VK announces Glow Up rebrand

The iconic beverage VK, cornerstone of the UK’s leading independent drinks business Global Brands Ltd, has revealed a new logo and primary packaging redesign this week.

VK, the No.1 RTD for students eight years running has rebranded with a vibrant, bold design, which aligns with the brands positioning as relevant, playful, and cool.

The new packaging builds an identity around each flavour, with colourful labels highlighting the product. This bold differentiation between each SKU comes as part of the #WEAREVK campaign, which builds a character around each flavour of the alcopop.

The rebrand clearly distinguishes between flavours, making the range increasingly eye-catching for consumers, while highlighting the breadth of flavours on offer. 44% of RTD consumers cite range of flavours as key purchase drivers3, and VK’s brand activity and new appearance champions the variety in their range of drinks – positioning VK as the RTD brand that delivers on flavour.

Following the rebrand, this September and October VK are launching their biggest ever mass awareness campaign for Fresher’s, which is set to see 27 million impressions over the next month, reaching consumers across eight different consumer touchpoints.

This activity includes the brands first ever digital out-of-home campaign, with digital ad-space targeting the 18-24 key consumer audience for VK. Out-of-home will be placed at hero sites, appear in roadside formats, in street and leisure formats, and on shopping centre displays. Geo-driven data will place the out-of-home advertising in front of the target audience. A digital van tour is also boosting impressions across eleven key cities with a large target audience, including Edinburgh, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, and Cardiff.

In total, over 20 million impressions will come from out-of-home activity and digital vans.

Online, three million consumers will be reached through ITV video on demand, ITV2, ITVbe and YouTube, with further targeted display impressions on mobile, audio plays through Spotify, and eight million impressions across the brand’s social channels.

Charlie Leaver, Head of Brand at Global Brands said: “VK is our iconic RTD brand, and has been a key part of young adults creating unforgettable experiences since its inception in 1997. Following a lengthy creative process, we’ve introduced new branding that reflects VK’s position as relevant, playful, and cool; characteristics that our Gen-Z consumers align with.

“While you may have a favourite in the range, our Gen-Z audience are actively looking for more flavour options, citing this variety as a key purchase driver. By adding lively, bold, and flavour specific colours to each of our SKUs, we are highlighting this variety, and making the bottle increasingly stand out in late-night venues and across shelves.

“September is a key period for VK brand awareness, and we can’t wait to see the impact of our rebrand and largest campaign yet on our following in the key 18-24 customer segment.”

An on-pack promotion will also support the new campaign, with ten bottles featuring a Glow Up sticker hidden in VK Mixed Packs across UK supermarkets from September 23rd. Winners that find a Mixed Pack containing a Glow Up bottle will receive a year’s supply of VK.

To redeem, take a snap of your winning Glow Up bottle with the glow up sticker visible and message this to the @vkdrink Instagram page. You’ll also need to provide your address and a picture of your ID to make sure you’re over 18.

VK are also teaming up with Schuh to help followers glow up their wardrobe, with giveaways taking place across social channels. And, VK are offering free delivery on any VK party packages purchased during Freshers, via Good Time In. Available packs include a VK Mixed Packed Bundle, Fruity Festival Pack, VK Fan Faves, and VK Cheeky Cocktail Pack.

Experiential campaign activity across September and October includes a 50 date #VKGlowUp Fresher’s Tour, taking place with UV effects and merchandise giveaways, across cities with high student populations including London, York, Sheffield, Swansea, and Leicester.

Download the images for this release here.

Sources

  • NUS Drink Tracker 2021
  • CGA OPMS Data P03 (MAT 26/03/2022)
  • OnePoll Alcopop Survey 2018