Case Study: Peroni Paranoia - A class above

Delisting might feel like admitting defeat but done strategically, its the opposite. It’s a signal that you’re playing the long game. 3 reasons why delisting can be a power move.

• Maintain value, don’t devalue your brand

• ‘Less is more’ - consumers savour the special moment.

• Price protection, preventing brand erosion.

The Dilemma

A brand that takes the UK market by storm which positioned itself as an upscale, sophisticated continental lager....but enough about Stella Artois. By the early 2000’s that elegant and stylish image had been overtaken by its new moniker, Wifebeater. Where Stella was once the height of urban sophistication it had been allowed to morph into a thug’s drink – beloved of the hooligan, cheap when on promotion – which was all the time, seemingly and it had lost its way.

Peroni was haunted by this brand story for they, too, now occupied the high ground of lager which had been vacated – an Italian style icon, the most stylish (and most stolen) tall glass for its pub serve, Peroni was riding a wave but was it going too fast, would the brand last or would it follow the arc of Stella?

The Decode

Yes Peroni stood for Italian style and the drink itself delivered something quite different – a pace of delivery that was faster and more dynamic than the competition – an acceleration on the palate that was energising, upbeat and exciting yet with a cleanness of finish that was crisp, refreshing and moreish. It had real lager positives and avoided the negatives. The back story of its creation in the early 60’s, the imagery of Italian glamour as the country found itself and its confidence once more all captured in a glass....

We decoded not just the liquid performance but the emotions it delivered – both their sequence and their significance. We showed which really mattered and which were at most danger of being eroded by the setting, comms and commercial strategy of the brand. Where the risk lay and how salvation and longevity were possible.

The Determination

These style notes were not ubiquitous – they had glamour and a degree of exclusivity and sophistication. By defining the stags of consumption and their meaning we could show what Italian style meant and conjured up and how to reinforce those values. If we made them everyday and everywhere then you would lose the premium appeal and the brand cachet. This truly was a 'Less is More' resolution and the understanding of the liquid and its unique attributes by EP gave the brand owners the confidence to go ahead and act.

The Delivery

Based around these liquid insights EP and the Peroni team built the brand clock – a 12 point set of guidelines for the brand – the where and why of its offer. Where it could and couldn’t go and how to serve it and speak about it etc. This led to a self-delisting from over 3,000 on-trade premises. It was (and still is) – unheard of for a brand to forcibly delist itself from a venue but these places were deemed not brand compatible. The rules on promotions were significantly tightened so that the price premium was reinforced across the piece. The comms messages were refined and redesigned to match the brand values revealed. EP was tasked as Brand Ambassadors with explaining the liquid across the estate to ensure client and employee buy-in to the process of managed and orchestrated profit growth.

The House of Peroni, a stylish pop up in London which captured the brand essence was run and ultimately the pace and style of the brand was seen in further tie ups, not least the link with the Aston Martin F1 team.

By really understanding the liquid and the brand and the emotions it inspires the brand was able to define and then live its values and defend its long term position.

The nightmare of brand erosion and demise à la Stella was avoided and Peroni retains its pre-eminent position as an upscale lager, an Italian style icon and a power brand.

The emotional mapping and liquid insights delivered success because it showed what you should and shouldn’t do with the product and gave the whole team confidence in execution via a shared vision and understanding.

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