Pernod Ricard boosts marketing support for Jacob’s Creek

PR UK recently went through a re-structuring process and it now has a wine division under wine sales and marketing director Nick Blair, who told Talking Retail the set-up was “focussing 100% on wine”.

Jacob’s Creek, Montana and Campo Viejo are seen as the “priority brands”, but PR UK has identified what it calls its “nuture” brands. It also devised a strategy for its Champagnes and sparkling wines.

Blair said the plan behind Jacob’s Creek was to encourage consumers to trade up in quality to Jacob’s Creek Three Vines (retailing around £6.99) and the Jacob’s Creek Reserve range (£8.99).

Price points

He said Australian wine offers a lot around the £4 to £5 mark and there is a consumer perception that is what Australia is good at.

“As an industry we need to let people know there is more to Australia than just those wines. There is more to experience at higher price points and from the different regions,” he says.

France, he said, has an established reputation for premium wines, but it also provided wines at the more competitively-priced end of the market and that was what Australia should be striving to do.

PR UK will be investing above the line this year on Jacob’s Creek and Blair expected the marketing spend to be up 25% over last year.

The company is also looking to re-establish Montana as the “icon brand” of the Marlborough region of New Zealand.

Next year will see the 30th anniversary of the Montana Classic Sauvignon Blanc, the wine seen as kicking off the region’s reputation as a top supplier of Sauvignon Blanc. In recent years, Montana has come under pressure from other Marlborough wines, most notably the Oyster Bay brand.

Blair said PR UK would be putting more emphasis behind the Montana Classic range, while encouraging consumers to trade up to the Montana Reserve range, Montana Terroir and the Montana Letter Series.

Press advertising

Campo Viejo, the leading Rioja brand in the UK, will again be supported above the line with poster, press and on-line advertising to raise awareness and create trial.

Blair said the advertising for Campo Viejo was designed to move Rioja away from the “old fashioned and staid” image it has for some consumers.

“We believe there is an opportunity to bring some younger consumers into the market and get them to enjoy Rioja again,” he said.

Activity on its “nurture” brands will include a focus on the Wyndham Estate Shiraz wines, as well as the launch of the premium George Wyndham range, with a likely retail price of £9.99.

With its Champagne and sparkling wines, PR UK is hoping to become a category partner with one or two multiple grocers as part of its long-term plan to make them “less special occasion and more everyday wines.”