Martell titillates in bid to attract new market of younger drinkers

TBWA has launched a global Martell Cognac campaign aimed at revitalising the 300-year-old French cognac brand by attempting to appeal to a younger market. To date, Martell - generally considered the No.3 brand in its category after Remy and Hennessy - has been perceived as a drink for older, more conservative drinkers. Cognac has a huge following worldwide; however, the overall category is on the decline because of the masses of younger people, empowered by higher disposable incomes, becoming avid consumers of alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine. TBWA Hong Kong chairman and strategic planning director Gavin Heron said the perception of cognac among the younger generation is that "it's for my father's generation, not my generation". Because of that, TBWA and Martell opted to break the cognac advertising mould in a bid to create new excitement around the Martell brand. The ad campaign, which rolled out worldwide this month, uses a woman to personify the cognac brand. However, the twist, at least in the TVC, is that the woman appears to be talking directly at the consumer in a cajoling and teasing manner. "It is an encapsulation of French culture and image - independent, prestigious, chic, sexy, sensual and stylish. "This aspect of the brand is wrapped up in Martell, the tangible manifestation of the brand. Everything that Martell the cognac is, is encapsulated in Martell the girl. She challenges. She titillates. She induces trial," Mr Heron told MEDIA. In this way, he added, the advertising strategy represents a radical departure from the long-held view that cognac ads need to be traditional, face and status conscious, conservative and for formal occasions. The campaign was developed as a global project among TBWA offices in Hong Kong, London and New York. Local implementation comes mainly in the form of appropriate translations of the work in major markets where the campaign is running such as Cantonese for the Hong Kong and southern China markets. However, the talent used is the same the world over and Mr Heron said that this was because the woman had to embody the "Frenchness" of the brand. "Martell belongs to the oldest of all the cognac houses in France and so it has the traditions and heritage that go along with it. We could not use a Chinese talent for Hong Kong because things Chinese are not part of the brand value," he said. However, he stressed that research such as focus group studies in all the major markets elicited a positive response. The campaign's main objective is to create a younger, fresher feel to the brand, but at the same time, not isolating the existing Martell drinkers. "We want to effectively target the 25 to 35-year-old age group. But we also want to keep the premium and prestige values that have long been associated with the brand. "The new positioning is that Martell is a young drink - but it is not a teeny-bopper drink," Mr Heron said. And to drive home the message about Martell's youthfulness, a website (www.martell.com) has been established where people can interact with the brand. In Asia-Pacific, the campaign is running in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Singapore and Korea. TBWA Hong Kong general manager Stewart Li said below-the-line activities accompany the TVC and print campaign including public relations, and on- and off-premises and direct marketing efforts. "In order to realise the full potential of the campaign, we even have devised drink recipes related to Martell such as Martell Ginger (Martell and ginger ale), Martell Sour (Martell, fresh lemon juice and sugar) and Martell Apricot (Martell, apricot liqueur and champagne)."

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