Introducing, the Aldi Champagne Bar
We created a celebratory moment for Aldi’s own-label Champagne, Veuve Monsigny to drive the supermarkets'great value message, having identified it was the second best-selling Champagne in the UK. We marked the occasion with an unexpected swanky Champagne bar that would have the media gripped.
We have helped Aldi build a reputation for showcasing its quality through direct comparisons to brands, unveiling its impressively low prices. To convert the ‘Champagne snobs’ to Veuve Monsigny this Christmas, we brought this tried and tested approach to life on a mass scale to unsuspecting shoppers.
We launched the luxurious and mysterious Veuve Champagne Bar, open for five days in one of the country’s most expensive postcodes – behaviour you’d expect from a premium Champagne brand, not Aldi.
Day one the Aldi branding was kept covert. Customers tried the Champagne, knowing nothing more than it was a classy bar. We captured feedback on camera, which varied from ‘it tastes just like Moët & Chandon’ to ‘I’d pay £20 for a glass’, before unveiling the Champagne was Aldi’s and on-sale for just £2.33 a glass. The result? Killer soundbites for our news story and social content – plus some great imagery of the bar in action.
For the news media, we led with the angle that this was the UK’s cheapest champagne bar - glasses of Champagne were Aldi prices - being launched to celebrate Champagne Veuve Monsigny becoming the second best-selling Champagne in the UK.
Day two hosted influencers at the bar, including Georgia Toffolo, the ultimate ‘Champagne snob’. Her attendance helped drive further media and social buzz.
The KPIs were over-achieved by 188%
• Total items of coverage: 404
• Reach: 107,586,096
• Price message included in 100% of articles
Instagram stories featuring the bar totalled over 1.5million views. A further 300,000 engaged with the social posts (an impressive average of 2%). Plus, online searches for Aldi Champagne trebled versus the previous week.
Queues of an hour or more became a regularity – even in the rain!
Rosie Hewiston from Time Out said: “I’ve been to lots of drinks brand activations but this one tops them all – it’s quality.”
Abi Digby, 25, a nurse, from Southampton said: “I came up with my husband for a taste of festive London - and the Aldi Champagne Bar has just topped everything off nicely. I’m definitely going to be buying my Champagne from Aldi this Christmas now.”
What’s more, the campaign won BEST EVENT at the prestigious Drinks Business award 2022. Cheers to that!