Mother of Wimbledon 2016 winner Andy was appointed Pimm’s chief foliage officer (CFO) to front the booze brand’s comic campaign leveraging the tennis tournament.
Coach, Fed Cup captain and now alcohol ad endorser leads this ambush marketing activity – it will surprise some that despite its common tournament association and synergy, PImm’s is not an official sponsor – as Judy work with Pimm’s to seek out and perfect the ‘art of mint management’.
The background to her new role as CFO, sees the mother of single champion Andy and doubles Grand Slam winner Jamie ‘determined to get the mint bit right this year’, following her Twitter critique of a Wimbledon bartender’s approach to her favourite summer time tipple during the 2015 tournament.
In a comment and photo on her own Twitter feed, Judy Murray critiqued the amount of mint foliage a bartender placed atop her Pimm’s Cup at last year’s tournament.
Pimm’s playfully responded to the tweet, telling bartenders to only use the advised number of mint leaves – ‘three’ to be precise – for all drinks.
@judmoo Certainly not the best serve we’ve seen this week. Do we spy an unforced error in the foreground?
— Pimm's (@PimmsGB) July 3, 2015
So this year’s response campaign, launched as the 2016 tournament began on 27 June, paired Judy Murray fronted film with an upbeat soundtrack to spearhead the campaign.
Created in the style of a staff training video, the spot blends a distinctly British dry humour with a narrative thread that follows Murray around the day she received a full herb garden poking out of her glass.
The set-up idea is that the spoof training video will be distributed to bartenders at venues across the nation to ‘uphold ‘mint standards’.
The campaign was initially teased on Twitter,
We are proud to announce a new position within our team – please welcome our new CFO: Chief Foliage Officer, @judmoo pic.twitter.com/SMKomSsLdN
— Pimm's (@PimmsGB) June 27, 2016
and after it was first posted on the brand’s YouTube channel, it was further amplified socially across Pimm’s own platforms.
Here’s our new CFO: Chief Foliage Officer @judmoo to explain how to garnish your Pimm’s to perfection #mintstandards pic.twitter.com/mE0dMCDezR
— Pimm's (@PimmsGB) June 27, 2016
Game, Set, Murray! That calls for #PimmsOClock pic.twitter.com/wpNP4ASsKr
— Pimm's (@PimmsGB) July 2, 2016
It was also promoted via Judy Murray’s own personal platforms (to engage her 175,000 personal Twitter followers),
Big day today. I've landed myself a new job.#PimmsOClock pic.twitter.com/VOTk4feRep
— judy murray (@judmoo) June 27, 2016
as well as seeing further support through ongoing Wimbledon related content and real-time comment social assets linked to on-court action.
Game, Set, Murray! That calls for #PimmsOClock pic.twitter.com/wpNP4ASsKr
— Pimm's (@PimmsGB) July 2, 2016
Ah, the sweet taste of victory! #YesMurray #PimmsOClock
— Pimm's (@PimmsGB) July 4, 2016
(Or should that be lack of action due to the weather?)
Rain covers on, bottle caps off #PimmsOClock
— Pimm's (@PimmsGB) July 1, 2016
“Quiet please…” – it’s #PimmsOClock pic.twitter.com/IQsoiTWLad
— Pimm's (@PimmsGB) July 4, 2016
The campaign also teamed up with PR agency Taylor Herring to push the Pimm’s mint message and to tell the brand story and educate bartenders across the country.
The 2016 work follows on from last year’s Pimm’s tournament guerrilla work which, according to Amobee Brand Intelligence, demonstrated a very high association throughout the tournament, across the web and on mobile and social platforms.
The brand tweeted throughout last year’s tournament using the same playful tone as its ongoing marketing based on its ‘Pimm’s O’Clock’ slogan.
In fact, according to the Amobee data, Pimm’s was the brand most associated with the 2015 tournament’s – beating out official sponsor IBM by 2.5% and was ahead of other official AELTC partners by as much as 80%.
Comment
Pimm’s and Wimbledon go together almost as naturally as strawberries and cream – the drink is part of the Wimbledon culture in the hearts and minds of many British people.
So it is natural and logical to activate around an event which the brand has so much associated synergy.
And the creative works largely because of both the authentic back story and due to Judy Murray’s distinctly deadpan performance (her acting skills are no better than the dancing once she displayed on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing).
Murray is also an ambassador for official tournament sponsors such as Lavazza coffee and HSBC.
Look who was on hand to serve coffee in #TheQueue this morning. Thanks for stopping by @judmoo, @Charlymoya and co. pic.twitter.com/gDzVtO7qHw
— Lavazza UK (@LavazzaUK) June 29, 2016
Who will win the men's title?
Tim Henman takes on Mark Philippoussis with question master @judmoo @HSBC_Sporthttps://t.co/PjKbM43iB3
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 30, 2016
Yet, with only around 7,000 views on Pimm’s official YouTube channel and Twitter ‘likes’ and ‘retweets’ in the low hundreds, one can’t help but wonder whether the opportunistic campaign is meeting its engagement targets.
Pimm’s is a brand that is mastering the art of fun marketing based on Britishness and classic country-associated traditions and events – without investing in official rights.
As well as Wimbledon, another recent early summer example saw Pimm’s celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday and The Patron’s Lunch by creating a giant Pimm’s Royale Buckingham Palace made entirely out of Pimm’s jelly (and a hint of champagne).
Pimm’s certainly doesn’t shy away from using its establishment reputation and British roots as a source of comedy.
Links
Pimm’s YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/pimms
Pimm’s Web:
http://www.anyoneforpimms.com/
Pimm’s Twitter:
Pimm’s Facebook:
