• by Karl Greenberg , October 15, 2007

Fortune Brands' Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. is getting a shout out from Jermaine "JD" Dupri, producer and founder of So-So Def Records, to support its national urban-market campaign for its premium VSOP, XO and Exclusif varieties of Courvoisier Cognac.

The national advertising and promotional effort, with the tagline "Find Greatness Within," is also the brand's first advertising and positioning campaign since 2005.

Print ads hit trade and consumer publications beginning in October and November respectively. The company says the effort will also include online advertising, point-of-sale items, and launch events.

The new consumer print executions show Dupri posing in a highly stylized art-house style ad, oddly reminiscent of Botticelli's "Venus." In the ad, Dupri poses with a snifter of Courvoisier VSOP in one hand. Behind him is a backdrop of his hometown, Atlanta, and he is surrounded by a halo of icons--intertwined in a golden wreath--representing his life and career: records, his drum set, music clefs, and basketballs.

The sidebar reads, "Jermaine Dupri. Artist, Music Mogul, Basketball Fanatic." "Find Greatness Within" is shrouded with the crest and a bottle of Courvoisier VSOP resting on the edge, and the tagline declares "Layers of subtlety and taste, developed over time. Enjoy responsibly."

Ads for Courvoisier VSOP and Courvoisier Exclusif show the bottles with the "Find Greatness Within" crest. Consumer print advertisements will run in Giant, GQ, VIBE, Complex, and Cigar Aficionado.

Courvoisier is also partnering with Billboard.com, Vh1.com, and Complex.com to create branded entertainment microsites.

Courvoisier is also running a program with The Palms Las Vegas, including information in bars, restaurants, and casinos, as well as in-room advertising on Palms Vision.

The effort is via Publicis' Burrell Communications, and Publicis Dialog London. New York-based Zenithmedia along with sister agency Moxie Interactive out of Atlanta coordinated all online, print, radio, and out-of-home media buys.

Chris Mahoney, senior brand director, Courvoisier Cognac, says the new campaign is a departure for the Beam, which acquired Courvoisier a little over two years ago. "There had been a campaign in the U.S., but it was not making the brand as relevant to the target consumer," she says.

Mahoney says the new effort is unique in its dual message: what are you passionate about, and what makes the Courvoisier different in its journey from grape to cognac. "The idea of 'find greatness' within is intriguing, because it's very consistent with today's consumer mindset of having a balanced life--doing things that are important to them, not possessing things but living out passions one has--in Jermaine's case, it's Atlanta, and basketball."

She says the target customers are 25- to-44-year-old urban males. "There is a skew toward African-American males, but the target is demographically diverse, living in cities, or outskirts, so they lead an urban lifestyle, tend to be aware of new trends in fashion, art, music and design. They are self-made." She says that the target consumer also drinks super-premium tequilas, single-malt Scotches, and vodkas.

The company is launching the Exclusif Cognac, introduced first in Asia, into a new category, says Mahoney: a cognac that can be mixed in a cocktail without losing its taste profile in the melange of other flavors.

"The grapes are sourced from four different crus in the Cognac region. It allows Exclusif to stand up in mixed cocktails and retain its flavor." The Cognac blends Grande and Petite Champagne, Fin Bois and Borderies, the last of which gives it a distinct character, she says.

The company invitation-only events demonstrating the Exlusif Cognac in different cocktails, and introducing consumers to the idea of a mixable Cognac, using other Beam spirits.

Mahoney says a lot of Courvoisier's sales growth, tracking the industry, is in VSOP and above. The company says Cognac is enjoying the resurgence of cocktails and the same consumer shift toward premium products that has perfused every other area of the U.S. market for consumer goods and services, from cars to cufflinks.

The company says that in 2006, U.S. cognac consumption had grown by 6% with the VSOP and XO sub-categories experiencing the most noteworthy growth. Courvoisier posted a 5.3% year-to-date increase in its VSOP and XO marques, with Southern California experiencing the most growth at 34.6%.