Jackson-Triggs: We've got a wine for that

Source: Institute of Communication Agencies, Bronze, Canadian

Advertising Success Stories, 2014
Downloaded from WARC

This case study describes a campaign in Canada by Jackson-Triggs, a wine brand, which sought to
reverse decline in sales by repositioning the brand.

The wine category had become crowded, leaving consumers confused when deciding what to buy
and Jackson-Triggs had experienced a decline in sales and low levels of brand loyalty.
The repositioning included a total rebrand, including packaging, advertising and brand message
and the campaign targeted 'wine drinkers' - people who do not overthink wine purchases and
drink as part of their lifestyle.
Research found a number of advertising cliches in the wine sector, and sought to overturn them
with an emotional lifestyle focussed message.
TV ads featured social wine drinking occasions with the message 'We've got a wine for that'.
This approach led to an increase in sales of 29%, brand awareness of 25%, and an improvement
in brand loyalty scores.

Agency: Bensimon Byrne Inc.

Client: Constellation Brands Canada

Section I — Basic information

Business Results Period (Consecutive Months): November 2011 - May 2013

Start of Advertising/Communication Effort: November 2011

Base Period as a Benchmark: October 2010 - May 2011

Section II — Situation analysis
a) Overall assessment

In early 2011 when Bensimon Byrne first began to work with Constellation Brands, the wine category in Canada
was healthy and growing. So for Jackson-Triggs (JT), a well known, dominant player in Ontario and BC,
business should have been booming. Instead, the brand overall was struggling, and its base SKU (Proprietors'
Selection), which represented almost 80% of the volume, was declining.

"I have no clue what to buy"

Over the previous few years, the wine category was undergoing a transformation, becoming highly fragmented
and intensely competitive with little brand loyalty from consumers. The choice is overwhelming with hundreds
brands to choose from at any given time. Getting picked in the first place is an enormous feat and developing a
consistently loyal following is even more difficult. The category growth was fuelled by hundreds of new brands
with bright, playful labels and names like Cupcake Vineyards and Girls Night Out.

Relative to these new choices, the JT wines appeared dusty and uninspired. In a category where novelty had
become the new currency, the JT brand and its heritage had little meaning for consumers. By 2008 JT lost its
ranking as #1 national wine brand.

Over the next few years, the brand continued to spiral down and JT was unable to retain its loyal wine drinkers
who were buying less, less often while it was not attracting new consumers to the brand. Nationally, JT volume
reached its lowest level in August 2011.

Our challenge was to not only stop the bleeding but to make JT relevant to our core target again and gain its fair
share of market. Canadian wine drinkers needed to consider the brand again and have motivation to pick up JT
at retail outlets.

b) Resulting business objectives

Overall business objective was single-minded – drive growth by repositioning the entire brand, from
packaging to advertising to reinvigorate interest in JT.

There were 3 specific business goals set to measure success:

Increase case volume sales

Increase purchase intent amongst drinkers (loyal and new)
 Strengthen brand equity

c) Annual media budget

$1 - $2 million

d) Geographic area

National, English Canada

Section III — Strategic thinking

a) Analysis and insight

In order to turnaround a brand with these kinds of challenges, our first step was a Brand Audit to fully explore the
existing category conventions. Then we conducted research that revealed a category truth that could be
leveraged to make our brand relevant to the target. Through this process we identified some key
recommendations regarding the target consumer and the creative idea.

"What wine was that again?"

We conducted a Brand Audit that revealed the communication in the wine category almost always focuses on
the varietal, the appellation, or some type of food pairings. Reviews and tasting notes are everywhere from
dedicated wine blogs to mobile apps to retail shelf signage. Visually, the advertising nearly always incorporates
a beautiful vineyard shot, generic product photography and cliché drinking occasions.

Analyzing the category and competitive landscape we identified that most wine brands were focused on the
same strategic archetype segments, which explained why the communication in the category was surprisingly
similar. Consumer research also revealed that JT users described themselves as being down-to-earth and
straightforward with an aversion to pretense. Their enjoyment of wine was driven by the belief that wine made
occasions a little more special and meaningful.

With this learning we identified the first important insight that the real target for JT Proprietors' Selection were
"Wine Drinkers" who don't over think wine purchases, and not "Wine Lovers" who tend to respond to stories
about the terroir, the vintage, the characteristics of liquid etc.

And that led us to the second insight; that the solution for this brand was not inside the bottle. In other words, for
JT to truly resonate with the actual target consumer, we didn't need to spend time talking about the wine itself.
Instead we needed to establish JT as a relevant lifestyle brand owning the whitespace in the category
segmentation. This insight fed into campaign development for an idea that was relevant to their relationship to
the category and their self-perception.

Consumer research was conducted regarding packaging, consumption/buying behaviour and branding
associations. Research validated following key insights about desired target drinker:

They were actually "Wine Drinkers" and not "Wine Lovers." Wine Lovers tend to respond to stories about
the terroir, liquid credentials, etc. whereas Wine Drinkers defined themselves as down-to-earth and
straightforward with an aversion to the pretentious aspects of wine culture. These Drinkers don't over think
their wine purchases.
Their enjoyment of wine was driven by the belief that wine made occasions a little more special and
meaningful.
Previous and existing packaging didn't mean anything to them, nor did it suggest anything pertaining to the
wine. Futhermore packaging looked like a poor quality wine.
Brand bonding should be more casual and emotional to trigger associations with wine drinking occasions.

With these insights we knew we had to overhaul all the brand imagery to really get Canadian wine drinkers to
pay attention to JT again. We didn't need to spend time talking about the wine itself. We needed to establish JT
as a relevant lifestyle brand and find a way to connect with these wine drinkers on a deeper, meaningful level.

b) Communication strategy

"We've got a wine for that."

In order to move from a rational, expected approach to a more emotional space, we crafted an idea to connect
JT to the feelings and emotions that make any experience more special. Instead of focusing on the clichéd
drinking occasions of typical wine advertising, we focused on feelings and emotions, and associated them with a
far wider range of wine drinking moments. We wanted to communicate that no matter what mood you're in or
feeling you're going for, "We've got a wine for that."

This also provided implicit support for a key product attribute – the large number of varietals, size and packaging
formats the brand offers. It truly supported the versatility and broad number of varietals that the brand could offer
to drinkers.

We set a single communication objective for the re-launch; to create awareness of JT's new positioning in order
to drive up purchase intent.

To deliver on our objective in such a crowded category, we would need to find ways to maximize our modest
media budget as much as possible. It would be key to find some media selections that were atypical of wine
advertisers to really help us break through and become top of mind.

We would also need to leverage our PR team to help solidify JT as a lifestyle brand and to gain additional
exposure for the brand through earned media opportunities.

Section IV — Key executional elements

a) Media used

In many ways the creative idea was the easy part. The second and harder part was devising a media strategy
that would help JT to standout and reinforce it's new brand positioning. That required a fresh take on category
advertising and a resulting plan that bucked traditional category media planning conventions.

So we launched on TV – which may seem entirely traditional but was brand new for this category – who typically
spent media budgets on glossy magazine ads and OOH, instead of utilizing the emotional connection of TV. To
maximize a modest media budget, sponsorships with specialty channels along with digital pre-roll ads on
conventional networks helped push the message out. A full year national plan incorporated a blend of 30 sec
and 15 sec cut-downs to ensure there was strong continual presence throughout the year.

And while we did do some print, our ads were also unique to the category. The ads portrayed a mood or feeling
that is associated to an occasion and was atypical in that it did not show cliché occasions, vineyard images - or
even consumption.

We also redesigned the corporate website and social properties to reflect the new brand imagery.

The other innovative media approach was convincing the client that a dispportionate amount of the media buy
should be put into earned, not paid. We knew there was a big opportunity to try something entirely new in wine
PR. While competitive brands were almost solely focused on reaching the wine writer, we knew our customer
wasn't reading Beppi in the Globe and Mail. We wanted to focus our PR efforts on a broader target. We turned
the wine brand into a lifestyle brand and used lifestyle media to tell our story – through morning shows, creative
TV segments, women's magazines, influencer events, and social media contesting.

Media snapshot:

Year 1:

TV
Print
Digital
PR & Social Media

Year 2:

TV
Digital
PR & Social Media

b) Creative discussion

To bring "We've got a wine for that" to life visually and solidify JT as a lifestyle brand, we did something that you
typically don't see in the wine category. We minimized the role of the liquid. There were no gratuitous pour shots
or prominently placed product throughout. Creative focused instead on those small, real moments we all have
each and every day that can be transformed into special moments with a glass of JT.

Television

To support the new brand positioning, two spots were created for the first year of the campaign. Each spot set
out to expand the target's definition of wine-drinking occasions to go beyond the typical weddings, parties and
fancy dinners.

Each of the spots was thematically tied to a common yet unexpected object that is part of our everyday lives.
Using those everyday objects to ground each scenario, we captured relatable moments that evoked a real
sense of emotion.

Our first spot ("Lights") launched in November 2011 and our second spot "Shoes" was introduced in April 2012
as part of our spring campaign.

"Lights" TV - 30 sec & 15 sec cut down

"Shoes" TV - 30 sec & 15 sec cut down

Our traditional TV spots were supported by various sponsorships on specialty stations that allowed us to extend
our "we've got a wine for that" message in a contextually relevant way.
Print

A full-page magazine ad ran simultaneous to our first TV spot during the 2011/12 holiday campaign. Like TV, the
ads portrayed a mood or feeling that is associated to an occasion and was atypical in that it did not show cliché
occasions, vineyard images - or even consumption.

"Socks" Launch Print Ad

We introduced our second print ad in the spring of 2012 – again visually showing an evocative moment that was
atypical, more casual and idiosyncratic.
"Shopping" Print Ad

Digital

The JT website was revamped to reflect the new brand repositioning and provide a more effortless,
approachable user experience. The TV spots were also formatted for online pre-roll to further support the
campaign.

PR & social media

For our holiday launch, we connected with lifestyle media versus traditional wine media by positioning JT as a
lifestyle product. Media kits were sent out with duality-inspired gift card neck tags that were fun, eye-catching
and even resonate stronger to a lifestyle editor's work. Because editors get an overwhelming number of
products during the holidays, it was important for us to stand out in a relevant way. The campaign's success
included coverage in the highly sought after Globe and Mail gift guide.

On Valentine's Day, we challenged Canadians to 'unplug and uncork' to bring romance back into their lives. We
developed a national survey asking if cell phones were killing your love life. The survey proved critical in
securing coverage across the country including CTV News with Bill Hutcheson and Sun Media's Rosalyn
Solomon.

To extend the message, we launched a JT Facebook contest challenging fans to put away their cell phones and
bring back the romance. With a simple 'like' people were able to enter for a chance to win an all-expenses paid
Valentine's Day trip to the winery including dinner and accommodations. The contest helped to garner over
3,000 new fans in less than three weeks.

Our spring campaign stemmed from the season being an iconic moment for Canadians, and the feelings it
naturally evokes: open toed shoes re-emerge, the flowerpots and garden tools are unwrapped and lastly, the
flowers are finally in bloom. This led to the idea of Spring Bloom with a focus on flowers, herbs, gardening and
shoes.

We created a story about JT's Estate Chef, Tim MacKiddie and the vineyard. The story discussed how the chef
found inspiration from the vineyard garden in the creation of four unique flower & herb-infused white wine
cocktails featuring different varietals. The idea was a modern trend with a suburban, DIY spin (perfectly targeted
to our core consumer).

Aesthetic was key here in differentiating ourselves in the market so we created a series of stunning photographs
that could be used for a variety of different platforms from general lifestyle to gardening media to cocktail media.
To further promote these original white wine cocktails, charming 20 sec videos were created showing beautifully
styled cocktails 'growing' in a garden followed by the recipe. Both the photos and videos were shared with our
online community on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Youtube, and Pinterest.

The back-story contributed to writing an attention-grabbing media release that was put on the wire and sent to a
list of key lifestyle, cocktail and food writers. Media calls followed the release and an intimate cocktail tasting
party was created for select media. The biggest hit was the media kits that were sent out to lifestyle media. A
beautiful growing herb garden filled with herbs found in each cocktail, along with the wine, was sent out so that
the drinks could be made at home.
The campaign was a huge success with over 15 stories and notable coverage including The Huffington Post,
Sympatico.ca, a morning segment on Canada AM, and The National Post.

To support the spring campaign on Facebook, we launched two simple enter-to-win contests starting with the
Spring Kick Off shoe shopping spree, awarding the winner $1000 towards new shoes. Messaging focused on
how a change of shoes can change your outfit and your mood.

Winning more than just shoes – they'd win a series of moments they can continue to enjoy every time they open
the closet. The contest ran from April 25 to May 9, 2012 acquiring 6,590 new fans and delivered above
expectations across all engagement metrics.
The second contest, A Year In Bloom, connected with consumers' deep-seeded attraction to fresh flowers. They
carry with them the feelings of renewal, warmth, and good health. A single bouquet can bring an entire room to
life.

And thanks to JT, the winner will experience the joy of fresh flowers again and again, every week for a year.
Running from May 21 – June 10, 2012 the contest acquired 4,568 new fans and had over 39,000 actions from
the ads. (Actions can be a Page Like, Page Post Like, Shared Post, Comments, etc.)

Year two

During our second year, we faced reduced budgets. Our business and marketing objectives hadn't changed, so
we needed to be laser focused and as efficient as possible with our media selection.

After validating the existing TV spots to still be effective and the best medium to provide the reach JT was
looking for, the decision was made to re-run "Lights" and "Shoes" for year two. We also continued the
contextually relevant station sponsorships for the second year.

c) Media discussion

With a modest media budget for TV we stretched our dollars by focusing on a handful of specialty networks to
bundle cost savings and packages, developed a national plan incorporating a blend of 30 sec and 15 sec spots
to ensure a strong continual presence throughout the year, and created sponsorships that increased exposure
to the brand and maximized our media dollars. To extend the message to an even broader audience the TV buy
was supplemented with digital pre-roll ads on conventional networks.

Based on the fit with creative and the communication objectives, TV and pre-roll have remained our consistent
media choices throughout both years of advertising the new brand positioning.

In the first year, to support the new positioning in the digital space, the corporate website was revamped and
Public Relations and social media properties (Facebook and Pinterest) were used to help amplify the message
to increase relevance and emotional affinity for the brand.

Print insertions in trade publications such as Food & Drink, Taste, and Occasions magazine were used to help
support and strengthen the communication.

Section V — Business results

"Success. We've got a wine for that."

The new campaign has generated results beyond expectations. As of April 2013, sales are up 33% VYA in
Ontario, 23% out West, 56% in Atlantic and 29% nationally. Remarkably, sales for JT primary competitor French
Cross plummeted to -3% vs. double-digit growth last year.

Awareness is up considerably by 25% VYA and past 6-month (P6M) consumption increased significantly from
23% to 41%. Brand perception scores show strong associations with elegance, sophistication, and inspiration.
Across all loyalty metrics it was the top performing brand amongst the competition (as reported May 29, 2012).

NATIONAL SALES GROWTH (%)

In it's first year, the campaign under the new brand positioning generated results beyond expectations. As of
June 2012, just 7 months into the campaign, the + 3.8% sales growth goal was blown away and sales were up
17% nationally.

And the upward trend didn't stop there. By the end of February 2013 total sales grew to 31% nationally, with this
incredible sales growth level being maintained through out the spring of 2013 since the campaign launch.

Section VI — Cause & effect between advertising and results

a) General discussion

Impact of the advertising speaks for itself. 57% of those who recall seeing the ad have consumed the brand in
the P6M. Also, overall impressions are incredibly strong: 73% rating it between 8 to 10 (on a 10-point scale).

Not only did the ads increase purchase occasion with current users, they were successful in drawing new and
lapsed drinkers:

29% awareness
51% say ads improved impression of the brand
34% consumed the brand in the P6M

Basically those who recall seeing the ads were more likely to have consumed JT in the P6M, had greater
propensity to buy in the next 12 months, and recommend it to others.

Brand equity tracking clearly correlates that advertising has had a major role in the JT sales growth and
business resurgence.

b) Excluding other factors

Spending levels:

On par to previous years - budget was re-allocated to advertising.

On par to previous years - no changes.

On par to previous years.

Other potential causes:

During the brand repositioning work, HKA Design redesigned the packaging. Two months before the advertising
started, the new packaging was introduced in-stores across the country. This combined with the new advertising
campaign directly help drive the dramatic growth we've seen as a result of the total marketing communications
plan.

Client Credits: Constellation Brands Canada

Steve Bolliger, SVP Marketing
Diana Pawlik, VP Marketing, Domestic Wine
Rich Fortin, Marketing Manager, Jackson-Triggs
Maria Melo-Boone, VP Marketing, Domestic Wine
Andres Rios, Marketing Director, Lifestyle Wines

Agency Credits: Bensimon Byrne Inc.

Jack Bensimon, President
Joseph Bonnici, Creative Director
Hayes Steinberg, Associate Creative Director
Chris Harrison, Associate Creative Director
James Grant, Director of Operations
Zeeshan Hussain, Group Account Director
Wendy Doan, Business Lead
Thomas Shadoff, Media Director
Alex Gillespie, Associate Media Director
Michelle Pilling, Director of Production Services
Amanda Alvaro, Managing Director, Narrative PR
Laura Serra, Account Director, Narrative PR

© Copyright Institute of Communication Agencies 2014

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