Sustaining tobacco brand identities in an increasingly restricted environment
How can a brand identity be maintained in a restrictive environment? Due to marketing bans the brand packaging itself has become important to experience a brand. For the tobacco category this is specifically so. In the March issue of Tobacco reporter Claessens|Cartils gives insights in the backgrounds of branding and introduces a frame of reference to reinforce brand presentations. Tools are evaluated that can be used to create a brand presentation that underscores a brand’s personality while complying with regulations.
Click here to download the full article Balancing Act
New approach to Avery Dennisson Fasson marketing
Avery Dennison is one of world’s largest suppliers of Pressure-Sensitive Materials with world-wide sales of $3.6 billion in 2008 in this category. Their customers should be able to experience the full portfolio of offerings. Starting from its ample experience in label design, Claessens|Cartils was challenged to address the tactile elements, i.e. the visible and touchable elements of the product (in this case, the label) that play a key role in the consumer purchase decision.
The agency supported by developing three fictional designs for the beverage industry which integrate a range of styles and finishes (e.g. raised print, metallic colouring, etc) suitable for transfer to a range of paper or film surfaces.
The tactile uniqueness of the more classic champagne label is created by combination of debossing and tactile varnish (raised print). The execution of the crest is distinctive because it is hotstamped and at the same time debossed.
The second design, a more modern champagne label, is outstanding due to its matt expression combined with tactile spot varnish, as well as use of holographic hotstamp foil and embossing.
For the water bottle, the transparency of the label was used as inspiration for the see-through concept. The back label is unique because it has a two-sided expression, although print is only one-sided.
The champagne labels and water bottles were handed-out on the Labelexpo Europe 2009 and will be available in Avery Dennison Fasson sample swatchbooks in 2010.
Since 1860 the Alberti family has guarded the secret of an ancient recipe, handed down from father to son. It is here in Benevento that the oldest Italian liqueur, well known all over the world is produced: Liquore Strega. They also produce a more premium variant: Strega Riserva. This is a particularly valuable product, purposely aged for many years in oak vats.
Strega Alberti asked Claessens|Cartils to develop a luxury box for their Strega Riserva, which is often purchased as a gift given its high quality level and notoriety. This resulted in an elegant and valuable gift box, made of unique material with the look and feel of expensive reptile leather and an elegant scratch-resistant gloss finish and fashionable colour, finished with a golden hot-stamp. The result is a gift box with strong shelf impact and high instant appeal.
Welcome to the family of Andre which is closely connected to Germany’s long tradition in cigars. The family started producing cigars since 1817 and has grown to be one of the leading manufacturers in Europe. Now, for the first time, Arnold André – The Cigar Company presents a cigar that carries the family name.
The new “Carlos André”, is called after the youngest off-spring of the family, celebrating this legacy. Mr. Axel Georg André: “The Carlos André cigar is a tribute to the great tradition of our house, as well as a tribute to the lover of great cigars”. Carlos André is available in Robusto, Corona and Petit Corona size, only in exclusively selected tobacco shops.
In a beautiful attempt to make the world a better place, Absolut recently launched a naked bottle. The small label containing the underlying message that it’s the inside that really matters is meant to be removed after being read.
Having invested for many years in its bottle as the true icon of its brand, Absolut is probably one of the few brands in the world being able to launch this kind of special edition: a bottle without any graphical cue to support the brand message.
However, it seems that even the Absolut bottle is not iconic enough to be truly without graphical cues, as the country-of-Sweden guarantee seal has still been preserved on the bottle’s chest.
This makes me question the power of structural design when it comes to iconisation. Taking Bacardi as an example, its graphical bat-icon has become a recognisable symbol. It expressed its power in many occasions, varying from advertising to the endorsement of line-extensions. Of course, the Absolut bottle is the absolute star in many advertising campaigns. But when it comes to other icon-qualities, the bottle is not strong enough. One can wonder how many consumers recognise the small bottle-icon on the Level presentation? In this particular case, the bottle is not supported by the graphical guarantee seal, nor by any specific 3D cue, and then what remains of the Absolut icon?
A closer look to the naked bottle in comparison with the dressed version sheds light on this matter. The absence of the Absolut logo and body text has quite some influence on the expression of the bottle. The transparency of the glass and the thin-thick structure are less/ not visible and therewith a unique structural characteristic has disappeared.
Concerning the impact of the branding, the strength of the well-known type face becomes scary obvious when it is not there. Using this font on the small front label supports brand recognition, but after removing this label, the bottle seems to become an Absolut Nobody.
Compared to structural design, a graphical brand icon is a flexible attribute well executed to do its job: creating instant brand recognition. A unique structural design supports brand identification, but even a well communicated bottle shape like Absolut’s is not powerful enough to sufficiently communicate the brand on its own.
So, looking at the naked bottle, I’m glad that this is only a temporary attempt to make the world a better place, and that Absolut has not lost sight on the necessity of utilising its holistic creative power yet!
This column by Lianne van den Berg-Weitzel was published on Popsop on November 19th 2009
English version: http://popsop.com/category/articles/lianne-van-den-berg-weitzel-claessenscartils
Russian version: http://popsop.ru/category/articles/lianne-van-den-berg-weitzel-claessenscartils
From November 11 to November 13, Bangkok will stage the TABINFO ASIA 2009 CONGRESS entitled TOBACCO: THE NEW LANDSCAPE.
Sylvia van Duyvenboode, brand consultant at Claessens Cartils Amsterdam, will contribute to this congress by giving a presentation entitled “Brand Design in a Restrictive Environment”, followed by a discussion among international renowned panelists and delegates on November 11. Furthermore, she will lead a workshop on Friday November 13 on maintaining brand identity in a restrictive environment. Delegates will be provided with insights on the backgrounds of branding and a frame of reference to reinforce brand presentations. Furthermore, tools will be demonstrated for the creation of a brand presentation that underscores a brand’s personality while complying with regulations.
For more information visit www.tabinfoasia09.com
De Kuyper launches the very first XO Cherry Brandy, making it the finest Cherry Brandy in the world. Claessens|Cartils’ design was inspired by the original art deco style of De Kuyper’s Cherry Brandy bottle produced in the 1920’s.
Only a small batch of this very rare Cherry Brandy has been produced and is available at duty free and at Harvey Nichols in London, the famous international luxury lifestyle store.The bottle is presented in a two piece gift box, also developed by the agency.
On October 1st SAB Miller festively introduced the new look of Castle Lite. This brand holds a No.1 position in the South African premium beer segment.
Claessens Cartils developed an evolutionary redesign with the main challenge to increase the premium feel and to position Castle Lite more independently from its mother brand Castle Lager.
The new packaging underlines the new brand positioning of COLD REFRESHMENT, especially by means of a snow-castle symbol which changes colour when the perfect drinking temperature is reached.
To underline the new look and feel, Claessens Cartils also created the LITE brand device which is now being used as the main communication tool during introduction.
On behalf of Cartils London, Christiaan Huynen joined editor of magazine The Spirits Business Patience Gould, International Beverages Regional sales director Rajiv Bhatia, and master distiller and managing director of Zuidam Distillers Patrick Van Zuidam, to judge the 2009 Travel Retail Masters Awards.
All entries, consisting of Rums, Cognacs, Scotch Whiskys, Armagnacs, Liqueurs, and Vodkas were judged in two separate categories. The spirits could win Master awards not only for the detail and precision put in their packaging design but also for their quality and smoothness in taste.
The reward of seven Master, sixteen Gold and no Silver awards in the taste category underlines the excellence in quality the entries had to offer this year. The Macallan 1824 Collection was at the for-front by receiving a Master and two Golds.
However, the big winner of the day was the cognac Dupuy XO Tentation that prevailed in the Design & Packaging category by winning the only Master award. The judges praised in particular the meticulous attention to detail that was used, such as the cap which fitted with exact precision – only one twist was needed. The Macallan 1824 Collection was also praised for its outstanding designs and was awarded a Gold and two Silvers.
Download the PDF for the article as published in The Spirits Business.
Viceroy is a leading international brand within the 
British American Tobacco portfolio, selling in over 40 countries with Poland as one of its key markets.
As Poland has a large market for Super Slim cigarettes, British American Tobacco sees opportunities to successfully extend the Viceroy range with a new Super Slim variant. ClaessensCartils was challenged to develop a brand presentation which was in line with Viceroy King Size, yet noticeably underlining the product intrinsic differences. As a result, the new Viceroy Super Slim brand presentation has become a modern, strong, dynamic design, showing a unique face while safeguarding family resemblance.
