Why Alcohol Collaborations are so Successful
For a long time, we've been seeing collaborations between fashion houses and alcohol brands – but why have they become so popular?
Good morning,
Back home, in the rather grey weather, I should actually give my liver a break after this time. Aperitifs, small craft beer breweries and fine drops of wine have kept my faithful companion going at full speed over the past few months. However, the fashion industry doesn't really want us to stop drinking in recent times.
AMBUSH x Moët & Chandon as well as Palace x Stella Artois put alcohol in the spotlight and make us crave a tasty refreshment. But why are these collaborations so ubiquitous lately and should brand managers really go for a collaboration with an alcoholic beverage? No worries – all questions that we will clarify together today friends.
Swimming in Nostalgia
Our first sip of alcohol. The little swig of beer our father gave us in a fit of good humour at a far too young age. Our first drink, hidden on the edge of a cornfield with our friends from school. Our first time drinking too much and feeling alcohol nausea. Drinking is constantly associated with nostalgic feelings.
Without actually realising it, alcohol brands have been influencing us with emotional memories since the youngest age: Each of us remembers our grandfather's favourite wine or beer. Under the term «The Glamorization Of Alcohol», this phenomenon has already been lively discussed and presented to the various brand managers of beer, wine or spirits brands.
On the one hand, this thesis lives from the mystical, forbidden and mysterious aura that alcohol consumption has carried with itself for centuries. On the other hand, it also lives from the representation of drinking in the modern media: alcoholism of famous people like Charles Bukowski, Amy Winehouse, Ozzy Osbourne or Ernest Hemingway are glorified. In ads you can see young, good-looking and successful folks with perfect bodies and trendy outfits – drinking in their bathing suits on the beach, or going for a pint in their after-work clothes at a local tavern. The message of these clips is quite simple: You want to be one of them too? Drink our beverage.
It is precisely this nostalgic value – that each individual alcoholic beverage carries –which makes it a very attractive opportunity for potential collaboration partners. Without much effort, storyboard or strategy, one can give a much deeper value to one's product – by collaborating with the most suitable alcoholic beverage brand.
It’s Busy on the Market
As already mentioned, we are not the first ones to think about this topic. Actually, such collaborations have been common since the early 90s – sometimes less exciting, sometimes very experimental. But to give you a little feeling for the collabs, I'll show you three different projects:
Sacai X Absolut Vodka
Absolut Vodka are the true pioneers of these collaborations. Since the early 90s, collaborations between high fashion brands and the Swedish spirit have been coming onto the market at an incredible pace. Ever wanted to paint the town red with Marc Jacobs? Buy Absolut Jacobs. In the mood for an icy winter function with Versace? Absolut Versace has your back. Beginning with Tom Ford, Absolut has created signature vodkas for Stella McCartney, Gareth Pugh, Jean Paul Gaultier, Manolo Blahnik and many others.
Their latest big coup was a collaboration with Sacai. The Japanese luxury fashion brand even got to have a go at the legendary Absolut bottle.
Courtesy of Absolut Vodka Moschino X Disaronno
Disaronno is also not unfamiliar with such collaborations. The amaretto liqueur brand can look back on a whole series of designer creations. The limited-edition Disaronno bottles have been wrapped in colourful prints of the fashion houses' aesthetics, and are a collector's dream. Seven bottles have been released since 2013, each featuring an Italian designer crossover: Etro, Missoni, Moschino, Versace, Diesel, Trussardi and Roberto Cavalli.
Courtesy of Disaronno AMBUSH X Moët & Chandon
But it's not just liqueurs that have ventured into such collaborations, champagne brands have done so too. This year, the French champagne company and the creative director of its namesake label Ambush have joined forces and given the classic bottle a new twist.
Courtesy of Moët & Chandon
Let’s Find Your Next Collaboration
I think we all realize now why such collaborations are so successful. Surely because both profit from it, new market groups are reached and also simply the nostalgia and history of the other company can be used to advantage.
Now, I hope that perhaps one or two readers actually work in this field and are actually asking themselves: How can I find such a suitable collaboration partner? Well, first of all you should take a closer look at your company. Rusty, traditional brewery? Grab the young fashion brand from your region. Are you from a family-run fashion company? Look around for a small craft beer brewery and get the early-mover advantage and avoid competition.
Otherwise, just drop me a line and I'll try to find you the right partner. Until then:
Love,
Pascal