TALK DIFFERENTLY

If something is said often and loudly enough, people will often begin to believe it. This sums up the challenge faced by WKD. All the pundits said that the “alcopops” category was in decline. WKD had recently achieved brand leadership and was retaining volume, but the category overall was getting a lot of bad press. Our challenge was to reassure the sales team about the health of the brand and send them out as ambassadors for the category - talking differently to the market.

Under the theme “Glass Half Full”, we helped communicate the idea that there was plenty of life in the category. A major part of the day got people involved in thinking for themselves on how to talk up the opportunity. Breakout sessions were created to stimulate thoughts, ideas, and discussions. Most importantly, we looked to encourage the audience to come to clear conclusions about what messages could be taken back out to the marketplace.

The breakout sessions featured consumer insights brought to life by actors portraying the typical WKD consumers. We created a “commitment” room where delegates could write up on white walls where and how they would add value in the future, and in another area we created 2D shops and pubs, and invited the delegates to merchandise the shelves to help maximise retailer return. To help celebrate the optimism for the brand and category we rounded the day off with an evening party.

The messages taken away from the event were all about a bright future and people were definitely talking differently about this important category.