Louise Marsland (@Louise_Marsland)’s pick of new product, packaging and design launches this week:
- Get the skinny on Appletiser
- Jack Daniels hits the road with Frank Sinatra
- a sunny future for Formula1 Hotels; and
- P.S., Cadbury has a message for all students.
Appletiser gets its sexy back
I love this time of year, when the FMCG industry comes alive with the sound of a multitude of new product launches, pack designs, dramatic in-store displays and new product combos or relaunches to woo consumers and boost summer and Christmas sales.
Appletiser is first up with a slender new can. The sleek new slim 330ml will replace the previous 330ml can in all channels. Slightly taller than the standard beverage can and much slimmer, the new can gives the product a more contemporary look – and ensures it stands out on shelf and appeals to a younger, image conscious consumer.
Appletiser marketing director, Neil Hobkirk, says the new-look can reinforces Appletiser’s “superior image as a premium product”.
In research to test consumer response, Appletiser says the new look elicited the seal of approval from younger, image-conscious, respondents and women in general, who described the new look as “sexy, classy, fashionable and exclusive”.
“In line with Appletiser’s global image as a drink for the fashion conscious, this new slender packaging definitely has the ‘vogue appeal’. During qualitative research, respondents provided very encouraging feedback and responses to date have been positive,” says Appletiser global brand marketing manager, Andrea Shuttleworth.
Jack Daniels does it their way
Legend has it that the first real celebrity brand ambassador for Jack Daniels Whiskey was Frank Sinatra himself. Of course, he wasn’t paid for his endorsement; he simply loved the brand. Many famous photographs show the musical legend with a glass of Jack and, in accordance, with his final wishes, he was even laid to rest with a bottle of the whiskey.
Sinatra was introduced to the brand in the 1940s by Jackie Gleason and, not long after, Sinatra befriended Jack Daniel’s very first salesman, Angelo Luchessi.
It is this story that the brand is honouring with the special release Sinatra Select bottle this month in South Africa — retailing at R1000 a bottle. The bottle will be on sale through to 2015, the 100th anniversary of Sinatra’s birth.
For the true connoisseurs, this is the special taste of Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Select: Jack Daniel’s 7th Master Distiller has selected a number of specially crafted barrels, which are maturing a bold Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. These “Sinatra barrels” were crafted to provide full character and a rich amber colour by exposing extra layers of toasted wood on the inner surface of the barrels.
Bottled at 45% ABV, these extra rich barrels are mingled with Jack Daniel’s classic Tennessee Whiskey to provide fuller character of oak and spice notes that give way to an exceedingly smooth vanilla finish.
Certainly makes for a special festive season gift for those special clients!
SUN shines on Formula1 Hotels
Tsogo Sun announced this week that it would be rebranding the Formula1 chain of budget hotels as SUN1 and investing R135 million in upgrading the budget group. Tsogo Sun acquired the remaining 53% of the hotel chain form Accor in 2012.
CEO of Tsogo Sun, Marcel von Aulock, says this cements the group’s position as the leading hotel group in southern Africa, with a full portfolio of brands, from budget to luxury.
“We have evaluated the value of the brand in the budget sector of the market and concluded that a refresh under our brand was required. Last year, we consolidated the group’s brands into one holistic identity under the sunburst. This iconic logo will now be applied to the 21 SUN1 hotels, making them instantly recognisable as being part of the Tsogo Sun group,” Von Aulock says.
There are currently 21 SUN1 hotels offering a total of 1530 rooms spread across the major metropolitan areas of South Africa. SUN1 is represented in seven provinces and is aimed at both business and leisure travellers in the budget sector. Room rates range from R419 to a maximum of R449 and can accommodate up to three people. SUN1 offers en-suite rooms with showers, TV, air-conditioning and an eco-friendly lighting system.
“The budget sector is one of the fastest growing in the world and it is our intention to grow our portfolio of hotels in this sector,” concludes Von Aulock.
P.S.: Congrats!
Awwwww… what says I care more than a chocolate with a branded marketing message on it? Two new chocolates with branded marketing messages!
Cadbury’s P.S. chocolate brand has especially created “P.S. Congrats” and “P.S. All the best” so you can wish the learners and students in your life good luck during the year-end exam period.
I have no quarrel with that; it’s a proven fact (in my world, anyway) that chocolate combats all forms of stress.
If you had to write a message on a chocolate bar, what would yours say? I think mine would say: “Hang in there, it’s almost the end of the year, eat more chocolate”.
I think some industry ones could say: “Holy crap, there’s only 10 weeks left to Christmas? You need to work all weekends. Eat more chocolate”; or, “Repeat after me – the client is always right, the client is always right! Eat more chocolate”.
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. Want to sponsor Shelf Life? Contact us here.
Louise 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 South Africa’s industry trendwatching portal, TREND. at www.trendlives.info, in partnership with MarkLives.com.