire-du-soir/20130820.OBS3747/belgique-la-biere-en-poudre-arrive-depuis-les-etats-unis.html

Today’s figures point: A little world tour of the annual consumption of beer per country and per capita. As you can see below, the big winners are the Czech with an average close to 160 liters/year/capita (only that!), followed by our Irish(2nd) and German(3rd) friends well-known for their « beer-drinking » abilities! Australian are not bad with 110 liters (4th). The United States are in the average with 80 liters and France is at the rear of the pack with hardly more than 30 liters/year.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_world_by_beer_consumption.png