Is Social Media The Missing Ingredient In A Glass of Bubbly?
Who doesn’t love a nice glass of Champagne on a hot summer’s eve or during a fun celebration? → And if you’re lucky…..it’ll be Veuve Clicquot. Veuve Clicquiot was founded in 1772 and since then has grown into one of the top reputable and recognized French Champagne houses around the world.
Before talking more about Veuve Clicquot and other brands, let’s talk about social media. During this day and age of the digital era, social media platforms have become increasingly important(almost necessary) for Veuve Clicquot and other Champange brands in the wine and spirits industry. Social media allows brands to document and share their lifestyle with their followers through pictures and posts. After all, social media is a free tool for brands to interact and learn from their consumers and other leaders of the industry…..so what’s the big hold up? Veuve Clicquot is a great example of social media marketing success. On the other hand, André, is a perfect example of a brand with potential but doesn’t take full advantage of its social media accounts.
Let’s take a look….
Veuve Clicquot’s motto: “only one quality, the finest”
Veuve Clicquot is not only distinguishable because of its bright yellow label but also because of the quality of their champagne. The Champagne house proudly lives by its motto: “only one quality, the finest”. The same goes for their social media. The prestigious Champagne house is very active on all social media platforms- with 820.5k likes on Facebook, 9.8k tweets and 58.8k followers on Twitter, 1.8k posts and 278k followers on Instagram, 2k pins and 10.1 followers on Pinterest, 1.9k subscribers on Youtube, a large presence on Tumblr, and their own website. The success of their social media marketing is a direct result of their stimulating and consistent content that reinforces their brand image, their values, and their lifestyle.
On Facebook, a recent study was taken to measure Champagne brands’ performance and success for social media marketing. They ranked #3 for number of fans on Facebook, falling short of Moët & Chandon and Dom Pérignon. As you can see, even though Veuve Clicquot may not have the largest fan base as others, they had the largest fan growth as well as the most interactions on Facebook compared to the other Champagne brands.
I know what y’all are thinking….but where was the super cheap brand on the list? Wait….what is it called? — André
On the other end of the price spectrum, André is an American brand with their own take on Champagne. During my years of undergrad, André was always known for its forgiving prices which led to the consumption of one too many bottles at a football tailgate(guilty as charged). Because André is so affordable and popular for the everyday consumer, wouldn’t you think that they would have a very high presence in the social media marketing realm(that’s what I thought)? Not neccessarily…
Based on their website and social media platforms, it seems that André has attempted to re-brand itself as a fun and youthful brand. For example, André provides party tips and creative drink recipes on their website, of course incorporating one of their nine Champagnes or Sparkling Wines. Using words like “swag” and their hashtag #EPICWITHANDRE appeals to a younger generation(like me) vs. the older crowd(my parents). The younger generation should be eating this up since they’re some of the most active people on social media!! Unfortunately, André hasn’t seen much success on their social media platforms- 37 posts and 209 followers on Instagram, 13.6k likes on Facebook, 509 tweets with 1.25k followers on Twitter.
If there was more focus on André’s social media marketing, André has great potential to see their fan base/followers increase which would increase online chatter and contribute to increased sales. Social Media may be time consuming but the benefits can sometimes far exceed the costs.
Cheers.
This post was created as part of the Global Luxury Management Program at the NC State Poole School of Management. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
