Over the coming months all styles will be relaunched with stylish new livery, designed to create greater synergy across the range and offer a hierarchy of styles to aid consumer understanding and decision making.
The instantly recognisable ‘Coronet’ bottle, currently used by Cockburn’s Special Reserve®, Cockburn’s Fine Ruby and Cockburn’s Fine Tawny, will be introduced across the core range. Research* carried out by ADUK highlighted the instant appeal of this iconic bottle shape with consumers feeling it was ‘quirky’ and ‘different’ as well as offering instant shelf standout. Cockburn’s 10 Year Old Tawny and Cockburn’s 20 Year Old Tawny will remain in their current classic bottle shape.
The new packaging and bottle shapes have been extensively tested in consumer research, receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback. Consumers like the clarity, simplicity and aesthetic appeal of the Cockburn’s new look. It was felt to be more contemporary with the increased use of gold on Cockburn’s Special Reserve and white on Cockburn’s Late Bottled Vintage reinforcing the premium look of the range while still retaining the Cockburn’s ‘feel’. LBV drinkers were especially impressed by the new Cockburn’s LBV packaging, commenting that they liked the updated look and adding that they would definitely include Cockburn’s LBV when making a purchase decision in the future.
Jo Smith, brand manager for Cockburn’s at ADUK, commented, “The Cockburn’s packaging was ahead of it’s time when it was developed, so it doesn’t look out of place on the shelf, even though it was first created over 20 years ago. We felt now was time to update the look and bring Cockburn’s and Port firmly into the 21st century. Following extensive consumer research it is clear that consumers do not yet fully engage with, or understand the different styles of Port and their purchase decisions are mainly price-led. We felt that, as the UK brand leader, Cockburn’s was best placed to re-engage with the consumer and help drive category growth through increased consumer focused activity and increased consumer understanding.”
Additional consumer and trade PR activity will support the repack and continue to create a buzz around Cockburn’s and, to maximise in store impact, special neck collars and gift boxes have been designed to increase rate of sale and encourage cross-style trial.
“Consumer awareness of the Cockburn’s name is very high” continued Smith. “We’ve been instrumental, especially through Special Reserve, in driving volume and value in the category over recent years and we wanted to take that one step further. Focusing on consumer education and awareness can only help drive the category forward and encourage trial across a range of styles of Port. Once the consumer is more familiar with the variety of styles available, they will be more likely to experiment and widen their view of Port. We’re obviously very excited about the repack for Cockburn’s, but we also think it will benefit the entire Port category through improved consumer understanding of what is a fantastic product,” she concluded.
~ends~
Notes to editors:
Cockburn’s® and Cockburn’s® Special Reserve® are registered trademarks of Allied Domecq Spirits & Wine Ltd.
Allied Domecq Spirits & Wine (UK) Limited is a member of The Portman Group - promoting responsible drinking. For more information see www.drinkaware.co.uk
*Consumer research carried out by Fathom Research in February 2004 & October 2004
