The biggest ever pre-Christmas programme behind the Tia Maria brand includes a national TV advertising campaign featuring the seductive execution ‘Come to Mummy’; a new print creative pushing a strongly differentiated mixability message across national female consumer magazines; a national radio campaign plus heavyweight consumer PR.

Targeting females aged 23 to 28 years old, the integrated campaign has been created to build a high level of brand awareness amongst target consumers during this important trading period. Last year saw Tia Maria® Liqueur Spirit become the fastest growing brand in the GB Multiple Grocers, growing by a massive +57% - three times more than the liqueurs and specialities category - during the four week period to 29th December*1. “We estimate that over 81% of females aged between 18 and 34 will see the Tia Maria® Liqueur Spirit TV advertising over Christmas,” says Lizzie Pawsey, Director for Liqueurs at ADUK.

To fully leverage the heightened levels of brand awareness delivered through the media campaign, ADUK will also be running an extensive simultaneous on and off trade sampling programme. Over 100,000 target consumers will have the opportunity to taste one of four new Tia Maria® Liqueur Spirit mixed drinks*2 - ‘Dark Fantasy’, ‘Velvet Kiss’, ‘Fatal Attraction’ and ‘Passionate Embrace’ as part of the on trade campaign. The four drinks have been created specifically to highlight the Tia Maria theme of ‘Exploiting the power of your extra sense’, driving the brand’s positioning as a modern mixable spirit.

A similar sampling programme featuring the same four Tia Maria mixed drinks with money off vouchers will hit key off trade accounts during the pre-Christmas period. ADUK will create a unique Tia Maria® Liqueur Spirit sampling experience for consumers in multiple grocer foyers, featuring ‘live’ mixing by a trained bar person. “Our objective is to transfer the drama and interaction that is more easily achieved within the on trade to our off trade sampling programme,” continues Pawsey. “ The sampling mechanic allows us to interact with consumers, asking them to select a card from a tray using their intuition. On the back of each card is one of the four mixed Tia Maria® Liqueur Spirit drinks, which is then made for them ‘on the spot’ by our expert bar person. ”

The mixability message is also a key theme across the brand’s consumer PR programme, which creatively links product mixing with the ‘hippest’ female D-J’s in the UK in the form of a nationwide Tia Maria® Liqueur Spirit ‘Mixer night’ tour. In association with established female D-J’s, and other up-and-coming females D-J’s across the UK, ADUK will be offering the ultimate night out for the girls.

“We are confident that the consumer and trade programme will make Tia Maria® Liqueur Spirit a winner again this Christmas. As a stand-alone programme for Tia Maria® Liqueur Spirit, this campaign is impressive, but add the activity behind our new premium brand, Tia Lusso® Cream Liqueur, and you have a fully integrated consumer and trade communications campaign - the likes of which, and the scale of which has never been seen in the liqueurs category – that provides retailers and licensees with a real volume and profit opportunity”, concludes Pawsey.

~ENDS~

Notes to editors:

1. Scantrack for multiple grocers for the four weeks ending 29th December 2001. The liqueurs and specialities category grew by +17.1% during the same period.
2. Tia Maria mixed drink formats are:

• Fall under the spell of a Dark Fantasy, the mysterious mix of Tia Maria and Cola.
  
• Find yourself in a Passionate Embrace, a seductive mix of Tia Maria and Cranberry.
  
• Enjoy a Velvet Kiss, the sensual mix of Tia Maria, Orange Juice and Lemonade.
  
• Be tempted by a Fatal Attraction, a magnetic mix of Tia Maria, Lime and Lemonade