Tudor Ice
Brand Mark Brief
April 7th, 2014
Background
The idea for “secured” ice was conceived in 2012 and born out of the desire to enjoy an ice chilled beverage while avoiding getting sick from contaminated ice during extensive travels through South America, Asia and the Caribbean.
The concept also ties in very well to some consumer and trade (bars/restaurants/bartenders) trends that are currently taking place in the United States:
Key consumer trends:
Drinking better (alcoholic and non-alcoholic)
Seeking variety – products and outlets
Desiring convenience – portability, ease of use
Concern with “well-being” – personal and environmental
Changing consumer mosaic – less white, more ethnic; older, but millennials matter
Seeking affordable luxury
At home spirit usage increasing – pre-gaming and celebrating more special occasions
Key trade trends:
Local sourcing
Increased brand intrinsic messaging and programming
Growth of mixology and crafted cocktail accounts
Growth of “bespoke ice” – tailored to the style of cocktail
The History of Tudor Ice
Frederic Tudor was the man that revolutionized the ice industry in the 1800s. In 1806 Frederic Tudor sent a shipment of ice from Boston to Martinique to help in the fight against a Yellow Fever epidemic. With this shipment Frederic Tudor invented the commercial ice industry. Tudor’s idea truly improved lives and revolutionized the food and beverage industry. Access to year-round ice meant food could be stored longer before spoiling, not to mention the transportation of beer.
Of course initially people thought he was nuts for trying to export ice. Despite the naysayers it was during these initial years that Tudor was able to make advances in insulation, ice harvesting and ice houses. These innovations helped him ship ice to India, throughout the West Indies as well as Europe and eventually became known as “The Ice King”.
In order to educate people about the benefits of ice, Tudor traveled around the country and convinced barkeeps to offer chilled drinks at the same price as regular drinks—to see which would become more pop
ular. He also taught restaurants how to make ice cream, and reached out to doctors and hospitals to convince them that ice was the perfect way to cool feverish patients. The truth is that people never knew they needed ice until Tudor made them try it. Once they did, they couldn't live without it.
Today’s Tudor Ice
Tudor Ice today continues to build on the innovative spirit that Frederic Tudor embodied. The company is looking to once again revolutionize the ice industry by delivering perfectly pure, clean, engineered ice with its first product Sfiro.
Sfiro is the world’s first purified ice sphere designed for a premium drinking experience. It addresses a void in the beverage industry as a pure, tasteless, and odorless ice product that eliminates contaminants and impurities originating from on-premise ice.
Slightly larger than a racquetball, Sfiro presents elegantly in the glass with a unique crystal clarity, free of air bubbles and imperfections. The product has no taste and melts at significantly slower rates than traditional cubes. This is due to its unique surface area-to-volume advantages as a single large sphere.
Because it is slow to melt, Sfiro provides less dilution to better preserve the integrity of the spirit. It complements crafted cocktails and high-end, single-pour spirits, such as single malts and 18-year-old scotch.
Please see the below links for more detail on Sfiro.
www.Sfiro.com
www.Sfiro.com/icestory
www.Sfiro.com/video
Go To Market/Product Launch Strategy
The company has developed and is set to launch its first product “Sfiro” into the US later this year. The brand will look to launch in a test account (Novecento in Brickell) in late May 2014 and into a test market (Miami, Florida) in mid June 2014. The goal of these tests is to gain a full understanding of the product from both a consumer and trade perspective as well as to determine what strategies and programs work best. This will ensure the most effective spend as the brand moves into additional markets.
Elebev will be launching Sfiro into the On Premise segment first, targeting higher end bars and restaurants that serve crafted cocktails or index highly regarding top shelf brown spirits or “on the rocks” serves.
The company will build the brand in the On Premise.
The brand will target ten accounts initially and will begin to expand once it feels comfortable that the brand is operating smoothly. After the brand has established itself in the On Premise it will look to get distribution into the Off Premise segment approximately six months after launch. Any Off Premise activity in the first six months will be to test the product and gain learnings.
Additional markets and rollout timeline will be developed after the successful Miami test launch, but initial thoughts are to move into the Northeast (Boston, New York) after Miami and then begin selling on the West Coast (San Francisco, Los Angeles & Las Vegas). Current yearly production units estimates from Absopure are in excess of 20MM units. This more than covers the first year projections for the country. Once the US market has been established the company will look to quickly expand into international markets via licensing agreements (Mexico, Brazil, India, and China etc.).
KEY ISSUES
Limited knowledge as to how, when and why to use Sfiro
New to world brand/category with limited resources, lack of awareness and visibility
Limited storage and freezing capability at the bar
Sfiro has a logo already designed and the brand plans to launch additional shapes (cubes, cylindrical) in the coming months to target different drinking occasions and beverages. Given that the company is launching multiple products and has a limited budget the need for a clear brand architect around the Masterbrand Tudor Ice became clear.
Once the Tudor Ice logo is designed, Sfiro and all future premium ice products will fit under the Tudor Ice brand umbrella. It is for this reason that the Tudor Ice logo must fit with the current Sfiro logo.
Tudor Ice Brand Strategy
At Tudor Ice we work with two levels of Brand Strategy. One is a broad level: Brand Identity. From here we narrow-down a more precise emotional territory: Brand Promise.
Note: We consider Brand Promise to be synonymous with Brand Positioning.
Brand Identity
Core Values: Pure, Trustworthy, Tailored, Self-Confident
Key Features: Clear, Plastic Case, Distilled Water, Pure, Engineered/Customized, Safe, Secure, Consistent, Quality
Image Attributes: Sophisticated, Stylish, Genuine, Safe, Secure, In The Know, Informed Choice, Pleasurable, Lifestyle Supportive, Sensuous, Contemporary, Premium, Selective
Need State: Discerning, informed choice
Brand Promise: Pure Beverage Experience
Assignment/Deliverables
Create a unique, ownable Masterbrand trademark complete with the Tudor Ice brand name and lockup design. One that embraces the product portfolio and helps it to hang together – on the shelf, at the bar, in brand communications and in the consumer’s mind.
This Masterbrand trademark should have three components:
1. The stand-alone word mark.
2. A brand icon.
3. Complete brand lock up that includes the word mark and icon as the full Masterbrand trademark.
Branding Objectives
Create a standout Masterbrand that resonates with target consumers
Fits naturally with the existing brand Sfiro as well as future ice products
Reinforces the premium nature of the products
Branding Requirements
Must fit with current Sfiro logo
Should communicate the brand as premium, high quality to our target market
Legal Requirements
Must be able to trademark and own outright
Target Audiences & Insights
TARGET CONSUMER
Core Target: Adults 25 - 35 Male/Female 50/50
Live in or near major metro areas.
Well educated (at least BS/BA), higher income
Wants new experiences that make him feel/look worldly and sophisticated
Time crunched
Well-traveled
Health conscious
Appreciates quality and style, but with substance and authenticity
Willing to pay a premium for products based on informed choices
Entering “adulthood/family life” and settling down/shifting gears to reflect success and personal relationships
Want products that allow them to express their individuality and personalization.
Are looking for brands with “real” values and simple messages.
Increasingly in search of new experiences and sensations that they can then share with friends.
Core Consumer Question:
How do we motivate target consumers to try Tudor Ice versus the conventional and custom “free” ice currently offered in accounts and at home?
Desired Consumer Response
“Tudor Ice makes me feel sophisticated, worldly and in the know. It improves my experience of my favorite drinks. It reinforces my status as an influencer amongst my peer group.”
Competitive Set: Kold Draft, ice molds machine & plastic, custom ice from ice blocks
Key Consumer Want/Need: Want that sense of discovery and to be “in the know”. Wants new & fulfilling experiences as social currency to be shared with their peers.
Reasons to Believe:
Protective package prevents ice contamination
Clarity of the product reinforces the purity message
Cocktail specific shapes deliver a slow melt process that maintains the integrity of the spirit
Clear, shaped product makes any beverage sophisticated and more interesting