E-Malt.com News article: UK: SABMiller launches $50 million Peroni Nastro Azzurro brand campaign

SABMiller plc, one of the world’s leading brewers, announces that it will invest US $50 million in a new global brand campaign for its international premium Italian beer, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, according to company’s press release, November 14.

The campaign entitled ‘Calendario’ is produced as a short film but will incorporate a range of advertising and marketing initiatives.

Set in the 1960s, the decade in which Peroni Nastro Azzurro was first brewed by the Birra Peroni family, the Calendario film follows a calendar photo shoot in a small town called Bellagio in the stylish Lake Como.

It represents Peroni Nastro Azzurro as a timeless classic. Each month is a celebration of Italian spirit and features an up-and-coming model with classic, Italian beauty photographed against a stunning setting with Peroni Nastro Azzurro embedded in each scene as if carved into the landscape.

South Africa is the first market to roll out the campaign which will continue with a Romanian launch in December and the brand’s other countries will follow in due course.

The new investment follows a year of significant global growth for Peroni Nastro Azzurro with sales up 69% MAT to September 2007.*

Globally over five bottles of Peroni Nastro Azzurro are sold every second and the new brand campaign is set to propel the world’s number one premium beer into a new phase of growth.

Chris Taylor, SABMiller’s International Brand Director for Peroni Nastro Azzurro says: “The brand’s unique Italian style positioning has won the hearts and minds all round the world; it is truly a global brand now available in countries as diverse as Japan, France, Romania, Puerto Rica and India to name a few. We have found that every country in the world recognises Italy as a beacon of style, passion and craftsmanship. Peroni Nastro Azzurro is reinvigorating the beer category and challenging people’s perceptions about traditional beer drinking, country by country, and at the core of this is the brand’s Italian heritage and style.”

Peroni Nastro Azzurro is renowned for its groundbreaking campaigns and innovative approach to marketing the beer brand as effortless chic. It was put on the map when it re-launched globally in 2005 with ‘Emporio Peroni’, the exclusive, non-shop boutique on Sloane Street, London and hosted the first ever catwalk show on the Millennium Bridge. Last year, Peroni Nastro Azzurro revealed its stylish ‘La Dolce Vita’ campaign, homage to Fellini’s 1960 classic, and to coincide with London Fashion Week this year the brand partnered with legendary style title Vogue Italia to create a photographic exhibition celebrating 50 years of Italian style.

Peroni Nastro Azzurro is now present in Australia, India, South Africa, the UK, the US, Colombia, France, Peru, Poland, Romania, Puerto Rico, Japan and of course its home Italy.

It is part of SABMiller’s global premium brand portfolio which also includes Pilsner Urquell and Miller Genuine Draft.

* Based on international sales excluding Italy.

The Campaign

Peroni Nastro Azzurro brought in celebrated figures from the style and creative worlds to ensure that all aspects of the set retained an authentically Italian 1960s feel, from the costumes to the hairstyles, and down to the smallest detail with all modern day signs removed and shops being built onsite. Renowned stylist David Hawkins sourced rare props from the 1960’s including the Isetta bubble car, the Vespa 90 Super Sprint and the Fiat 500s all set to highlight the Italian authenticity that Peroni Nastro Azzurro represents. Additional items used on the set were even sourced from the Cinecitta Studios in Rome, where the legendary Federico Fellini made many of his movies. Luca Lachin, who was the assistant director on Gangs of New York and Casino Royale, also provided his expertise in the filming of Calendario.

The beer brand even went so far as to reinvigorate much of Bellagio before and during the shooting of the campaign. Perioni Nastro Azzurro spent eight days restoring the town’s lido to its former glory, breathing new life back into the community.

Photographer Nick Clements captured the black and white themed Italian calendar photoshoot in the small village of Bellagio, the pearl of Lake Como, a location known for its stylish and extravagant parties in its heyday during the 1960s.

Peroni Nastro Azzurro

SABMiller acquired a majority interest in Birra Peroni in May 2003. For decades a favourite with Italian beer drinkers, in 2005 Peroni set out to change people’s perceptions of traditional beer drinking and re-launched as Peroni Nastro Azzurro with a sleek new look that reflected its authentic Italian heritage. The rebranding enabled Peroni to be relaunched across the world, but the beer has always retained its original cool, crisp and refreshing taste. Building on the success of Peroni’s 2005 re-launch, SABMiller invested $50 million to support the brand’s global communications campaign in 2006. As part of the global campaign, the trailblazing Italian lager delighted audiences with its remake of Federico Fellini’s classic film, La Dolce Vita. In paying homage to this icon of Italian cinema, Peroni also affirmed its place in the history of Italian style.

SABMiller

SABMiller plc is one of the world’s largest brewers with brewing interests or distribution agreements in over 60 countries across six continents. The group’s brands include premium international beers such as Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell, as well as an exceptional range of market leading local brands. Outside the USA, SABMiller plc is also one of the largest bottlers of Coca-Cola products in the world.
In the year ended 31 March 2007, the group reported US$3,154 million adjusted pre-tax profit and revenue of US$18,620 million. SABMiller plc is listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges.


14 November, 2007