for distribution boost

Brothers was looking to drive distribution and boost sales. The Somerset-based brand took advantage of TV's current lower than normal entry costs, a result of the current downturn, to try TV for the first time. A two-month campaign, front loaded with terrestrial TV and extended using multi-channel channels, helped secure new contracts and additional sales.

• Brothers Drinks Co wants to build distribution for its pear cider brand
• TV supported by outdoor creates a statement among 18-34-year-olds
• Extended distribution is secured in both on and off-trade as sales rise

The challenge

Brothers Drinks Co was founded by four brothers from the Showering family. Well known for the development of the Babycham brand in the 1960s and 1970s, the family has a cider making heritage in the Somerset town of Shepton Mallet that goes back 15 generations.

Brothers Pear Cider made its public debut at the nearby Glastonbury festival in 1995 and became a feature of the event until 2006 when the level of enquiries about alternative distribution became too strong to resist.

As the brand's geographic footprint increased, carefully targeted advertising using outdoor supported sales and targeted activity around key outlets.

In 2009, however, the brand's aims were starting to become bigger. The need to boost distribution in the off-trade and on-trade as well as drive consumer visibility required a high-impact approach.

The TV solution

With Magners reinvigorating the cider sector and the arrival of other pear cider brands, the time was right to make a big statement about Brothers' five delicious flavours.

A 30-second ad showed a glamorous woman walking to the bar and asking for five brothers. Misunderstanding her wishes, a group of lads quickly transform into siblings via a get up of ginger hair and checked shirts.

When the woman gets her drinks, she looks quizzically at the lads before walking back to her table, where her four similarly attired sisters are waiting.

The creative ran on Channel 4 regional macros, nationally on Five as well as multi-channel channels such as ITV 2, Fiver, Dave, Living and Sky1.

In line with the brand's musical heritage and the fact that it was now attending a host of other summer festivals in addition to Glastonbury, the ad also appeared on key music channels such as MTV, TMF, Q and Kiss as well as in music programming such as ITV 2's coverage of the Isle of Wight and iTunes festivals.

Launching in June and July enabled the message to coincide with the summer festival season as well as the launch of Big Brother to reach its target audience at the height of the pear cider sales season.

Activity ran predominantly in late and post peak. The schedule was front-loaded with terrestrial TV in June with multi-channel channels extending the activity to the core audience in July using a 10-second cut down.

Results

The brand achieved all its 2009 goals, securing extensive additional distribution in key supermarket chains as well as on-trade and cash and carry outlets. The brand has also been able to talk to retailers that had previously ignored it.

Sales hit record levels during the TV campaign and remained strong in August.