It says research from Orderella the order drinks app, suggests that more than one in four consumers (28%) will be keen to engage with outlets on social media to find about the latest seasonal drinks and serves.
Despite many pubs and bars having already established social media platforms, as few as 12% of on-trade retailers are active on social media daily, while 6% said they were active only once or twice a month, according to Orderella.
Pernod Ricard UK, whose brands include Chivas Regal scotch whisky, Jameson Irish whiskey, Absolut vodka, Jacob’s Creek, Campo Viejo, Brancott Estate wines, and champagne Perrier-Jouët – says it is aiming to help on-trade outlets make the most of the seasonal opportunity with a new Twitter guide for Christmas, including suggestions on how and what to tweet.
PRUK on-trade channel director Ian Peart said: “With an estimated 9.5 million adult users at the start of 2015, Twitter is the perfect way for on-trade retailers to instantly reach a large audience and encourage real-time interaction with customers.”
The Pernod Ricard UK Twitter Tips for Christmas 2015 – available to download at http://releasd.com/bdd8 – features a tailor-made ‘12 Tweets of Christmas’.
Peart adds: “Recent research from Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers found that 100% of the venues it quizzed in a poll had a website and Twitter account, suggesting they were already geared up to exploit the true potential of social media to promote their businesses this Christmas.
“However, it also showed that many were rarely active on those platforms, despite more than one in four consumers saying they had interacted with hospitality venues and were keen to continue doing so. This really highlights how important it is for pubs, clubs and bars to get their social media voice right – and to be consistently active across their social media channels.
Sales of premium wines, champagnes and spirits are once again set to offer retailers a great profit opportunity at Christmas, according th PRUK, accounting for almost a third of total drinks sales during Christmas 2014 and the only sectors in growth. The company says its brands recorded the greatest growth in on-trade spirits sales, up by +0.8% versus Christmas 2013.
It estimates 37.8m consumers visited the on-trade last Christmas with the number of visits growing by 15m to 165m. Of those, 2.2m visitors to the on-trade tried a new drink during the festivities – up by 377,000 compared with the previous year.
Pernod Ricard UK says it is also creating a host of activations for the on-trade this Christmas, including:
- Malibu Hot Chocolates featuring bespoke glassware
- Stunning ‘bauble’ vessels for Havana Club, Absolut and Malibu
- Branded ice buckets for bottle to table serves from Absolut and Perrier-Jouët
- Pre-meal aperitif cocktails for Lillet, and branded copa serves for Beefeater gin and tonic
- A special food pairing guide across Chivas Regal, Havana Club and Jameson
- An edible glitter cocktail set for Kahlúa
- Inspiration for the post-dinner occasion, including recommended digestifs and cocktail alternatives to desserts
“Creating serve envy is a great way to drive their sales of premium drinks, and we are confident that these are exactly the kind of activations that will help our on-trade customers to upsell and win in premium drinks this Christmas,” claims Peart.
