What would make you buy these drinks...

[dixondiva]

Hello,

I am applying for a job as a graphic designer and have been set a brief to do before the interview.

It's for a drinks company and they are looking for new ways to promote cheaper alternatives to big brands spirits. Eg. Angel's Peach schnapps instead of Archer's and Cariba instead of Malibu. These drinks will be placed in student led and mainstream outlets. I need to produce POS and display items to facilitate the launch.

If anyone out there goes out drinking a lot your thoughts would be appreciated.
What would make you buy these drinks and what POS or display items would you take notice of the most?

Thanks

[bigdave]

DONT design look-alikes! That immediately places them in the 'house doubles' market which in turn makes people believe theyre inferior products.

Look at Christian Audigier bottles, they could be full of p*ss but they look amazing and appeal to youth culture so the contents are instantly a hit.

I know this is spozed to be your ideas but what about popart? thick edges, bold, flat colours... would certainly stand out on a shelf. Or perhaps something silly like alice in wonderland 'drink me' labels?

[sttcmghtf]

If it's a student market they're after, the price point will be far more important than the design. You might want to point that out in your submission -- or at least incorporate this into your thinking.

[spottypenguin]

As sttc just said pricing will be a major factor if you're after the student market BUT they also need to appear "cool". Archers tends to have a bit of an older lady image so you need something to bring it inline with a younger market, something that makes them look and think "I want that" not "my Aunt Vera drinks that". I imagine they aren't looking to change bottles or labels so the imagery you use is going to be key. Look at the Bailey's adverts; it's all about a young crowd partying and Bailey's is their weapon of choice.

You may be worth Youtubing the ads for Bailey's, Tia Maria and other lagers / beers etc. you can think of. BUt the commonality to them is people having a good time.

Good luck with it :icon_thumbup:

[squeezee]

"It's cheap, it will get you pissed and will probably get you laid" - never failed so far. Sex, drugs & money are a potent marketing message.

[bigdave]

Without redesigning a label or the graphics on the bottle there's very little for a graphic designer to be doing on this, it's a marketing strategist you need. Unless you have been given an existing logo and specific requirements to keep the brand as it is (which would defeat the objective of reinventing & repositioning a product) you should see the project as carte blanche to flex your creative muscles.

Look at the likes of asda who reinvented their value range as 'chosen by you'. All the supermarkets have done this recently and they invest millions in research so reinvention clearly works well for consumer perception.

I also think that if you were to target a beverage at irresponsible consumption and drunken sex you'll get sacked very very quickly.

[Corrosive]

Buy three doubles and get a free kebab voucher.

[Dave L]

Cheap brands always look cheap either because they're noy ashamed of the fact (see any major supermarket) or they go for a level of elegance/sophistication/good design in their branding which crumbles like a biscuit the second the price is revealed - however much it tries to emulate more expensive alternatives the trick only works once and as soon as you start to see the empty bottles arranged in bus stations and discarded on the steps of war memorials, the deception is well and truly over.

With that in mind, competing on the grounds of lifestyle and aspiration ends up making you look even cheaper than you already are which, in turn, starts to make you look expensive for what you actually are. Once you reach this point you're essentially marketing to alcoholics and low earning binge drinkers with whom large portions of the mainstream and student markets wouldn't want to associate themselves.

[bigdave]

you're essentially marketing to alcoholics and low earning binge drinkers.

I think youve just summed up student life in the UK. :icon_tongue_smilie:

[bigdave]

Why is this drink being targeted at students? because they're skint and will drink any old rubbish or because the manufacturers are looking to develop a future client base?

If you market a product as no frills student booze, the product becomes a poor quality drink, purchased for its alcohol content & is resigned to the shelves of Aldi. If that is as far as the intended market goes, then great 100% Magenta bottles for the girls and 100% cyan for the boys. If the idea of marketing to students is to capture a much larger future market with the potential of reintroducing an out dated drink (ie, peach schnapps) to future higher earners then the slogan "drink it till your sick on her t*ts" isn't going to work.