Alcohol Sector Creating Brand Experiences Worth Paying For

Smart brands are creating experiences that consumers are actually paying for!

While marketers are struggling to make their advertising impactful and not blocked, skipped or forgotten, some smart brands are weighing in on the desire of young consumers to participate in experiences.

“Today’s young consumers feel like they own enough already… It’s now experiences that people are short on, not items” says Andrew Oswald, an economics professor at the University of Warwick.

Consumers like to feel in control, they don’t want brands to try too hard for their attention. Be that brand that plays it cool, give them a great experience, let them want to be part of your world. And yes, they may even pay you for it.

The alcohol sector has had to think outside of the box, largely due to the legal restrictions surrounding advertising. But lets give credit where credit is due. They haven’t just been blindly creating sampling campaigns in areas of heavy footfall, giving out products for free and hoping someone will fall completely head over heels in love with it (this is not to say sampling is a bad idea, but free samples shouldn’t be the default position).

The alcohol sector is embracing a new approach for paid experiences. And if you want some great examples of how brands are creating experiences that have a transactional focus, here are just a few…

1) Chivas Regal opened their ‘Art of Blending’ pop-up. Not only does this harness the average Whisky drinkers profile for being a casual connoisseur but also helps deal with the issue of Whisky snobbery against blended Whiskies. All while generating real revenue.

2) The wine brand Campo Viejo has not just attended a festival and generated a sampling activity. They created the ‘Streets of Spain Festival’, a four day Spanish fiesta on London’s South Bank. The experiential activity included live art installations, blending sessions and market stall owners transported from Barcelona, offering a Mediterranean extravaganza. An immersive brand experience generating real revenue.

3) And where would the world be without a gin experience? The Bombay Sapphire Distillery has multiple revenue generating elements – venue hire, bespoke cocktail master classes, tours of the distillery and even gifting. A clever highlight of the distillery is the two glasshouses creating a humid environment for spices and Mediterranean plants giving guests the chance to experience the exotic botanicals infused into the spirit.

There are many more examples of successful commercial experiential activation like the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam and the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. Both have created immersive brand experiences to generate advocacy, and new customers. Not only have these brands sold the ticket to the experience but have ensured the purchasing loop is closed and the product is purchased not only on-site but again and again.

If you want an exploratory chat as to how we can help your brand invest in experiences that generate real revenue please get in touch! Start to think about experiential in a new way – and make it an investment not a cost.

Amy van Gelder
Communications & Admin Officer