Chambord
Trade Influencer Program
Chambord, a black
raspberry liqueur crafted in France,
has historically been under-marketed
— though it has good distribution
and awareness, there is little
knowledge of its’ point of
difference among trade or consumer
audiences. As a result, it gathers
dust on the back bar and few
Influencers are willing to recommend
it.
Brown-Forman approached Ammo soon
after acquiring the brand with a
challenge: win active Trade
Influencer endorsements for Chambord
in advance of the consumer re-launch
in 2008. By creating positive
word-of-mouth among Über-Influencers
— those who derive economic benefit
from their influencer — Chambord
wanted to accelerate brand
revitalization, starting with 10
leading cities across the U.S.
Ten localized Chambord Brand
Ambassadors were hired across the
country, trained on the brand story,
and responsible for identifying top
Trade Influencers – mainly
bartenders, in their city.
One-to-one conversations challenged
Influencers’ preconceptions,
encouraging them to reconsider
Chambord. They were invited a
Chambord Session — a facilitated
educational experience in a luxury
environment, where they could
experiment hands-on to prove the
brand’s versatility as a cocktail
ingredient. The goal of the session
was to |
leave them inspired to endorse Chambord to
peers and to customers. Post-session
follow-ups crystallized Influencers’
positive feelings about the experience into
word-of-mouth recommendation, new drink
listings, other visibility wins in-outlet
and new accounts.
Results
The attention to Chambord in each of the 10
markets was visible and measurable.
1,197 Trade Influencers (1050 of which were
bartenders, managers or owners) were reached
by the program; of these 742 attended a
Chambord Session.
Key highlights from a post-Session phone
survey of Trade Influencers who attended
Sessions:
Pre-program, 81% felt that though they
served Chambord, they knew little or nothing
about it; however, after attending a
session, 70% felt they knew much more about
the brand
95% agreed or strongly
agreed that they were likely to tell someone
they worked with about the Chambord session
89% said they were
significantly or somewhat more likely to
recommend Chambord to a suitable customer
Retention of brand
messages was excellent; 85% agreed/strongly
agreed Chambord is versatile,
|
90% agreed/strongly agreed
it is all-natural
94% agreed/strongly
agreed Chambord is a brand they would
recommend; 73% agreed/strongly agreed they
were using it more often
Mystery Shopper program, run in all 10
markets, tracked bartenders’ willingness to
recommend Chambord. Across three waves of
activity there was evidence of greater
recommendation (+20 pts to 69%), more
knowledge of the versatility and quality
story (+22 pts to 66%). Brand visibility
improved, with increases in ‘ease of reach’
(+7 pts to 81%, indicating more frequent
usage).
More than 50 new signature drink listings
were gained in key luxury-oriented outlets,
and 29 new distribution points were claimed.
Volume in accounts covered by the program
increased by +14%, with re-order rates up by
+17%.
Most importantly, based on the program’s
success in F07, Ammo is continuing the
program for Brown-Forman through the end of
F08.
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