Innovative Positioning in the Global Spirits Market
The CHALLENGE
Our top distiller client wanted to broaden the appeal of its cognac brands with high-end spirit consumers across the globe. While the distiller was experiencing strong growth with other spirits, making an impact within the cognac category required a unique approach to shift consumers’ mindsets and catch the attention of today’s non-cognac drinkers.
The APPROACH
We embarked on a global insights-gathering tour, talking with category experts and consumers from the US, South Africa, France, and China. The interviews helped inspire a dynamic range of breakthrough positionings to rejuvenate the business. Key steps included:
- Crystallizing foundational category insights by synthesizing a robust collection of legacy information augmented with social listening
- Identifying whitespace opportunities through conversations with six global cognac experts who helped identify industry trends and ways to overcome cognac’s barriers
- Illuminating six potential targets representing high growth potential for cognac—both from a demographic and Jobs-to-Be-Done perspective
- Developing the six unique positioning territories, then collaboratively optimizing them within a cross-functional work session
- Creating Instagram-style stimuli, representing how consumers see brands in the “real world” in order to get a truer read on the positioning options
- Identifying the lead positioning territory that drove appeal with high-end consumers for each of the distiller’s four cognac brands
The IMPACT
We discovered uncharted territories for growth by defining a new approach to targets and occasions, and by unearthing compelling product and emotional benefits—illuminating the high growth potential of the cognac category. The resulting insights and positionings strengthened the distiller’s confidence to increase their investment in the cognac segment and created organization-wide excitement around the company’s portfolio of cognac brands.
