Mateus Rosé pushes for summer sales with promotion

The new marketing campaign by the UK's number 4 rosé will celebrate the great British picnic to drive awareness and sales of Mateus during the key summer trading period.

“The rosé category is showing strong growth of 29% on an MAT basis and summer is the ideal time to capitalise on this and further drive demand for Mateus which is worth £13.9 million in the UK,” says Anthony Habert, Senior Brand Manager for Mateus at First Drinks Brands.

With a half a million pound investment, the 'Colour of Summer' campaign is targeting 20-35 year olds and is fronted by award-winning celebrity chef and TV presenter, Simon Rimmer, of BBC2's 'Something For The Weekend'.

Consumers will be encouraged to enjoy Mateus rosé as an aperitif or with a range of delicious recipes created by Simon Rimmer which will be featured in a joint promotion with Heart FM.

On-air and web promotions to win luxury picnic hampers via the Heart FM home page and a microsite will further reinforce Mateus' position as the ideal wine for summer drinking occasions through competitions, recipes and tasting information.

Mateus will be on the road with Heart FM sampling at five key summer events including London's Broadgate 'City Picnic', Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and the Birmingham Jazz Festival.

The events will be publicised through outdoor advertising sheets and advertorials will run in London's Metro to drive footfall to the events taking place in the capital.

“Mateus is one of the great symbols of summer and our investment in the 'Colour of Summer' campaign will drive trial of the Mateus range, including the new Sparkling variety, to boost the brand's profile among consumers during the strongest rosé drinking sales period,” says Anthony Habert.

To further tap into its target market, Mateus will be promoting its Heart FM microsite www.colourofsummer.com through social networking site, Facebook.

“The aim of the campaign is to encourage more people to go out and enjoy picnics at some of the UK's spectacular parks and festivals and responsibly enjoy a bottle of Mateus Rosé from our growing range, which caters to every taste,” adds Anthony Habert.

“Our partnership with two well known names – Simon Rimmer and Heart FM – is perfect to appeal to our target audience and capture the essence of the Mateus brand which is about great taste and friendly fun.”