Can Rimuss grow up?
At this year’s Brand Congress 2018, the big brands shone on the main stage, while the small and fine brand Rimuss surprised on a side stage with its much-vaunted authenticity. Lukas Brandl, responsible for marketing, speaks openly and honestly about the challenges they are struggling with and for which they have not yet found a paradigm solution. To discuss these challenges transparently and to leave them in the room without a solution requires a maximum of authenticity and shows courage.
As we know from childhood, Rimuss is consumed very seasonally, mainly on New Year’s Eve.¹ It is obvious that this is difficult in terms of overall consumption and sales. Rimuss has therefore spent the last few years trying to extend its brand and create new consumption opportunities with new target groups. Brand extension offers the opportunity to adapt the brand to the customer’s wishes and thus to continuously update the brand. In addition, brand competence can be systematically built up and the image can be sustainably changed with a new lead product.².
In 2012, the Rimuss brand was extended with the “Rimuss Secco” line. Today, the central questions of a brand extension are: Does this new product line and sub-brand fit the Rimuss brand? Can the image factors of Rimuss (“Rimuss Classic”) be transferred to the new product line and vice versa?
At first glance, the two brands fit together in their basic attitude and core: “With Rimuss everybody joins the toast”. The claim, and at the same time the brand promise, already points to the core of the brand: Inclusion. “A party for everyone.” This also applies to the new “Secco” product line and the adults it targets who do not want to drink alcohol.
However, there is a dissonance in the consumer’s mind between the values conveyed and the tone of the communication chosen:
Children and their families have been the focus of communication for 60 years. Based on the customer insight that alcohol basically excludes children from celebrations, Rimuss has for years acted as a mediator between the generations and stood for the values of community, family and tradition. The world of values tends to be conservative, well-behaved and civilised. At its heart is the family feast.
The communication of the product line extension “Rimuss Secco” is a far cry from this. The target group is grown up, and the positioning of “Rimuss Secco” as an aperitif drink is much more related to everyday life. It plays on the values of freedom, fun, humour, individuality and creativity, creating a stimulating world of values for hedonists. The problem is that the conventions and codes of alcoholic aperitifs are reflected in their communication. Thus, “fun without alcohol” is charged with effects and actions that are otherwise known from alcohol and is not resolved at the end of the communication.
Whether it is absurd party games, success with the opposite sex or simply a great party, the message “Secco – 100% party mood, 0% alcohol” is not very credible. In previous campaigns, Secco by Rimuss has been portrayed as freedom-loving, debauched and self-dramatising. In this way, Secco stands in stark contrast to the calm and solid ideal world of the modern family of “Rimuss Classic”. The associations evoked are not directly linked to the brand core; there is too little image transfer between the “Rimuss Classic” brand (homely, secure and introverted) and “Secco by Rimuss” (extroverted, lively and party-oriented). There is also an attempt to rejuvenate the Rimuss brand in general, in order to increase identification with the new generation and to exploit consumption opportunities throughout the year. In this respect, it would be advisable to look for independent consumer needs rather than looking at consumption opportunities that are already occupied. A clearer positioning in the saturated beverage market would be more successful. Although Rimuss is an established brand, the inconsistent communication strategy and abrupt brand stretching regularly weaken the Rimuss brand. There is a risk that the core target group will lose confidence in the brand and that the Rimuss brand will become diluted.
It would be good if agency and brand managers would look more closely at the issue of brand elasticity in order to exploit the full potential of the Rimuss brand. A new Rimuss campaign is due to start in mid-November. It will be interesting to see whether the brand stretch is convincing and whether the Rimuss brand can assert itself with a new image.
Sources:
¹ www.rimuss.ch/de/rimuss-classic
² Esch, F.-R. (2018): Strategie und Technik der Markenführung, 9. Vollständig überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage, Verlag Franz Vahlen, München.