ScotCo invests £15m in major relaunch of Kronenbourg 1664
Scottish Courage has raised the stakes in the premium lager market with a major relaunch of its Kronenbourg 1664 brand.
To mark the brand's 50th anniversary in the UK, ScotCo has embarked on a £15m marketing drive spearheaded by an improved recipe; a heavyweight advertising campaign and a new font, complete with a Head Injection Tap (HIT) dispense system.
July 1 will see the launch of a new TV advertising campaign, Vive la vie Francaise, with a new angle on the brand's French roots.
Based on the "grudging respect" the British have for their continental neighbours, the adverts envisage what life in Britain would have been like if Napoleon had been triumphant at Waterloo.
In addition to the TV adverts, a nationwide and Underground poster campaign will be unveiled and targeted squarely at young "urbanites".
Andy Neal, brands director at ScotCo, said: "We are ready to build on the momentum and take the brand on to the next level of its development with the most significant package of changes and improvements in the brand's history. There's a huge opportunity for us to stamp our authority on the beer market as the on-trade frees up."
Kronenbourg's brewers in Strasbourg have also introduced a new recipe designed to standardise the lager across the whole of Europe. The Strisselspalt hop - reportedly known as the "caviar of hops" - has been used for the first time.
The new tasting version is being rolled-out with immediate effect and will soon be joined by a modernised stylish steel font complete with the HIT system and innovative cooling system.
Having been successfully launched with its Miller brand last year, Scottish Courage is to begin rolling-out the HIT dispense system for Kronenbourg 1664 as part of a comprehensive quality programme.
The HIT system separates the processes of pulling the pint and creating a head and is designed to reduce wastage through fobbing and frothing and improve pint presentation. After pulling a pint as normal, barstaff press a button at the top of the font to dispense a tight head from a separate nozzle. To accompany the on-trade quality programme and raise consumer awareness, new glassware and point-of-sale (POS) material is also going to be phased in.
Mr Neal added: "Customer quality expectations are rising in line with retail prices. People drink with their eyes - presentation, head formation and retention and temperature are critical.
"If people start to expect high quality then staff will want to give it to them."
