Business And Leadership, Ireland's Business News Service

The brand story

Club Orange was the first orange fruit juice to arrive on the market in the mid-Forties, created by Oliver Grace who bashed up the now-famous ‘bits’ to make it. The ‘Club’ in Club Orange comes from the Kildare Street Gentleman’s Club, which commissioned C&C to create an orange drink bearing its name — later abbreviated to ‘Club’.

Club Orange had made a brief appearance before World War Two, and returned in 1945 when soft drinks began to develop in a big way following the removal of wartime rationing.

In 1950, Club Lemon joined as a sister product and was developed with high juice content. Over the following decades, other drinks such as Rock Shandy were added to the range.

Nowadays, Club has a 45pc market share. It is the only Irish brand that competes successfully with the major multinational soft drinks.

Products and services

Club has an extensive product range: Orange, Lemon, Rock Shandy, Apple and Pomegranate & Cranberry.

Club Orange's success is down to one basic ingredient: superior product quality. The brand regularly tests and retests its products to ensure they are up to scratch. Club’s consistent focus on product quality has ensured a loyal customer base for the brand.

The natural fruit juices in Club are obtained from freshly harvested fruit crops all over the world. Natural beet sugar is used to sweeten and give depth and taste to Club drinks. And, of course, Club always keeps the bits in!

All ingredients are expertly blended, then carbonated where necessary, and bottled at the company’s production site in Dublin. After sealing, bottles are inspected one final time, then labelled and packed into cases.

Innovation

Each summer, Club comes up with new and interesting flavours to maintain its image of being all about fruity variety.

In 2003, it was Club Orange and Cranberry, followed by Club Berry in 2004 and Club Strawberry & Cherry the following year. Club Pomegranate & Cranberry arrived in 2006 and was so successful it was kept on.

Marketing and promotion

For many years now, Club’s advertising has been based around the ‘bits’ in the drink and has tended to have a humorous twist. Think of the slogan ‘It’s a Club Orange thing when the bits kick in’, which was used in ads showing a handsome guy trying to impress the ladies in a park and a steamroom, and featuring a Graham Norton voiceover.

Then there was the series of ads involving actor Tom Hickey with bright orange hair and brandishing a club with the slogan ‘Club Orange, thank you for asking’.

In May of this year, Club launched a new €1.5m marketing campaign, which capitalises on its uniquely Irish heritage with home-grown humour and personality.

The Club Orange ‘Some Bits are Crucial’ campaign was born out of a simple product truth – the real orange bits in Club Orange are what make Club Orange. Directed by Irish director Damien O’Donnell (of East is East fame), the TV execution features a local Irish daredevil who learns the hard way just what can happen when the ‘crucial bits’ are missing.

The aim of the campaign was to show that the ‘Bits’ in Club Orange are not just functional, but also an essential part of the entire brand experience. It involved a 40-second TV ad, as well as cinema and outdoor advertising.

With a core target group of 19-year old males, both online (focusing on social-networking, entertainment and gaming sites) and guerrilla activity also play a vital role in the new marketing campaign. The online activity was spearheaded by a tongue-in-cheek short internet film where a unique take on a classic romantic clinch is ultimately frustrated because of a missing crucial ‘bit’.