Repositioning the Brand for a Millennial Audience
1
The Challenge
Chandon was founded in 1973 by parent company Moet & Chandon. Though it is produced in the same way as champagne, Chandon is considered “sparkling wine” because it is not made in the Champagne region of France. As a result, Chandon boasts a high quality product without the champagne price tag.
Chandon wanted to build greater relevance with the consumer driving the most growth within the sparkling wines category - millennial females. However, this audience did not know much about sparkling wine, often confusing it with more luxurious champagne reserved for special occasions or dismissing it as an inexpensive alternative made purely for boozy brunch mimosas. Chandon found itself in this crowded competitive middle ground with very little distinction.
Chandon needed to connect with this new audience and reposition the brand from a special occasion indulgence to an any day celebration.
2
The Strategy
We found that for millennial women, finding time to meet up with friends had become incredibly difficult. As she was prioritizing career aspirations and forming romantic relationships, seeing her close girlfriends required much more effort and planning than it previously did. While trying to balance it all, connecting through social media seemed to replace meeting up in real life. Time found for catching up in person was rare, cherished, and most importantly, celebrated. Nothing can replace face-to-face connection.
To stand out in the crowded and often forgotten “middle bubblies” category, we needed to break down consumer perceptions to present Chandon as the premium bubbly for the special everyday moments — when genuine connections happen.
3
A New Brand Platform
We launched a new global Chandon brand platform — “Let’s Catch Up” — a rallying cry for the female millennial audience looking to spend more quality time together with friends.
These catch up moments represented a chance to bring friends together, with a bottle of Chandon in hand. While “Let’s Catch Up” is portrayed through lighthearted, playful imagery, the underlying voice is one that evokes authenticity and fun.
From social media to in-store retail, “Let’s Catch Up” brought to life the experiences that we wanted consumers to associate with Chandon.
4
Introducing Charlie
We created a digital persona, Charlie, to represent Chandon and guide cohesive communication across digital platforms. Charlie personified Chandon as a character who was relatable and an inspiration to the millennial woman. Using Charlie as our guide, our team took to social media to spread the “Let’s Catch Up” message, developing creative concepts that celebrated moments when girls could come together over a bottle of Chandon.
This included cocktail recipes perfect for a meet up, trending digital holidays (i.e Galentine’s Day, National Donut Day, National Wine Day), boozy book club, and bicoastal catch ups. Our creative teams continuously curated these themes, with content production ranging from short-stop motion videos to lifestyle images to motivational mantra posters — always connecting back to Chandon’s focus on meaningful moments surrounded by friends.
5
Seasonal Catch Ups
The holidays and summer were natural peak consumption times that were primed to market as new catch up occasions. We helped create and promote new Instagram-worthy limited edition bottle designs that captured the essence of the these moments and drove consumers to engage. We supported the seasonal collections with 360 support across the digital ecosystem driving excitement and more reasons to catch up with each new launch.
6
Building Relevance Through Partnerships
We connected Chandon with some of the biggest names in the fashion and beauty industry to help spread the word and build credibility to the millennial audience. Carol Lim, co-founder of Opening Ceremony and fashion designer for Kenzo, became the first influencer Chandon partnered with. Expanding beyond pure digital, our team worked with Carol to create a limited edition bottle design, unique media and point-of-sale marketing materials that seamlessly connected Chandon’s “Let’s Catch Up” message to the female millennial.
7
Packaging Innovation
Our Industrial Design team explored new packaging designs, serving as functional assets that would add to the experience of drinking Chandon while catching up with friends to make it that much sweeter. It included:
- Removable rubber bottom that allows ice to be added to keep your bottle chilly while you chat
- Handle made for convenient carrying to your next catch up
- Customizable fabric wrap for an ownable take on the bubbly silhouette
- Wax topper that doubles as a crayon for bottle personalization primed for catch up Instagrams
8
The Results
20.7 point increase in brand awareness for the initial seasonal campaign post brand platform relaunch.
31% of social comments coming from our target talk about catching up showcasing that our message was being received.
The response was right on target with consumers regularly tagging their friends to schedule their own catch ups after being inspired by Chandon content. We were able to break through and give Chandon a very distinct role within the cluttered category.
