Behind the scenes with the RareWine brand ambassadors...

Earlier this year, we revealed Swedish football icon Albin Ekdal as a brand ambassador for RareWine Invest, a branch in the RareWine Group. Albin Ekdal became the first ambassador outside of our home country, Denmark, and followed in the footsteps of handball player Mikkel Hansen, football player Joakim Mæhle and Magnus Cort, a pro-tour cyclist.    

Did you know Albin Ekdal has an impressive collection of Italian wines from over 10 years of playing in Italy or that Joakim Mæhle has his own vineyard? 

In this article, you can learn more about the work behind the scenes, find unprecedented images and video clips, and get to know our brand ambassadors even better. 

In 2021, the Worlds Best handball player, Mikkel Hansen, became the first official brand ambassador for RareWine Invest. Three times officially crowned as the World's best handball player by IHF, European Champion, Olympian Champion, and back-to-back World Champion, Mikkel Hansen is arguably one of the best handball players of all time. Also, he is one of the most recognizable sports icons in Scandinavia with his charismatic look.  

We quickly learned that working with celebrated sports stars can be complicated. Flexibility is vital in terms of planning and production. 

When we started to work with Mikkel Hansen, he lived abroad. After a couple of years playing for FC Barcelona, he spend 10 years representing Paris Saint-Germain in France. With a tight schedule in the French League, Champions League, and the Danish National Team, finding time for photoshoots, filming, planning, and meetings is a puzzle. 

Mikkel and the other ambassadors have shown a remarkable commitment to making things work. Their professionalism shows, and we have enjoyed many happy occasions, personally and professionally. 

We have had photo sessions with Mikkel in our warehouse in Vester Hassing and at Mikkels summer cottage. Also, we have done a couple of film productions. The first aired on national television in prime time during the European Handball Championships in January 2022. The campaign generated many mentions, comments, and likes, especially on social media. Most importantly, it raised awareness of wine investment and RareWine Invest.

The second film production with Mikkel Hansen was a follow-up as we gathered some of the most critical comments on social media generated by the first commercial. We showed these comments and questions to Mikkel and Rune Spliid, the commercial director of RareWine Invest. We recorded their immediate reactions and created a video addressing the biased opinions regarding wine investment.

Not only did we answer the most critical questions, but we also confronted the Internet Trolls by including comments related to Mikkels' look, performance, and personality. The fight against cyberbullying is essential; this was our modest contribution to the cause. 

One of the most frequent comments from the commercial was, "Does Mikkel Hansen know anything about wine?" And yes, actually, he does. Even before Mikkel became a client at RareWine Invest, he had an impressive collection of French wine. Occasionally, he also finds time to enjoy great wine when the handball career allows. 

Parts of the commercial with Atalanta football player Joakim Mæhle were actually filmed in the vineyards on his own land in Piedmont. Joakim shares his passion for wine with his representative Brian Steen-Nielsen, a former professional football player. Also, Joakim's father is a wine enthusiast.  

All our ambassadors have a wine collection through RareWine Invest but for various reasons. A love for wine is the most apparent reason, but only some of our ambassadors are actual wine connoisseurs.

Trust and credibility are fundamental when engaging with a new brand ambassador. Their ambitions and values must reflect those of RareWine Group. We have made no secret that we want to be the best in the World at what we do. It shines through in our DNA, and every employee in our organization is driven by that. 

Competing to be the best every single day comes with a price. Our ambassadors have made a massive effort in their life from an early age to reach the levels they are at today. At RareWine, we are tremendously proud and honored to work with some of the best and most dedicated people around.  

The main reason to build a wine portfolio is that wine has proved to be a solid investment with low risk and attractive returns. Most athletes' careers will last only to their mid-thirties, and saving up for life after sports is essential. Wine is the ideal investment with a horizon of 5 to 10 years, low volatility, and minimal correlation with the traditional financial markets. Even if you do not like the taste of wine at all. 

Dedication showed when we were filming with Magnus Cort in the hills of the small Danish town of Rebild. Magnus lives in Spain but is always on the move, according to the cycling calendar. Covid-19 was still a thing then, so the production team was limited to a minimum of people tested repeatedly until the filming. 

The whole session was cleared with Magnus' team, EF Education Pro Cycling and extra Covid-19 precautions were in place.  

After an exhausting day of cycling up and down the hills with an SPV drone and our marketing team in his heels, Magnus decided to cycle the more than 50 kilometers back to his stay in Aabybro. 

Not so long after, Magnus Cort surprised everyone by being the star of the first weeks of the Tour de France. We firmly believe his excellent form was due to cycling up and down the hills of Rebild. 

Jokes aside, during Tour de France, we assisted Magnus in sending a special bottle of Masetto to his teammate Bettiol, who helped him win stage 10. That shows his true dedication! 

Wine and sports! It is, by all means, not the most obvious pairing. In this case, however, all ambassadors represent our investment branch RareWine Invest. Their wine collection is stored under optimal conditions at a bonded warehouse. It is essential to differentiate between consumption and investment. It is a fine line between the two, but it is all about building a healthy investment portfolio in this case. None of our ambassadors are posed drinking wine. 

Occasionally athletes at the highest level can also enjoy a glass of wine without it affecting their performance. Some might say it is even beneficial, but that might be a stretch. 

Finally, people might wonder if brand ambassadors are worth the while. In this case, the answer is crystal clear: YES, INDEED!

It is neither revolutionary nor inventive to use brand ambassadors - or so-called vertical opinion leaders if we stick to the old marketing vocabulary. Brands have done that for ages and for a reason. 

Success doesn't come with just a pretty face, though. Choosing a sincere ambassador for your brand is naturally crucial, but activating a brand ambassador is the most critical part.

With limited knowledge of wine investment in the general population, performance indicators such as raised awareness, trust, and credibility are apparent. We have accomplished this with a primetime TV commercial, various online ads, social media, and more.  

However, we want to measure ROI more precisely. The ROAS (Return On Ad Spend) is key when using a famous face in our ads. We have drastically reduced the price-per-click metric on online ads, leading to more traffic on specific funnels. More traffic means more leads which eventually will lead to new clients. 

Basically, it is a simple cost-benefit analysis. Nowadays, marketing is also a numbers game. Raising awareness and building trust are nifty side effects, though. 

If you want to see the mentioned commercials with our brand ambassadors on Youtube, click here...