• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, December 1, 2017

Champagne may be among the most traditional spirits enjoyed at the holidays, but new initiatives — an Alexa skill, a Snapchat-based game, and an interactive Instagram crowdsourcing experience  — demonstrate that the category can tap the latest tech with the best of them. 

Moët Hennessy USA — parent of Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon, Krug, Veuve Clicquot and Ruinart champagnes and other wine and spirits brands — worked with creative technology agency Rehab to create an Alexa skilled called “Bottles and Bubbles.” The skill is designed to help users learn about champagne and “create their own experiences at home.” 

Consumers who enable the free skill and activate it by saying, “Alexa, open Bottles and Bubbles,” can engage with several types of content. They include “Champagne 101” (basics about champagne and Moët Hennessy brands in particular); a calendar of dates/occasions suitable for celebrating with champagne; recommended food and champagne pairings; hosting tips; and champagne-inspired playlists and ambient sounds.

This is the first Alexa skill from Moët Hennessy, and the first champagne-focused skill to date, according to the brand. For the present, the skill is available only to U.S. consumers.

“New technologies are providing us with incredible opportunities to grow our business and engage with our consumers in exciting ways,” summed up the company’s chief marketing officer, Vanessa Kay.

Snapchat Game, Instagram Crowdsourcing

Separately, the Moët & Chandon brand, which says it invented the champagne tower, has turned that concept into a two-player mobile Snapchat game set to launch in time for the holidays.

Players will compete to be "The Greatest Entertainer" by tapping the screen to shoot champagne corks at the virtual glasses making up a multi-tiered Moët Champagne Tower positioned at the end of a table.

Each user gets 10 seconds to aim and toss as many corks as possible at the glasses. Hitting the main target — the single glass on top of the tower — triggers a bottle pop sound and champagne spritz. Hitting glasses on other levels earns varying numbers of points. After 10 seconds, the second player gets his or her turn. 

Players can share their high-scores at the end of the game and unlock an “exclusive geofilter” to share with friends on Snapchat.

Moët & Chandon will also look to engage consumers with a content-crowdsourcing Instagram experience that lets them decide what content shows up on the brand’s social feeds. 

Using Instagram Stories’s new polls feature, U.S. consumers will be able to determine what content they want to view from a variety of home entertaining influencers. 

Each winning poll topic will be featured in an “Art of Entertaining” content series. 

Participants will be able to pick ingredients to curate a custom Moët cocktail, and activities to throw the ultimate holiday party, which will then be featured in a video on Moët, Tasting Table and the social channels of collaborating influencers.