After last year’s decision to celebrate its ties to the James Bond franchise, Bollinger has recently announced that in 2016 it will re-focus marketing efforts on its impressive credentials as a luxury Champagne producer. Ideal Wine Company considers the move.
Luxury Champagne
The history of Bollinger Champagne is absolutely fascinating. Founded in 1829 by a French aristocrat, the Bollinger Champagne house soon established a reputation for producing excellent sparkling wines. Bollinger was brought into the modern age when it fell into the ownership of Lily Bollinger, whose efforts to promote the brand transformed it into a globally popular Champagne.
Today, the word Bollinger is practically synonymous with luxury Champagne. Partly, this is due to Lilly Bollinger’s decision to use the iconic James Bond film franchise to promote Bollinger products, which turned it into a pop culture phenomenon. But this aside, Bollinger Champagne, which is exclusively made from Pinot Noir grapes, has remained enduringly popular because it is a stellar product.
Bollinger’s announcement
In 2015, Bollinger decided to celebrate its historic association with James Bond. The company launched a 50,000 bottle limited edition 2009 vintage to mark the release of Spectre, the 24th film in the James Bond franchise. Spectre was also the 14th James Bond film to feature Bollinger Champagne. Industry portal The Drinks Business reports that Bollinger has now decided to re-focus its marketing efforts on what makes its Champagne unique, in terms of taste.
Commenting, Bollinger President Jérôme Philippon said: “The year of 2015 was very much about celebrating our 40 year partnership with the Broccoli family [the producers behind the 007 film series] through Bond, and it was a very successful year for us – again it was a record – but now we feel that 2016 is a good opportunity to get back to our wine credentials.”
Launching key initiatives
Bollinger has decided to launch “two key initatives” to achieve this aim. Last month, the company held a masterclass in London which examined what makes its Special Cuvée so special. Later in June, Bollinger will unveil its new Gallery 1829 wine cellar, named after the year Bollinger was founded,
This cellar will feature the firm’s historic collection of Champagnes. Explaining further, Philippon said: “We will remain an independent family owned house as long as our style is different – and our marketing has always been based on our differentiation of style; it is all about the taste.
“It is so important to share with our partners why is it different, why it so special, why it is called Special Cuvée, and dissect what makes it special. It can’t be on just image, it has to be on taste and it has to remain on the taste… And with a mature market [like the UK] it is very important to communicate these elements, and share this knowledge.”
Sample luxury Champagne
Re-focusing on Champagne could prove a stroke of genius for Bollinger. With their reputation for excellence, Bollinger Champagnes are sure to continue to appeal to consumers across the world, as they have done so for years. If you want to see why people value well-made luxury French sparkling wine, peruse our Champagne list, so you can sample some truly outstanding products!
