BICsters Pitch. Diageo Picks. Everyone's a winner. But the prize goes to...
After last year's successful collaboration, Diageo returned as the 2019 Spring corporate capstone client with a new challenge: to promote Baileys Almande, the latest extension of one of the world's most beloved brands. With fewer calories than Baileys, Almande is not only gluten free, but perfect for those who are vegan and lactose-intolerant. Since sales have been disappointing, BICsters were encourage to be bold -- an invitation that the BIC Class of 2019 took to heart. On Thursday, May 16th, four teams pitched their integrated marketing communications campaigns to Diageo's Jason Chebib, Dorothy deVencia and Adrienne Cuschieri. And knocked their socks off.
The first team to present, Emrse, wowed the judges with a strong strategic insight: to overstimulated and tired Millennials, "in is the new out."
This gives Bailey's Almande the opportunity to position itself as the blissful embodiment of downtime, that moment of "Ahhhhhhhh!" which comes after a long day. Emrse's campaign embodied this feeling while also inserting the product name into those specific moments of the day that we all yearn for.
To counter Baileys' dominance of the holiday season, the second team, Fenomena, felt that smaller moments were worth celebrating with Almande and that there is no smaller, more precious moment than NOW.
By accentuating the product's sights and sounds, Fenomena's campaign engaged consumer senses to make them more mindful of the present and to appreciate what is directly in front of them: an irresistibly delicious cocktail made with Baileys Almande.
The third team, Re:Vision, believed that Baileys Almande needed to disassociate itself from its parent brand because it is too steeped in tradition for Millennials to consider their own.
Re:Vision's campaign "Almande by Me" featured a product redesigned that encouraged audience participation and cocktail recipes that asked consumers to invite and share along with strategically identified influencers.
The final team to present, BEAM, strategized that Almande's low calorie sweetness made it the perfect catalyst for girlfriend get-togethers.
BEAM's campaign "Almande Sweetspot" included such innovative executions as print ads with scent strips, a party pedal-bus that would allow consumers to motor to their favorite sweet spot, and the country's largest Soul Cycle event.
Announcing the winners, Jason Chebib praised all the work. He was blown away by the strategic thinking and fresh concepts. The runner-up was the "Ahhhhhhh!" campaign by Emrse, which he showered with praise and said that on any given day, they should've been the winner. But instead he bestowed that honor on Re:Vision's "Almande by Me" because he believed that the boldness of destroying a client's product in a way that made them truly appreciate its consumer should be rewarded with the first place prize.
Congrats to all the teams. And special thanks to Diageo's Jason and Alex Carantza, both experts in consumer insights and planning, who created this assignment specifically for BICsters and supported us throughout the semester.
Each Spring semester, the BIC Corporate Capstone is led by BIC Professor and Program Director Nancy R. Tag who divides students into separate communications teams to fulfill the brief of a corporate client. Past clients have been Univision, Universal Music Group, and Heineken. In the Fall semester, BICsters focus on a non-profit organization. This year, BIC worked on behalf of Sandy Hook Promise to help stop gun violence by promoting SAVE clubs on high school campuses.
