From Concept to Reality: the Anderos bitter.

Maison Villevert, in Cognac, has gained a reputation as an innovator, notably with G’Vine gin, La Quintinye Vermouth Royal and Cîroc vodka (created for Diageo). To strengthen its position in France, Maison Villevert is introducing a bitter. Read here how Brand Reveal and Megusta developped the concept and creative expression based on a single input, the name : Anderos.

What is a Concept?

Before writing a creative brief for a new brand, it is essential to describe what the brand should deliver in the form of a “concept”, i.e. a simple expression of a brand or product idea that consumers would see & experience.

A good concept takes the form of a title, a simple and engaging story about the brand or product and a visual expression. A concept has to strike the right balance between being sufficiently open to give space for creative options, but also suficiently precise to ensure these ideas fit in the desired brand universe.

A concept must respond to a market opportunity for which dozens of initial ideas are formulated and then finetuned in 3 to 5 expressions for subsequent selection. In the case of Anderos, we carried out in-depth market analysis, encompassing both commercial opportunities and consumption occasions to learn from competition activities and consumption rituals, in this case the shot occasions.

Concept Development

As the Anderos name and liquid formulation where given from the start, we carried out a meticulous analysis of the name meanings to guide explorations of possible symbols, territories, tone and stories, in line with the product truths and consumer motivations. Eventually we developped 3 strong concept candidates that were presented for review. Concepts attractivity can be checked via conversations with trade like bar tenders as these professionals have an immediate feel for what works and does not.

Here, the name served as a strong springboard as “Anderos” represents the underworld where lost souls live and wander… From a brand promise perspective, Anderos in an invitation to rejoice over one’s fears in a wondrous and vigorous way.

Thus, the concept can be expressed as follows :

“Anderos represents the underworld where souls and spirits come together under the tree of life. Druids, the mysterious members of the Celtic tribes, performed rites including the composition of potions made from plants with to facilitate the passage of souls between worlds. Our Anderos bitter pays tribute to these millennial mysteries by joining slow maceration and gentle distillation of a secret recipe where wormwood and gentian prevail. Today, we come and gather to share our stories, as they are, all together around a shot of Anderos, strong warm, because fears are nothing and life is everything.”

Creative Result

Once the concept ready, it informed the packaging creative paths. After several creative iterations, an Anderos enigmatic face emerged (man, druid, god?) as the bottle central element, intertwined in roots, Celtic geometry and a snake that ad touch of mysticism and mystery. To reinforce the proposition, the “Liqueur of Druidic herbs” underlines the label.

Apart from the product expression, a good acid test for a concept is to see if it is a springboard for creativity for the brand support elements. In Anderos case, the bold Celtic character is a great was to inspire POSM with character as shown by the rugged glass shots, menacing mats and wooden tray to present the shots.

Last but not least, a good concept should also be easily translatable in adverting : here the tagline “Des racines aux hommes” or “From roots to men” plays on the liqueur ingredients and calls for authentic moments.

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