On Friday, Piper-Heidsieck kicked off its seventh Australian Open campaign at an event led by Damien Lafaurie, Piper-Heidsieck’s President and CEO, and Noemie Fox, a French-born Australian Olympic gold medallist and new Piper-Heidsieck ambassador.
In addition to Fox, Piper-Heidsieck's new ambassadorial lineup includes Australian and Canadian tennis stars Thanasi Kokkinakis and Ayan Broomfield.
“We had a small opening on Friday and we had a bigger party yesterday, the opening night of the Australian Open ‘25,” Damien Lafaurie told Drinks Trade.
“We love the partnership with Ayan, with Noemi, with Thanasi. What we're trying to do is to deliver the best experience at the Australian Open, so this year, we've tried to change a few things.”
Despite its longstanding position as the tournament’s Official Champagne Partner, Piper-Heidsieck experienced significant volume growth last year, more than doubling the amount of flutes served in 2023.
“Each year, we challenge ourselves and see what we can do to improve and elevate the experience,” said Lafaurie.
“It seems to work because last year we poured 52,000 glasses of Piper - which was double of the previous year - and this year we plan to serve around 80,000 new glasses of Piper … The first few days have been very successful so far.”
However, Lafaurie says that the activation remains first and foremost a marketing opportunity, with volumes sold acting as a measure of awareness.
“At the end of the day, the Australian Open is a huge opportunity to showcase our wines and to have more Australian people discovering our wines. It's about the reputation that we are building for the brand. We still have to improve the brand awareness; it could be better. We want the brand image to also be better year after year.”
Damien Lafaurie believes the AO partnership has directly contributed to the growth of Piper-Heidsieck in Australia over recent years.
“Australia is the primary market for Piper, it's our largest export market today,” Lafaurie told Drinks Trade.
“Our market share has grown pretty significantly in the last few years, and we believe the partnership with the Australian Open has played quite a significant role in that … For Piper, it's a great opportunity to build a stronger connection with the Australian consumers.”
Piper-Heidsieck - which is distributed in Australia by Oatley Fine Wine Merchants - recently announced it would be re-signing with the Australian Open for a further three years, reflecting the importance of the event for the Champagne brand.
Other multi-year liquor partners of the event include Grey Goose, Aperol, Peroni Nastro Azzuro, Somersby, and Canadian Club.
“We are really delighted to renew the partnership and to be part of the Australian Open for another three years,” said Lafaurie.
“For us, the Australian Open is more than just a major sporting event. It's a very, very popular event, and one that Australians feel very strongly about, so seeing over a million people coming to watch the best tennis player enjoying himself in a very festive atmosphere: that's very unique.”
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