Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/455266
january/february 2015 / the tasting panel / 71 a conversion rate of roughly half—11 percent. "The key is to get placements on the floor at a critical time," explains Carol Giaconelli, Director of Marketing Operations, "ideally driving an engag- ing message. If it attracts shoppers to stop and shop, then we've hit the mark. We're going deeper with digital opportunities as well—shelf displays and video touch screens that interact with our shoppers on their terms." When it comes to the Last 3 Feet for on-premise accounts, Ed DeLoreto, Director of On-Premise and Consumer Engagement, says the focus is on those 36 inches "in front of the bar where it's possible to touch upon all the senses— through sampling or an education event, or a new fact about your favorite spirit that you weren't aware of. It's an opportunity to find what levers need to be pulled, and the bartender has criti- cal tools to help, like menus, a special or feature and samples. Take Jameson, for example: Maybe the consumer didn't know that Jameson has a new expression, Black Barrel—there's an opportunity to pull the 'upgrade' lever, so fundamentally in this case, it's absolutely about educating the bartender," says DeLoreto. Beyond the bartender, because the digital age is very much a "you find us, we find you," anything goes space, apps and social sites are the new frontier—intentional or accidental—of discov- ery. Hence, PRUSA has spent the last 12 to 18 months moving away from just thematic-based points of sale (like a summer picture with a summer mes- sage on it) to more fully integrated programs all in an effort to drive more engagement and ultimately, more value for consumers and our retail partners. Since PRUSA can't sell direct-to-con- sumer, the company is exploring ways to get in on what Mitch Cristol refers to as a new "fourth-tier, an extension of the three-tier system," where apps like shopkick, Ibota and Drizly provide critical marketing opportunities to hone in on things like shopper loyalty programs and e-commerce—eventu- ally driving consumers to PRUSA brands. "People are experiencing craft cocktails all over and they want to replicate that on-premise experience at home. So, they're spending more time in the digital space looking for recipes, which provides an ideal opportunity to discover one of our brands in that fourth-tier environment." One area of Marketing at PRUSA you might not expect to find in Trade Marketing is Multicultural Marketing, perhaps the greatest growth potential for Pernod-Ricard in the foresee- able future. Across PRUSA's entire portfolio, Marime Riancho, Director of Multicultural Marketing, says that her team is focused on every single brand and the nuances that appeal to Hispanic, African-American and Asian consumers. "It's all about relationships, period," says Riancho. "I do a ton of market visits with local market managers, and because most are small, independent, family-run accounts, you need to estab- lish a strong relationship with them. What we've identified is that ensuring from a point of sale (POS) standpoint, we have the right format so that in those last three feet, our people in the field can perform well and we are delivering the right message to the right shopper at the right time," she says. "For example, we have a partnership with Chivas and a Latin rock band called Maná, which appeals to all Hispanics, Mexican and Caribbean plus Central and South American. Maná launches a new album in 2015 and has a concert tour, so our Retail Program and POS is all about localizing the message of winning tickets across each concert. These local sweepstakes speak to our retailers too as they feel we are speaking to their shoppers which helps get them on board—everyone wins," says Riancho. For on-premise, Riancho's team works closely with the Steve Chasen's on-premise team to ensure that the drinks strategy is "relevant" to the cat- egories we play in and our Multicultural consumer flavor preferences—like the right cocktail and shot in markets where bars see predominately Hispanic consumers come through their doors looking for Chivas, Absolut or Jameson, or in African-American–dominant communities where Avión continues to grow or where ABSOLUT Apeach is a flavor of choice. "One of our more significant Last 3 Feet efforts focused on VAPs," says Riancho. "We ran numbers between 2012 (when the first Hispanic Chivas VAP was offered) to 2014 (when we introduced the Maná Chivas VAP) and found that field orders grew by 132 percent. The impact of integrating a partnership such as Maná into this offering has made a big difference—it's a huge growth opportunity, and one we've been able to capitalize on because we have our finger on the pulse." With so many consumer-engage- ment incentives, educational programs and category-promotion strategies in play, Pernod Ricard USA continues to spearhead the future of wine and spirits marketing for a rapidly chang- ing world. PHOTO: COURTESY OF PERNOD RICARD As part of its multicultural marketing, Chivas has partnered with Latin rock band Maná, extending the brand's reach even further amongst Mexican and South American Hispanic communities.