In July 2022 we were contacted by the Head of Operations at the French restaurant group, Aubaine who discovered the distillers of 44°N Gin and 06 Vodka Rosé, Comte de Grasse while visiting the South of France.
As the group were in the process of premiumising their range, it was clear that both 44°N Gin and 06 Vodka Rosé from would be the perfect fit for their menu.
Task
Our goal in this situation was to maximise sales and brand awareness of 44°N Gin and 06 Vodka Rosé through a partnership with the Aubaine Group.
Action
First we contacted Aubaine’s team at Head Office and opened a conversation to help us get a better understanding of where Aubaine were in a post Covid London and also what their business goals were.
These conversations raised questions which enabled us to put a tailor made proposal together to maximise on the relationship. The questions we asked ourselves were:
We then provided solutions for these questions through the following activation plan…
Task one: Premiumise the offering without the need to reskill.
For 44°N Gin, we agreed that we wanted to offer their customers a unique experience with the wow factor that other brands were not offering. However, with a beverage team composed largely of trained Baristas, it was important for us to put together an offering that was simple to serve for the whole team.
Having this in place would also allow for a more premium price point on the menu and encourage a higher spend per head.
We drew inspiration from the perfume heritage of Grasse and created unique garnish sprays to give their customers three different G&T’s to choose from. Simply served at the table, the staff would offer the sprays to create a bespoke serve depending on mood or time of day. The final sprays were:
Lemon & rose – Designed to aid relaxation, perfect for a summer afternoon.
Bitter grapefruit – Designed to help open the palette, perfect as an aperitif.
Orange & ginger – Designed to be enjoyed later in the day, perfect as the sun goes down or before a late, alfresco dinner.
In order to serve the G&T’s we supplied branded, wood and marble trays to really elevate the drink at the table, helping to catch other customers’ eyes while they dined.
Task two: Ensuring availability through Aubaine’s nominated route-to-market (RTM), Casa Julia.
Firstly we agreed to produce and supply the spray garnishes and trays in-house to limit any bottlenecks in the supply chain.
We then created a realistic forecast with Aubaine and explained the concept to their RTM. Casa Julia were happy to start supplying them and had stock ready prior to the launch. This opened the door to a new key RTM for the Comte de Grasse range.
Task three: How do we engage Aubaine customers at the table?
To help promote what was now being called “The 44°N G&T Experience” we needed to create a table talker to help draw attention to the brand, the relationship with Aubaine and showcase their unique serve. It was essential that this was as premium as the experience itself.
The team at Comte de Grasse designed a smart “Bookmark” with an easy cut out section which enabled us to clip it to the menu with some graphic protruding from the top of the page.
With one side free on the bookmark this also gave us the opportunity to promote Comte de Grasse’s 06 Vodka Rosé which we had recently launched in the UK. Aubaine had created a spritz style cocktail so we included this on the other side, creating a concise piece of marketing material to help drive sales at the table.
Task four: How can we bring the luscious Grasse scenery to key areas of London?
To maximise on the summer months, we negotiated with Aubaine the opportunity to brand three different spaces across the group where wet sales could be maximised.
These three sites helped us to target different types of customers. From tourists & shoppers in busy Covent Garden to business meetings in central Mayfair all the way to a more local feel in the heart of Notting Hill.
The team at Comte de Grasse designed three on-trend floral displays to maximise on the space and retain the brand message they were showcasing as part of their “Summer of Perfection” campaign for 2022.
One of the key botanicals in the gin, Mimosa flowers, were hung from awnings and added to 44°N bottles that were repurposed as vases to pay homage to the local region. Hanging decorations lined the walkway in Covent Garden, visible to around 72,000 daily visitors.
The yellow mimosa flowers were also used to decorate the window and back bar display in Mayfair. Smart neon lights in the shape of the iconic 44°N bottle illuminated the outdoor tables holding the 44°N vases and the integral Mimosa flowers.
In Notting Hill we chose to give 06 Vodka Rosé its chance to shine with pink flowers, bottle glorifiers elevating dummy bottles and branded candles. All of this nestled within pink, branded banners on the busy street leading to Hyde Park.
It was a large-scale activation for a small brand, but between bbb, Aubaine and the team at Comte de Grasse we pulled out all the stops and had everything in place in just over six weeks after our first contact.
Task five: How do we ensure that the team across the group have been trained?
With a large team spread out across London it was going to be challenging to train every member of the team. We chose to tag onto a monthly GM meeting to “Train the Trainers” and showcase the brand along with the serves.
Following this, we created some short training videos to introduce the brands and explain how to create the 44°N G&T Experience and 06 Vodka Rosé Spritz serves, making it simple for the GM’s to share with their staff through digital platforms such Whatsapp.
Task six: How do we incentivise the team at Aubaine?
We went for a double pronged approach with Aubaine in regards to incentivising their staff. From Aubaine’s side, they offered commission on sales of the 44°N G&T Experience and 06 Vodka Rosé Spritz serves which had been a successful sales driving mechanic previously.
From bbb we offered a volume based incentive which Aubaine could use at their discretion. This would enable them to celebrate the success of their teams by offering a trip to France including:
Result
Aubaine Restaurants have been delighted with all aspects of the takeovers and how the serves have performed within the venues.
The branded Mayfair & Covent Garden sites out performed the other sites in sales of the 44°N G&T Experience by a substantial margin and Notting Hill’s sales of the 06 Vodka Rosé Spritz was a clear winner at that site. The sales truly reflect the effectiveness of the beautiful activations we delivered at these sites.
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