C-T relaunches flagship brands in on-trade attack
Carlsberg-Tetley (C-T) has unleashed a two-pronged attack on the premium and standard lager sectors with an all-embracing relaunch of its flagship brands.
Modernised packaging, a new advertising campaign, swift pouring fonts and the introduction of Danish supermodel Helena Christensen as a brand ambassador, form part of a £28m investment into Carlsberg Export and Carlsberg lager.
In an effort to close the gap between Carlsberg Export, Kronenbourg 1664 and Stella Artois in the premium lager market, C-T has introduced a stylish chrome font and a fresh bottle design featuring the brand's new "C" icon. A bigger 660ml bottle intended for sharing with meals has also been launched into the trade while Ms Christensen has been recruited to promote the brand as part of a £13m repositioning programme.
Carlsberg lager, C-T's leading brand and the third biggest standard lager in the UK, has received a similar makeover with the launch of a new bottle and a more contemporary looking font.
In future, the brand will be known simply as Carlsberg after the word "lager" was removed from all packaging.
Doug Clysedale, managing director of brands and sales at C-T, said: "Carlsberg has always had a more premium image than other standard lagers, and we did consider repositioning it as a premium lager, as well as differentiating our offer by replacing Carlsberg Export with a completely new brand. However, in our research consumers were telling us very clearly that Carlsberg Export does the job. What they want is a clearer distinction between the brands."
The new fonts contain a patented dispense system that claims to deliver a longer lasting head and reduces the speed of pouring a pint to 14 seconds.
The relaunch of both brands will be supported by separate heavyweight advertising campaigns and in-outlet promotions.
Despite the fact that a "significant amount" of Export is brewed in the UK rather than Denmark, C-T is continuing the brand's "So good the Danes hate to see it leave" campaign.
