Diageo has called on retailers to shake up the layout of the spirits aisle in a bid to entice new consumers to the category and boost sales.
Consumers were not being provided with enough information about the variety of spirits available and required more details on tasting notes, pricing structure and provenance, said the Smirnoff owner as it unveiled its Christmas marketing plans last week.
"There is certainly a huge opportunity to bring better education and information at PoS to the spirits fixture, as well as the way the category is ranged and displayed," said Andy Adams, grocery director for Diageo.
"This is absolutely something we are focused on, and retailers need to get more action behind that."
Diageo had collaborated with retailers to research a "new vision" for point of purchase, he said, adding he "wanted to take it into tests in the near future."
Adams' demands came as Diageo revealed its Christmas marketing plans for spirits. The drinks giant is upping its marketing spend to £47m this season, from £41m last year.
Print and PoS material will focus on the value for money offered by spirits, with the new message '28 great drinks in every bottle', referring to the number of servings a 70cl bottle can provide. "We have previously been missing communication that reaffirms how simple and value-efficient it is to make a mixed drink," said Adams. "It's the beginning of an idea we are going to run and run with."
He said he expected the new marketing which kicks off later this month with a £5m campaign for Baileys and a £2m spend for Smirnoff to help entice new consumers to the spirits category and spark £37m in extra sales over the 12-week festive period.
Total spirits sales reached £959m last Christmas [Nielsen 12w/e 27 December 2008], which was up from £899m the year before.
Diageo is also offering more than 40 gifting packs this Christmas. The range includes the new Smirnoff No.21 Speaker pack a bottle of Smirnoff wrapped in a red-zipped jacket with inbuilt MP3 speakers (rsp: £34.99).
Consumers were not being provided with enough information about the variety of spirits available and required more details on tasting notes, pricing structure and provenance, said the Smirnoff owner as it unveiled its Christmas marketing plans last week.
"There is certainly a huge opportunity to bring better education and information at PoS to the spirits fixture, as well as the way the category is ranged and displayed," said Andy Adams, grocery director for Diageo.
"This is absolutely something we are focused on, and retailers need to get more action behind that."
Diageo had collaborated with retailers to research a "new vision" for point of purchase, he said, adding he "wanted to take it into tests in the near future."
Adams' demands came as Diageo revealed its Christmas marketing plans for spirits. The drinks giant is upping its marketing spend to £47m this season, from £41m last year.
Print and PoS material will focus on the value for money offered by spirits, with the new message '28 great drinks in every bottle', referring to the number of servings a 70cl bottle can provide. "We have previously been missing communication that reaffirms how simple and value-efficient it is to make a mixed drink," said Adams. "It's the beginning of an idea we are going to run and run with."
He said he expected the new marketing which kicks off later this month with a £5m campaign for Baileys and a £2m spend for Smirnoff to help entice new consumers to the spirits category and spark £37m in extra sales over the 12-week festive period.
Total spirits sales reached £959m last Christmas [Nielsen 12w/e 27 December 2008], which was up from £899m the year before.
Diageo is also offering more than 40 gifting packs this Christmas. The range includes the new Smirnoff No.21 Speaker pack a bottle of Smirnoff wrapped in a red-zipped jacket with inbuilt MP3 speakers (rsp: £34.99).
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