14 15 Advancing Women Conference Fall/Winter 2025 | East Denise Faguy Derrick Rozdeba is an author and a distinguished branding expert with over thirty years of experience elevating Fortune 500 companies to global prominence. During the AWC East 2025 conference, he shared profiles of women throughout history who have built global brand dynasties. Derrick shared the story of Veuve Clicquot from his book Branding Queens: Discover Branding Secrets from Twenty Incredible Women Who Built Global Brand Dynasties. We are going to share his presentation on the iconic Veuve Clicquot. Derrick began his presentation by stating to the audience that “a brand isn’t just about what it says or does, it is about how it makes people feel” and he shared a video of a commercial from Veuve Clico Champagne. Watch the video that has 11 million views on YouTube. This video makes people feel good even before they’ve even had a drop of champagne. Veuve means widow in French. Veuve Cicquot - one of the largest champagne houses - was built in the 1800s by a woman who was a widow. Barbe Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin was born 247 years ago, 12 years before the French Revolution. At age 21, she married Francois Pico. Their family businesses were in textiles. She and her husband shared a love and passion for wine and champagne, especially Pinot noir. But tragedy struck at age 27, she became a widow and was left to raise a six-year-old daughter alone. Back then, women were second class citizens. They were unable to own property or businesses, unless they were a widow. She convinced her father-in-law to allow her to take the family struggling wine business over. But why did she put the word ‘widow’ on the label? Because she was a storyteller. To promote her brand, she wrote 100,000 letters – the social media of the time – to royalty and influential figures to introduce them to her champagne. She wrote eight letters per day for 36 years. She was careful to ensure champagne was paired with great life events. When she learned the Napoleonic wars might be coming to an end, she smuggled champagne into Russia. During the wars, it was illegal to have French products such as champagne. But when the war was officially declared over, she ensured the Russian elite all had access to Veuve Clicquot to celebrate, which solidified her position of prominence. What can you do to share the story of your brand to potential customers? A WIDOW WHO WAS THE SOCIAL MEDIA MAVEN OF HER DAY – OVER 200 YEARS AGO. A BRAND IS NOT JUST ABOUT WHAT IT SAYS OR DOES, IT’S ABOUT HOW IT MAKES PEOPLE FEEL. Pixel-Shot/stock.adobe.com
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