FRANCE. Martell, the third best-selling brand in travel retail, is celebrating the continuing successful roll-out of its new super-premium Cognac Martell Création Grand Extra in duty free shops in Asia and Europe.
Elisabeth Ricard, Martell’s Communications Director, spoke of the luxury product’s glorious start at a brand update for the media held last week in the grandiose surroundings of Château de Chanteloup, home of the brand’s founder Jean Martell and still its headquarters today.
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Left: Château de Chanteloup, the historic residence of Jean Martell, who founded the Cognac house Martell in 1715. Right: Elisabeth Ricard, Martell’s Communications Director, reports continued dynamism in the key Asian market | |
Aimed at men aged between 35 and 50, Martell Création Grand Extra replaces the brand’s historic Extra line and retails at US$250. The Cognac is sold in an eye-catching blue and gold embossed presentation case.
Supported by premium display units and glorifiers, Martell Création Grand Extra made its travel retail debut in Asia with DFS Group in November 2006, followed by Malaysian outlets in January 2007.
“Asia remains an extremely dynamic market,” asserted Ricard, the niece of Patrick Ricard, Chairman and CEO of brand owner Pernod Ricard.
The new superior-quality Création signature has also graced the shelves this year at selected airport stores in Europe, including Paris Charles de Gaulle (from February), Frankfurt and Oslo (both from March).
Aiming to give maximum visibility to the brand in-store, the tailor-made merchandising and tasting units focus on the decanter’s sophisticated arch-shaped bottle and the triple M motif, which is the symbol of Martell’s range of superior Cognac qualities.
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Martell in Malaysia: Création glorifiers at the Cerajaya border store (top) and at Kuala Lumpur International Airport |
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Mark Of Triumph: Création promotional units at Singapore Changi Airport focus on the arch-shaped decanter |
At London Heathrow Terminal 3, a major in-store promotion took place in February, featuring a Martell bar offering Création tastings and a branded display wall.
“The T3 launch went very well,” said Ricard, though percentage sales increases were not available.
The product will be introduced in Russia before June, and the US market in May, she added.
Importance of travel retail
“Travel retail is the ideal opportunity to showcase the premiumness of the Martell brand,” said Ricard. “It is a small but key category accounting for 16% of Martell volumes.”
The percentage figure is significant, as the brand sells 1.3 million cases worldwide. In addition, Martell has seen an +11% increase in sales year-on-year, with accelerated growth of its superior qualities.
The company is also supporting the Martell brand overall in travel retail with airport advertising at key locations such as Hong Kong and Moscow Domodedovo, where Chinese and Russian travellers are targeted.
To ensure travellers hear the brand message loud and clear before they even enter the airport, Martell has also started taking out exterior advertisements at sites close to major airports, including Hong Kong, Shanghai Pudong, Singapore Changi and Moscow.
Last week, an exterior ad campaign for Martell XO was launched at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. It will run for at least four months.
Like many other Cognac players in the travel retail market, Martell regularly offers gwps, particularly in Asia. These have included Dunhill belts, as well as bags and luggage. A competition was held recently to win Bang & Olufsen audio-visual products.
About Martell Création Grand Extra
Described as a testimony to the creative spirit of Jean Martell who founded the house of Martell in 1715, Création Grand Extra replaces the company’s historical Martell Extra product, originally created in the 19th century.
The new Création signature has a contemporary, creative and subtle style, according to the company.
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| Left: Création’s silver neck cap is decorated with a sculpted “M” embossed in gold. Middle: The Mark of Triumph ad visual. Right: The presentation case is embossed blue and gold | ||
Création aims to reinforce Martell’s prestige, stature and luxury brand image. Sophistication and power are among its characteristics.
The Cognac is presented in a distinctive decanter that echoes the arch design of Martell XO, which was introduced in 2005, reinforcing Martell’s message bridging Cognac tradition to today’s lifestyle and tastes.
The silver bottle neck is decorated with a sculptured golden “˜M’ and a silver ribbon is tied around the neck. It is sealed by an exclusive-looking Martell seal.
Tasting notes
The blend from Martell’s Cellar Master, Bruno Lemoine, combines the freshness and fruity notes of the Borderies eaux-de-vie with the subtle and spicy notes of lengthily matured eaux-de-vie from the Grande Champagne region.
Colour: Topaz, amber, radiant with bright shining reflections.
Nose: Primary notes evoke ginger bread and dried fruits. Freshness with orange marmalade aromas, lemon zest and orange blossom. Subtle finish with mature rancio notes, plus a mix of walnuts, oriental spices and cedar wood.
Taste: Soft and silky feeling initially, releasing a warm mellowness reinforcing the smoothness of the blend. This initial mellowness is then intensified by an explosion of flavours in the mouth, which Lemoine likens to a peacock spreading out his feathers.
Design by Serge Mansau
Famous French designer Serge Mansau developed Martell Creation’s Grand Extra decanter, which is characterised by a triple arch – the symbol of triumph.
The crafted bottle and neck cap is decorated with a sculpted “M” embossed in gold, one of the key design elements of Martell’s super-premium range.
The name “˜Martell Creation Grand Extra’ depicted on the bottle is subtly displayed using gold silk-screen printing.
Mark Of Triumph
Martell Création Grand Extra is available worldwide in key markets such as Asia, duty free, Russia, the US and key international prestige outlets (hotels and restaurants) in Europe.
The product is supported by a new print advertising campaign inspired by the “Mark Of Triumph” in history.
This follows the inspirational theme adopted by other Martell styles such as the XO campaign – “Shape your World” – and the campaign for the house’s flagship product, Cordon Bleu – “Only a Few Can Tell”.
The print ads focus on the handcrafted bottle design and aim to deliver a sophisticated and powerful look.
MORE STORIES ON MARTELL
Martell wishes Heathrow travellers a happy Chinese New Year – 15/02/07
An extra special creation from Martell – 11/01/07
Martell highlights new XO in travel retail campaign – 04/01/06
