How champagne labels impact brand imagery and profitability

How champagne labels impact brand imagery and profitability

One of the first rules of marketing is ‘Know your customer’

If you know your customer there is a better chance that you will understand their needs and desires as regards the product or service you want to sell to them and this maxim applies just as much to the private champagne brand you have created or are thinking of creating, as to any other category pf product, so let’s explore one aspect of this question: labelling.

To do so, let’s look at a couple of examples.

Adapting to broad trends

As the years go by, society changes and consumer tastes change too. Experienced marketing professionals will be aware of this and make frequent small changes to the design and imagery of their brand, particularly the labels.

Usually, these changes are very minor and sometimes hardly perceptible although they are more obvious if you compare examples of the same brand across a long period of time. On the other hand, sometimes significant changes are needed to keep up with changing circumstances

The picture below shows a major change made by one champagne maker in order to update the perception of his brand. The champagne inside the bottle has not changed, only the label.

 

Square or rectagular labels

On the left is the classic champagne label: it’s square and features quite a lot of gold, a colour that is often associated with prestige and opulence. The label is relatively large, the detail is cursive with curved, flowing lines and the coat of arms is quite prominent in the centre at the bottom centre of the label.

To my way of thinking the adjectives I’d immediately associate with the left-hand label are reliable, traditional, historical, ornate, perhaps even aristocratic. All these things were very much in keeping with the image that champagne promoted a few decades ago.

These days however, this style is considered to be a little outdated, although tradition still has an important part to play and should not be entirely discarded.

The right-hand label is intended to present the brand in a way that reflects the changing expectations of a new generation of consumers (and to some extent, to nudge consumers towards that new perception of the brand).

The right-hand label is rectangular, not square, taller and narrower than the older version. The predominant colour is black with only a few touches of gold. The lines are almost all straight, the coat of arms is still there (a nod to tradition) but is has been modified and is less prominent. Last but not least, in a slightly playful gesture, the three geese which, on the old label, were almost invisible within the coat of arms, have now been brought to one’s attention by making them gold on the black background.

Adjectives which spring to mind for the new version of the label are slick, understated, classy, serious and confident. The overall look is much more modern.

Another of the objectives of this change, especially the change of label shape, was to associate champagne more closely with wine rather than being treated as an entirely different category. This opens up champagne to a much wider audience of wine drinkers rather than specifically champagne drinkers.

In case you’re wondering, the geese device represents Chouilly, the village where the champagne is produced. Geese is the nick name given to the inhabitants of Chouilly.

Not one in 10,000 people would know this, but it arouses the consumers’ curiosity and prompts them to ask questions and that gives the champagne maker or the salesperson the ideal opportunity to talk about the brand and weave a cute and intriguing story around the brand. Storytelling is a well-known and ancient way to influence people.

Let’s look at a second example which is rather different and had different objectives

Customer specific targeting

Here are two more contrasting labels on the same product from the same champagne maker. The first dates from 2016 and the second from 2024. I think you’ll agree that it’s a radical change: a revolution rather than an evolution.

As in the previous example, the older label in the first picture below is square, traditional and overwhelmingly gold. The imagery is firmly anchored in the imagery that champagne liked to advance a decade or so ago, although, in my opinion, this is a far more attractive label than the old label in the previous example.

Bergere label

This is my personal opinion with which you may not agree, but I don’t have the feeling that this label is very old-fashioned, and I don’t find the ‘in-your-face’ use of gold to be a problem in this instance.

Gold is still associated with wealth and opulence and several modern brands unashamedly use gold in their packaging – think of Ace of Spades champagne or many Prosecco brands – but there is a fine line to be drawn between opulence, which is positive, and ostentation which is negative. The difference between the two is mainly a matter of personal taste, or more relevantly, a matter of the taste of your target consumers.

Looking at the second example below, it seems clear that this champagne maker has made a strategic decision to set their sights on quite a different type of consumer and consequently to present their brand in a way that appeals to that new audience.

Bergere new label

The label is still square but the black dividing line down the centre gives the impression of two rectangular labels.

Hardly any gold to be seen, just a plain white background against which it is easy to read all the information and it’s that information about the champagne in the bottle – and above all the map of the vineyards - that best illustrates the intention behind this change of label.

Only consumers who have an above average interest in champagne would be attracted by this level of information and those are the consumers that this champagne maker has decided to target.

In doing so the brand is positioned as a wine that should be taken seriously. This is not just a champagne to drink at a party when hardly anyone pays much attention to what they are drinking. Neither is it a champagne that appeals as a gift item because of the bright gold label.

This is a champagne that offers a much deeper, more involving and more rewarding experience. and the information is provided to fully explain that the champagne maker’s priority is on the quality of the wine rather than just its appearance.

Of course, there is no doubt some more hard-nosed profit-driven thinking behind the change of label too. A high level of quality comes at a high price, but the consumers who are looking for this level of detail and more committed and will be prepared to pay higher prices.

To discuss labelling, or any other aspect of the creation and branding for your own private champagne label, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I’ll get back to you promptly.

All the best from Champagne