Summary
Agency: Clarion Communications
The Challenge
When Aldi launched its wine eCommerce platform aldi.co.uk, our two core objectives were to raise awareness of the new offering through media exposure and drive online wine sales. The target was new and existing consumers with a particular focus on London and the South East where there are fewer Aldi stores than in other parts of the country. The challenge we faced was to overcome consumer ‘snobbery’ about wines from a discount retailer, in order to generate brand advocacy and encourage Londoners to think about Aldi wines in a new way and buy them online.
The Solution
We decided to shake up consumer perceptions of Aldi wines by communicating their quality and great value, as well as generating media coverage through a surprising interactive event.
To grab the attention of London-based consumers, we hosted a pop-up shop, the ‘Aldi Wine Store’, at London’s trendy BOXPARK in Shoreditch. To position Aldi as a credible player in the wine industry, and add topicality to the pop-up, we had Aldi become the official supermarket sponsor of the London Wine Week festival – a week-long celebration of London’s thriving wine scene.
Shaking up the traditional convention of a discounter’s wine offering, the Aldi Wine Store represented a refined and futuristic approach to helping shoppers choose their wine – the ‘Apple store’ of wine shops. Customers were able to taste the wine with a high profile Master of Wine – one of only 338 in the world – to guide wine lovers through Aldi’s award-winning range.
Awareness for the store was generated through launch news and creative photos, editorial in listings media , advertorials in Time Out and Metro, London Wine Week literature and a social media campaign incentivising visitors to store.
The Results
- Overall transactions on aldi.co.uk increased by 41% and revenue increased by 35%
- There was a 47% uplift in online sales amongst shoppers in London the day coverage landed and the shop opened (Vs. previous week)
- We generated extensive conversations across #aldiwineclub - our panel of Twitter-savvy wine fans created to encourage interaction with the brand
- The Aldi Wine Store had a footfall of almost 2,000 people over three days
- Out of the 39% of people surveyed in store that hadn’t already tried Aldi wine prior to visiting the store, 87% said they would buy Aldi wine online in the future (in store survey)
- High profile media coverage boasting a 100% positive sentiment, including metro.co.uk, independent.co.uk, dailymail.co.uk, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Star and LBC radio
