Vedett offers new back-label takeover

Belgian beer company Duvel Moortgat has announced the launch of a marketing campaign that will see the back labels of its Vedett beer bottles given over to its consumers’ artwork and blogs.

The brand has called on its fans to submit blog posts, artwork and “creative concepts” to the new website www.vedettgazett.com; a number of which will be chosen to appear on an estimated 1,000-10,000 Vedett bottles.

The scheme is piloting in the UK, Vedett’s third largest market, but will roll-out to its top two markets Belgium and the Netherlands if successful.

Since 2003 the brand has displayed the faces of drinkers on the back labels of its beer bottles, a campaign which will continue for now in all its other European markets.

Matt Wilson, UK manager at Duvel Moortgat - which produced around 780,000 hetolitres last year, said: “Embracing the digital world is the next logical step for Vedett and we’re really keen to involve our consumers in deciding what they think should be on the back labels; it could literally be anything from a cool project, a creative concept, an exciting event or an original artwork they’ve seen on a blog.”

Forty blogs have already been chosen to be displayed on labels ahead of  the UK launch of the campaign on April 16.

The labels will also include QR codes that link to the brand’s blog site and one in 24 bottles will feature a modified front label that will read Gazett, not Vedett.

The brand has produced a spin-off newspaper called the ‘Vedett Gazett’ that will be distributed in bars, restaurants, shops and theatres across the country's major cities to highlight the campaign.

In a separate marketing move, for a two month period this summer the front label of Vedett bottles will also change from their usual white, red and black stripes to incorporate a number of other flag-like colour combinations.

Wilson said the brand was not connected to the Olympics in any official capacity but that the packaging change was a “nod” to the summer’s event.