Louise Marsland’s (@Louise_Marsland) pick of new product, packaging and design launches.
Publishers embrace retail; new plans for Meyer & Associates; a whisky win for Grant’s; and Foschini launches a ‘rewards booth’ for customers.
Getaway takes best value wine online
We all know the traditional publishing model no longer brings in the huge profits of the past, so innovative media owners have to turn to brand extensions and Getaway magazine has launched an online wine store that aims to provide value-for-money wines to its readers, in partnership with Cybercellar.
The wines will be a selection of the top-scorers from Getaway’s 2014 Best Value Wine Awards and will available at www.bestvaluewineguide.com, the retail fulfilment of which will be managed by Cybercellar.
Explained Getaway editor Cameron Ewart-Smith: “All publishers are looking for additional revenue streams. It’s no longer enough simply to talk about products and experiences, we need to close the loop by making these available, and by delivered them to the consumer’s door, where possible.”
“We are already achieving this objective with our accommodation and travel package options – extending it to our wine content offering was the obvious next step.”
To qualify for entry into the Best Value awards, wines had to sell for less than R80 a bottle and be produced in sufficient quantity to have a reasonable amount of stock available to the public.
Redrafting M&A
Cape Town based specialist architecture and urban design firm, Meyer & Associates, recently restructured and decided that their visual identity also needed to reflect the fresh direction and their reputation for excellence.
The Engage Brandcraft team identified three core differentiating factors that set the firm apart and that would most likely define the firm moving forward. They then identified the common thread in the firm’s work and wove it into a new brand identity and the brand collateral of the firm, which is “at the intersection of minimalism (restraint), accessibility and responsiveness”.
Engage Brandcraft adds that the new corporate identity reflects the brand’s balance of “intelligence and class”, taking its chromatic cues from its predecessor, but looking forwards for its form and subtly crafted balance.” A piano gloss finish on the finished art signals quality, they say.
Raise your glass to Grant’s
Grant’s blended Scotch whisky, represented in South Africa by Edward Snell, has been awarded the coveted ‘Master’ at this year’s Scotch Whisky Masters Awards for Grant’s 18 Year Old. In addition, it has received a gold medal for its Grant’s 25 Year Old, a blend containing 25 of the world’s most distinctive malt and grain whiskies.
Grant’s is the oldest family owned blend in Scotland, built on five generations of heritage and passion for whisky-making, starting in 1887.
Also awarded silver medals were: Grant’s Ale Cask Finish and Grant’s Sherry Cask Finish, Grant’s Distillery Edition, and Grant’s 12 Year Old. Said Brian Kinsman, Grant’s Master Blender, “It’s always a great honour to be recognised for all the great whiskies we make. The awards pay tribute to the five generations of the Grant family and craftspeople from our distilleries.”
Money or the box…
Queues of people lined up to take part in an activation by TFG (The Foschini Group), which saw them giving shoppers instant rewards at Cape Town’s Canal Walk shopping centre recently. The promotion was aimed at driving awareness of the fashion retailer’s Rewards&More programme.
The activation was done via a large interactive ‘Rewards booth’ that had a button, which when pressed, would reward a customer with an instant reward. Rewards ranged from clothing and accessories, to food vouchers, smartphones and tablets.
The Rewards Booth was a physical manifestation of the instant and tailored rewards that characterises TFG’s loyalty and rewards programme; TFG Rewards&More. The programme is unique in that each time a customer makes a purchase at any of its 18 brands, they are rewarded instantly with a reward that is tailored to their own unique shopping profile. No points, no vouchers mailed in the post.Today’s shopper wants instant gratification, which is why accumulating points when you shop, is no longer enough to entice loyalty, explains TFG marketing head, Kathryn Sakalis.
TFG Rewards launched on November 2012 and to date over 3.5 million people have signed up.
– Shelf Life by Louise Marsland is a weekly column on MarkLives. Tweet new product, packaging and design launches to @louise_marsland or email her at louise.marsland at gmail.com.
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Louise Marsland has written about the FMCG, media, marketing and advertising industry for 18 years of her 25 year media career as a former Editor of magazines AdVantage, Marketing Mix and Progressive Retailing; as well as websites Bizcommunity.com and FMCGFiles. She currently edits the weekly Wednesday Media & Marketing Page for The New Age newspaper; and is the co-founder and Publishing Editor of SA’s newly launched industry trendwatching portal, TREND. at www.trendlives.info, in partnership with MarkLives.com.
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