The Wurzel’s classic, ‘I am a cider drinker’, failed to mention the fact the cider drinkers are pretty conservative when it comes to their favourite tipple. Mess with the brand, as Gaymer’s have done with Blackthorn, and you risk unleashing some cider-infused consumer empowerment.
In yet another attempt to make cider trendy, the smart marketing people at Gaymers decided to make Blackthorn ‘mellower and more refreshing,’ which is marketing speak for ‘less alcoholic’. Reducing the brand’s ABV from 5% to 4.7% has unleashed a Facebook protest group, online petitions and some guerilla defacing of Blackthorn posters in the West Country.
It will be fascinating to see how this protest plays out. Upsetting brand loyalists is rarely the best way to sustain the longterm vitality of a brand, especially when those loyalists can organise themselves through the power of social media.