GOAL
Craft an innovative and dynamic creative campaign for Remy Martin and a strategic plan to enhance brand awareness.
ROLE
Strategy, Art Direction, Copywriting, Storytelling
OVERVIEW
Rémy Martin was losing relevance with millennials and wanted to reposition itself as a lifestyle brand with its first global marketing campaign. They wanted a campaign to change how their younger consumers thought about the brand. Rémy Martin had appointed Lowe and Partners as the lead international agency following a pitch by the London office of DLKW Lowe. In less than a year of winning the Cadillac business, Lowe's latest partner, Campbell Ewald, was invited to partake in the development.
*As of May 2015, Lowe Campbell Ewald returned to being an independent advertising agency Campbell Ewald.
TARGET AUDIENCE
Remy Martin was looking to focus on a younger audience of millennial males, ages 25 through 30, within the U.S. and Chinese territories.
When I started studying the target audience stats, I quickly noticed that Cadillac and Remy Martin targeted a similar audience. The research from the Cadillac pitch showed that young U.S. millennials had no desire for grand, unattainable visions. They were a new generation of fresh graduates who recently emerged from the recession and were looking to make their way. That same research showed that their international counterparts were quite the opposite. China's young millennials were very much into luxury brands. At that time, China's economy was the world's second-largest nominal GDP, right after the U.S.
LOOK AND FEELS
Lowe Campbell Ewald's only requirement as the U.S. hub was to ensure that the Rémy Centaur logo was used in the creative approach. Other than that, no idea was off the table. I started playing with some looks and feels to develop new creative directions. I began to think about what these young celebrities had in common and how they related to the audience.
Past Remy Martin Advertisement
Mock Up Mood boards
"THE SLASH GENERATION"
While in creative development, I stared at some mood boards I was developing and struck lightning. I realized these individuals weren't defined by one skill or talent but were known for their many passions; then it hit me: these multi-talented Millennials are part of "the slash generation."
I then developed some concepts to show how various individuals could expand this idea.
ONE LIFE / LIVE THEM
Remy Martin launched the first global campaign (November 2014) featuring U.S. actor Jeremy Renner, a producer, singer, and renovator. The 360-campaign contained print, commercial, out-of-home, experiential, and social media. The concept inspired a 60-second ad featuring the actor as a producer, singer, and renovator.
RESULTS
After the first year of the campaign, Rémy Martin's net profit reached 110.4 million euros, up nearly 17%, as the liquor manufacturer outsold more than brandy, liquors, and whiskey in the United States, Africa, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
VIEW PREVIOUS PROJECT: AT&T: DIRECTV NOW
Want to see more? Check out my archive of previous projects. For additional info, email me at hello[at]dimitrialexander.com