Veuve Clicquot's unbelievable discovery
How a well-designed experiential campaign is further building the mystic of an iconic brand.
In 2010 divers found something remarkable near the Åland archipelago, an area in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland.
The story goes that in 1840 a ship, carrying a cargo that included 47 bottles of Veuve Clicquot, sank on its voyage from Champagne, France.
The bottles of Champagne lay intact, entombed by the favourable ocean conditions for nearly 200 years until they were discovered a decade ago.
When the liquid was tasted there was great surprise in how well it had been cellared under the ocean, which sparked an idea by the brand to re-create a 'Cellar in the Sea', 131 feet below the Baltic Sea.
Calling all lovers of champagne and adventure!
Not a brand that easily passes up on the opportunity to create an experimental brand event, Veuve Clicquot are now inviting a handful of guests to take a trip to the Åland Islands to taste the 'normally cellared' bottles of Veuve Clicquot and the underwater 'Cellar in the Sea' bottles side by side.
Luxury experiences
For anyone who loves wine tasting this is a once-in-a-lifetime treat to experience one of the world's iconic brands on a whole new level.
Veuve Clicquot clearly recognise that those that find themselves in this target market have enough money to buy whatever material possession they want, but few of them will have the real luxury of time to experience something so remarkable and rare as this adventure.
With a story that is as intriguing as it is perfect as a reinforcer of the brand heritage, that most Champagne house try to own, this is fantastic example of how experimental campaigns can build the mystic of a brand.
Adventure is the new luxury.
Bespoke experiences that cannot be bought off the shelf are what is setting true luxury brands apart from the rest.
The key idea is to deepen relationships with important customers - and if you can get some great PR out of it at the same time, you're really winning.
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