Under the witty theme of Merry ChristMATES,  the category-leading RTD is embarking on a huge social media campaign destined to help people celebrate their friendships and reconnect with mates, to make this Christmas one to remember.

Whether they are house mates, team mates, old mates, best mates, work mates or any other kind of mate, WKD’s Christmas campaign will put them squarely in the spotlight in a fun and engaging way.

The humorous campaign features a comprehensive series of light-hearted competitions and easy-to-enter online activities offering festive prizes to both the entrant and their best mates.

“Christmas is all about sharing and WKD is providing loads of opportunities for its legions of online followers to give free competition winnings to their friends,” a spokesman said.

“From matching WKD Christmas jumpers to cosy bobble-hats to branded Christmas stockings, entrants can bag all manner of seasonal merchandise for themselves – and for their mates!”

Meanwhile, former Love Island contestant and social media influencer Chris Taylor will reprise his role as WKD brand ambassador to bring carefully curated content to his 1.1 million followers.

In his own inimitable style, Chris is enlisting the help of his friends to demonstrate just how much mates mean to him. The tongue-in-cheek series of videos will be released throughout December.

In addition, two contestants from this year’s series of Love Island – Brad McClelland and Dale Mehmet – have been lined up to create fun footage which will showcase some very special WKD Christmas cocktails.

Alison Gray, Head of Brand – WKD at SHS Drinks, said: “Last year, WKD consumers got to spend some enforced quality time at Christmas with their close family only.

“Memorable and different as that will have been, we know that fans of WKD like nothing more than to be out and about with their mates to make the absolute most of the festive season. Our humorous Merry ChristMATES campaign will provide both fun content and festive prizes for WKD consumers to share with their mates.

“To have enlisted Chris, Dale and Brad to support our festive campaign is the icing on the Christmas cake and builds further on our successful Love Island association.”

The post Love Island stars team up with WKD for festive campaign celebrating mates first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The no.1 RTD brand¹ is the Official Alcohol Partner of ITV2 and ITV Hub’s Love Island. The exclusive deal provides WKD enviable associations with the phenomenally successful programme. With this series’ episodes securing 2021’s biggest digital channel audiences, WKD is making significant impact with consumers and driving incremental sales for stockists through its Love Island tie-in.

TV campaign

WKD is back on TV throughout the summer with a sequence of humorous ads showcasing the Love Island association. The executions employ the brand’s trademark wit and feature a group of WKD bottles enjoying life in their very own sun-drenched villa. Mirroring recognisable settings from the show and drawing on well-known Love Island themes, the ads take a tongue-in-cheek look at Island life. The campaign features the strapline ‘WKD coupled up with Love Island; Love it!’. Aside from the core TV channel, the ads are also viewed extensively through non-TV devices, via the hugely popular Love Island app, and across WKD social channels.

Limited Edition Packs

To re-enforce the high-profile Love Island association at the point of purchase, two unique initiatives feature on almost one million WKD packs:

Two impactful Love Island co-branded designs appear on limited edition 700ml bottles of WKD Pink. A fully sleeved approach delivers ultimate shelf stand-out, creating a powerful in-store presence; this format is the summer’s ‘must-have’ RTD pack, with consumers keen to secure one for those all-important Instagram shots. Additionally, a special Love Island label design complements the approach of the sleeved pack and ensures that promotional stock reaches all channels and is accessible by as many consumers as possible. Both bottles are available in regular and £2.99 price-marked pack (PMP) versions – with the PMP configurations available exclusively to independents.

With vibrant, striking graphics featuring inflatable pink flamingos, a co-branded consumer competition offering opportunities to win thousands of items of exclusive Love Island and WKD merchandise or money off future purchases appears on key WKD multipacks. The activity – which runs across 4x275ml WKD Blue (PMP only, priced at £4.99); 10-packs (10x275ml WKD Blue and 10x275ml WKD variety pack) and 12x275ml WKD Blue – provides a chance to win with every pack purchased.

Share the love

To share the love and provide the inside line on Island life, WKD has enlisted previous contestant and leading social media influencer Chris Taylor as brand ambassador. Through a series of weekly videos created exclusively for WKD, Chris offers comment and insight to his 1.1 million followers.

Further activities on WKD social channels ensure that those hungry for gossip and extra details about participants aren’t left wanting. A comprehensive social media campaign includes competitions to win merchandise and sought-after prizes, with one lucky winner set to secure the ultimate in money-can’t-buy prizes: a pair of tickets to the Love Island Final Screening party, interviews with Islanders’ friends and family and behind-the-scenes footage of the sun-kissed location and villa accommodation

Perfect match

Alison Gray, head of brand – WKD, at owner SHS Drinks, says: “WKD and Love Island are the perfect match: we were made for each other. With our witty TV ads and a million packs both spotlighting the Love Island association – plus chances to win tickets to the programme’s Live Final – we know we chose the right partner. Our consumers enjoy Love Island with a passion, and our high-profile coupling up with the programme is driving summer sales for retailers in Northern Ireland.”

The post WKD loved up with Love Island first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Presented in striking 700ml fully sleeved sharing bottles and offered in two varieties – Blue Lagoon and Tropical Sunrise – WKD Cocktails will deliver convenient, fuss-free popular cocktails to an 18 to 24-year-old target market. With premium packaging, pre-mixed ingredients and a 5.5% ABV, the inventive new products will have an RRP of £5.00 in multiple grocers, with price-marked variants available for independents.

WKD Inspired Cocktails

Referencing the brand’s success in WKD-inspired cocktails in the on-trade – where some 30% of sales are from cocktail inclusion² – the vibrant sleeve designs showcase the sharing jugs which have proven so popular with consumers on nights out over the years. The striking, stylised jug graphics will generate strong shelf stand-out and resonate with shoppers. In Blue Lagoon (an alcoholic mix of WKD Blue blended with citrus, berry, and vodka flavours) and Tropical Sunrise (an alcoholic mix of WKD Orange & Passionfruit blended with citrus, strawberry, and vodka flavours), brand owner SHS Drinks has drawn inspiration from cocktail menus and focused on flavours that consumers know and love.

With the RTD category in Northern Ireland take home currently growing at +42%³ annually, WKD is bringing premium, yet accessible, bottled cocktails to a receptive off-trade audience.

Cocktails at home

With lockdown experiences having generated a 50% increase in the number of on-trade cocktail drinkers seeking mixed drinks or cocktails at home⁴, SHS Drinks believes that category-leading WKD is perfectly poised to amplify this opportunity for retailers.

WKD Cocktails will be available from Tesco, SuperValu, Centra, Wineflair, LA Drinks, United Wines, Connolly Liquor and AFT Drinks, Omagh, from June. An intensive programme of activity – including in-store display and bespoke activation – will support the launch.

A high-profile communications campaign will build consumer awareness through social media, influencer activity and extensive PR.

Alison Gray, head of brand – WKD at SHS Drinks, says: “Our new launches bring all the fun and enjoyment of cocktails from the bar into the home; we’ve done all the hard work so consumers don’t have to worry about equipment, recipes or ingredients to mix the perfect drink. We believe that WKD will recruit a different consumer profile to the existing ready-to-serve (RTS*) category and our new cocktails will encourage trading up and deliver increased value to stockists in Northern Ireland.

“Consumers love WKD and consumers love cocktails; to combine the two and bring a flavour of the on-trade to the take home market is a recipe for success for retailers.”

¹Source: Nielsen Scantrack NI Take Home RTD volume (L) & value (£) MAT to 27.03.21

²Source: Managed Late Night GB Customer MAT Jan 2020

¹Source: Nielsen Scantrack NI Take Home RTD value (£) MAT to 27.03.21

⁴Source: CGA GB On-trade Sept 2020 – one in two consumers who previously drank cocktails in the on-trade now choosing a mixed drink or cocktail at home vs one in three choosing pre-Covid

*RTS category comprises cocktails in cans, pre-mixed bottled cocktails, and pre-prepared spirit-mixers.

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The post New WKD Cocktails – All the fun, none of the ‘faff’ first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.