Bilans d’évènement • Comités
CHANDON: How to avoid the “me too” trap and build a distinctive & innovative brand proud of its roots?
Chaired by Philippe Jardin, the French Chamber’s Marketing and Retail Committee welcomed on June 22 Alexandra Lovato-Doudard, Marketing, Communication & Trade Marketing Director at Moët Hennessy Diageo Japan. Alexandra gave a talk about how to build a unique brand and avoid falling into the me-too trap, taking the example of Chandon.
Chandon was created in 1959, after Robert Jean de Vogüé, President of Moët & Chandon, asked oenologist Renaud Poirier to explore new terroirs outside of France where premium sparkling wines could be produced. From the origin, the heritage of Moët & Chandon and the name similarity, on top of the consumers not being necessarily aware about the difference between champagne and a sparkling wine, made the differentiation critical.
At some point – and even internally – Chandon was more considered as a more affordable alternative to the group’s star brand Moët & Chandon.
Rediscovering the true essence of the brand, redefining the brand vision, identifying a more appealing competitive scope for solid business opportunity, was a good challenge. The team had to go back to Chandon’s roots to be able to project the brand in a profitable future, in line with its legacy. Chandon is born in France, raised in the new world: so why not make the most of this?
Since sparkling wines have practically no constraint in terms of production compared to champagne, part of the solution was product innovation, in line with Chandon “courageous pioneer” spirit. More adapted to local consumers’ taste and consumption culture, new Chandon sparkling wines were launched in multiple parts of the world: Chandon “Passion” in Japan, Chandon “S” in Australia and Chandon “me” in China, among others. To accomplish this with agility, the organizational structure was transformed: from a centralized organization model to a startup model with a better delegation of responsibilities.
Priority moments of consumption had also to be redefined; Chandon is meant to be drunk with friends outdoors, especially during summertime. It has therefore started competing against the beer and cocktail markets.
On top of that, limited editions have been developed to increase local relevancy, with a clear unique branding. “Difference limited to price point is not enough. Brands needs to be clearly and widely explained to consumers, focusing on their unique relevance to address consumer’s needs”, concluded Alexandra.
To know more, please click here to download Alexandra’s presentation.
