Founded in 1992, the Association des Producteurs de cidre du Québec (PCQ) represents the province’s cider producers to promote their collective interests and showcase cider’s charms to Quebec consumers.
If apples and cider are Quebec products par excellence, ice cider is without a doubt a symbol of the province’s refinement and savoir-faire. To protect this precious image and reinforce the product’s image, the association created a protected geographic indication (PGI): Cidre de glace du Québec IGP.
The association turned to Prospek to promote the Cidre de glace du Québec IGP on a cycle with different audiences. After studying the old communications, we decided our campaign would seek not only to increase the perceived value to consumers, but also to create an impact on producers’ commitment to their protected reputation.
Challenges
According to the Producteurs de cidre du Québec, consumers’ awareness of ice cider’s certified reputation was very weak. They knew their ice cider, but they didn’t know about the top-quality guarantee.
For the protected geographic indication to have a significant and sustainable impact on the quality of Quebec ice cider, and for this quality to positively reflect on all cider-making activities, it was imperative to promote it with the proper audiences.Strategy
Confronted with the complex nature of PGIs and the weak public awareness of the new Quebec ice cider PGI, Prospek promptly recommended that the association reach out mainly to producers and retailers to make them allies in promoting its great value.
The strategy was that producers and retailers are the front-line ambassadors who can promote the PGI to consumers, so while member producers made new ice ciders under the Quebec PGI, retailers would promote their enhanced reputation to consumers in their establishments. For their part, the association would continue to develop and improve the general image of ice cider to the public.
"With the communications developed by Prospek, we better targeted our actions to our different audiences. Together, we found tactics to rally producers and retailers behind the Quebec ice cider PGI and developed ideas to promote Quebec ice cider with consumers."
Jean-Pierre Potelle, 1st Vice-President of the PCQ and proprietor of Domaine Cartier-Potelle
