christmas Santa shows his soft side in the new ad.


Coca-Cola aims to spread festive fizz


SOFT drinks giant Coca-Cola is aiming to get consumers in the festive mood this month when its Christmas marketing activity kicks off.


The brand’s traditional ‘holidays


are coming’ ad returns to TV screens tomorrow (November 12), followed by the new ‘snow globe’ ad, which will air from December 13. As part of the campaign, the Coca- Cola Christmas truck will visit cities across the UK, including Edinburgh, with consumers able to track the truck on www.cokezone.co.uk. Coca-Cola is also giving consumers the chance to win an X-Box ‘bundle’ through an on-pack promotion. Selena Taylor, trade communications manager at Coca-Cola Enterprises, said this year’s activity is designed to keep the brand uppermost in consumers’ minds. “To make the most of this, retailers should ensure their shelves are fully stocked from November in preparation for the significant rise in soft drinks sales during the festive period,” she said.


Liqueur calls time on drinks cabinets


THE firm behind whisky-based liqueur Glayva has launched a drinks amnesty in the run up to Christmas. As part of its ‘Glayva: the best liqueur in the world’ marketing campaign, Whyte & Mackay is calling on consumers to clear out their drinks cabinets and swap the neglected bottles at the back of the cupboard for a bottle of Glayva. Mini ‘save Britain’s drinks cabinets’ videos will be released through a Facebook campaign (www.facebook. com/glayva), supported by print and radio ads and sampling activity. The Facebook videos call for consumers to upload photographs of themselves clearing out their drinks cabinets. “We’re putting more weight behind the brand than ever before and, by integrating social media properly with our traditional media, sampling and off-trade discounts, we’ll resonate with our existing drinkers as well as new, younger customers,” said John Bradbury, off-trade sales director for Glayva.


24 - SLTN - November 11, 2010


Tighten up your festive stocking


A few simple steps can help avoid over or under-ordering K


NOWING how much stock to order for the festive season can be


difficult to predict.


Buy in too little and you risk running out; order too much and you could tie up cash in unsold sock. Although it’s hard to predict what and how much consumers will drink over the festive period, Matthew Woodward, head of marketing at Scottish & Newcastle Pub Company, reckons there is a way to keep your festive ordering in check. He’s come up with a series of anticipated growth figures which, when combined with average category sales for the last 12 months, should give licensees an indication of how much they need to order for each category. Woodward said predicting how consumers will spend their money is a vital part of festive planning.


To maximise profits you need the right range of products but equally you don’t want to tie up cash in unsold stock.


“To maximise profits you will need the right range of products but, equally, you won’t want to tie up cash in unsold stock,” he said.


“Of course these figures are national averages and different pubs will experience different spending patterns, but percentage increases in each category give a useful indicator to which products experience a growth in sales during the 12 days of Christmas.” According to Woodward, sparkling wine typically sees the biggest surge at this time of year, with sales of mid-priced Champagnes and cavas rocketing by up to 22%. Sales growth in the order of 3% and 6% can be expected on red and white wine; and 3% and 5% on sherry and port. When it comes to beer, he said, sales can increase by anything from 2% on stouts to 7% on draft beer and lager; with low-alcohol and alcohol-free beers potentially enjoying uplifts of around 5% during the festive period. Christmas is a key time for whisky, too: malt sales rise by 2%, Woodward added, and deluxe whisky blends by 5%. Sales of brandy, meanwhile, are


S&NPC’s Matthew Woodward (right) reckons operators can keep their festive ordering in check by following a few simple steps. Drinks giant Diageo is continuing to drive its ‘perfect serve’ campaign in the run up to Christmas.


likely to increase by 6%. And it’s not just alcohol that enjoys a festive sales boost, with soft drinks increasing by anything from 4% for colas to 24% for mineral waters. Meanwhile, Diageo aims to help operators grow spirits sales this Christmas through a range of marketing campaigns and in-outlet activity.


The firm behind Smirnoff, Gordon’s and Bell’s is running its first ‘cross- category’ spirits consumer ad campaign.


It will continue driving its ‘perfect serve’ spirit and mixer programme. And it has unveiled a raft of consumer ads for individual brands, including Smirnoff, Baileys and Morgan’s Spiced. Martijn Van Buuren, on-trade channel


director at Diageo GB, said the activity is designed to enhance consumers’ experiences in the trade and help operators maximise sales. “The festive season represents a huge opportunity for the on-trade and Diageo GB is investing significantly to help licensees maximise their profits during this busy time of year,” he said. “We recommend that customers take advantage of POS and experiential opportunities to continue to drive consumer awareness of perfectly- served long mixed drinks and


Licensees should ensure their bar staff are well-versed on the perfect serves for the most popular spirits.


occasions on which they can be enjoyed. “Visibility is key for impulse


purchases, as are recommendations from staff, so licensees should ensure their in-house teams are well-versed on the perfect serves for the season’s most popular spirits, such as Smirnoff and Baileys.”


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