Associations & Differentiation

San Pellegrino

 

“ Conviviality, Italian Elegance and Fine dining”

Throughout the years, the brand always highlighted the importance  of sharing around the table with family and friends, in the Italian and refined way. We can notice that most of the brand’s advertising campaigns refer to emotions or feelings related to abundance, joy of life, refinement …

The brand’s slogan “ Live in Italian” is much more than an invitation to the Italian culture but an invitation to a complete experience and lifestyle. The company has created a new website for “ true Fine Dining Lovers” so they can extend the San Pellegrino experience.

The water is mostly associated to meals and the brand considers itself the favorite sparkling water of the celebrities.

In general, San Pellegrino is promoting the Italian style of fine living and is strongly involved in several gastronomy events and contests but also in Fashion, Design & Arts, particularly with its different partnerships with Ferrari, Missoni or Ferragamo for example.

The 2012 limited edition “Cinema” for the Cannes film festival, a tribute to the “Dolce Vita” illustrates the involvement of the brand in the artistic sphere among celibrities and high end people.

The brand’s ingenious association with Bulgari in the 2011 limited edition "S. Pellegrino sparkles with Bulgari » confirmed their desire of maintaining the image of an elegant, high end and refined brand name.

Moreover the brand kept the same label and visual brand identity since its creation in the late 19’s which can be interpreted as a sign of stability among the customers which will facilitate the company to build their brand equity and gain customer’s loyalty.

 

Perrier

“Elegance, Sparkling, Refreshing with a pinch of madness …”

Perrier is a brand name as old as San Pellegrino but position itself a little bit less according to tradition and historical know-how. The brand identifies itself as a fresh, modern and innovative brand.

The brand has always been involved in Contemporary Arts, Design and Sport and integrated it into their internal marketing. The original brand advertisement campaigns of Perrier were the fruit of collaborations with artists and designers like the painted posters by B. Villemot or, more famous, Andy Wharol. The brand’s sponsorship with the Rolland Garros Tennis Championship is well-known.
 

The last advertising campaign was focusing on the primary qualitative definition of the Perrier sparkling water: intense refreshness which is illustrated and demonstrated (see the picture above). The brand refers then to the feelings or emotions of extreme freshness, wellness and desire, often connoted to sex.

Some other associations with modern trends and celebrity such as limited collections illustrated by the iconic Dita von Teese show the desire of the brand to position as a modern, open-minded.
 

With its digital multicultural magazine SocietePerrier.com, Perrier anchors its identity in arts, music, nightlife … the urban lifestyle. Perrier sparkling water is first of all a beverage with digestive quality. However Mixology by Perrier differentiates the brand to the other. The willingness to push forward the limits and to seek for diversification represents the brand.

Badoit

 

“Elegance, Happiness and Refinement at the Table”

Badoit is a history, a know-how whose benefits were very early estimated as exhilarious and digestive. Throughout the years, the brand maintained their brand identity strategy around happiness, wellness and lightness.
 

Like San Pellegrino, the brand associates itself to the meal and promotes its water thanks to its taste which can accompany several food flavours.
 

The Badoit sparkling water is strongly connected to the catering sector (bars, cafés & restaurants). French Star Chef Thierry Marx explains that he likes serving Badoit at the table because “the taste of Badoit is unique, an aromatic uniqueness as well as a very singular texture, it is almost a signature taste in itself. Its bubbles are fine but energetic, never a lull to be seen... with them, daily routine turns into a dance and they awaken the slightest ingredient”.

Chef Thierry Marx, ambassador of the brand, took part in the Badoit Express Experience which was a very interesting concept. The idea of an improvised dinner with foreign people in an unusual place was quite original as it dealt with emotions and feelings. People had the opportunity to test different dishes accompanied with Badoit water.

Perceptual Map – Badoit , Perrier, San Pellegrino

Even though the three brands are direct competitors, we can clearly notice how different Perrier, Badoit and San Pellegrino position themselves in the market through associations and emotions. We can though notice some points of parity such as elegance, refinement or the association to the meal for San Pellegrino and Badoit instead of Perrier which focuses on a fresher and younger positionning.
 

We can also notice the communication around glamorous lifestyle from San Pellegrino and Perrier instead of Badoit always reinforcing its positionning around the meal and the gastronomy.
 

The most important for a brand is to reflect the image it wants to be. There should not be discrepancies between brand image and reputation desired by the company and the way consumers perceive the brand otherwise it might be fatal.

Below you can see the Kapferer's Prism, where you can see brand identity of our three key brands. (San Pellegrino in blue; Badoit in red; Perrier in green)