Celebrating an occasion is synonymous with gifting someone their favorite beer, wine, champagne or spirit. People have been doing this for years, whether it be a corporate ‘thank you’, a friend’s birthday or holiday season treat, not many other gifts can be quite as versatile as alcohol.
Recent research and consumer insights conducted by Diaego* have concluded that consumers are looking for more personalization when it comes to gifting a bottle of liquor. Brands have a unique opportunity to capitalize on this, and many brands are looking to integrate tech, to differentiate their gifting experience.
But what can personalization mean to an alcohol brand?
Consider a personalized delivery experience for the shopper in hand…
Drizly, North America’s largest e-commerce alcohol marketplace offering speed and convenience of on-demand or scheduled delivery, reported that in prior to the holiday season in 2021, over 10% of their orders were gifts**.
Drizly have excelled in meeting the customer with their personalized needs by shipping or delivering from a local liquor store, gifters can schedule up to two weeks in advance or even last minute for delivery in under 60 minutes directly to their giftee’s door.
Or, it could be how to make the gift more personal to those receiving it…
Diageo understands that gifting is one of the most common ways that consumers interact with their brands. To test the concept, ‘Message in a Bottle’ launched as a pilot in partnership with The Whisky Shop ahead of Father’s Day, as a new gifting experience that allows customers to personalize a bottle of Single Malt Scotch whisky with a unique video message.
By uploading a selection of pictures and a message from a smartphone or PC, ‘Message in a Bottle’ created a thirty second video resulting in a novel way for family and friends to celebrate some of life’s unforgettable memories and occasions. A gift label on the bottle with a unique link allows the recipient to access the virtual personal message when they scan the attached QR code by pointing their smartphone camera at it. The video can also be downloaded and shared via social media.
And what could be more personal than having your name engraved onto the bottle?
Online marketplaces such as Diageo Rare and Exceptional and The Bar are offering consumers the option to engrave their recipient’s name into their bottles. In the spirit of gifting, they’ve recently launched a campaign for Father’s Day, centered around engraving words of appreciation onto a luxury bottle of Whiskey. They’re even throwing in a pair of complementary whiskey glasses so if you’re lucky enough to be with your loved one on their special day, you can kick back and enjoy a glass (or two) together.
Brands are beginning to recognize the importance of creating a digital and physical brand experience at every consumer touch point. Personalization should be at the forefront of your marketing efforts, from tailoring your ecommerce site’s content to target the specific audience viewing it, to the unboxing experience that allows gifts to be more unique and personal with the objective of helping people connect on occasions that can’t share together.
Article Sources:
*Future Drinks Expo 2022
**https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/drizly-reveals-a-snapshot-of-beverage-alcohol-gifting-trends-from-2021-301441339.html
Other sources:
https://diageorareandexceptional.sg/collections/engraving?page=2
https://us.thebar.com/engravable-bottles-personalized/
Image source: https://diageorareandexceptional.sg/collections/engraving/products/john-walker-sons-bicentenary-blend-28-year-old
