Bacardi Pushes Leading Brands to Pull Others Along

Bacardi USA is using its powerhouse brands, like Bacardi Rum, Grey Goose Vodka and Dewar’s White Label, to draw attention to its entire portfolio, including lesser-known brands such as Cazadores Tequila, Disaronno and Seven Tiki Rum.

The fully integrated two-month holiday program centers on promotional marketing in stores and leveraging social media and print at a time when consumers are twice as likely to be new to the category and shopping for gifts or are stocking up on alcoholic beverages for holiday parties.

The campaign, called “Mix & Share,” uses holiday entertaining tips, food pairing and cocktail recipes that often require multiple Bacardi brands to encourage more than one purchase. For example, “Cozy Coffee” calls for 1 part tequila Cazadores and 1 part Disaronno liqueur and 4 parts coffee.

“The more you can combine that power you’ll get a halo effect over smaller brands,” says Mary Perry, president of Ryan Partnership Wilton, which is handling the promotion. The agency is AOR for Dewar’s, Bombay Safire and the Prestige brands, and also conducts project work for Bacardi USA.

Here’s a look at the components of the campaign:

A partnership with the well-known food authority “Food & Wine” magazine adds credibility to the program by providing its 925,000 readers with Bacardi- entertaining tips. The first seven pages of the November/December holiday issue are dedicated to a “Mix & Share” advertorial. A 24-page “Mix & Share” holiday entertainment guide ships with each issue and also appears in “Food & Wine’s” iPhone and iPad apps. Celebrity chef and “Food & Wine” contributor Gail Simmons is the face of the campaign online and in print.

A cause component is relevant to the more than half of adults reported to respond to cause marketing and the 86% of consumers likely to switch brands when a product is associated with a good cause. Even more good news, about a quarter of consumers would pay 10% more for a product that supported a cause they cared about.

Bacardi chose to partner with the United Service Organization (USO) Charity that benefits service members and their families. The charity is integrated in all digital elements, the “Food & Wine” advertorial and the entertainment guide. Consumers participate by “Mixing & Sharing” a cocktail via the “Mix & Share” Facebook page. For each cocktail mixed and shared, Bacardi USA donates $1 up to $75,000. A media buy on Google and Facebook, as well as URL placements in print and retail elements help drive consumers to the Facebook page where Simmons offers a video introduction to the program. The 24-page entertainment guide can also be downloaded as can a $10 mail-in rebate or instant coupons.

“At this very competitive time of the year, it’s important to demonstrate value to the consumer,” Perry says.

On the mobile front, Bacardi USA introduced a new interactive iPad app that is demonstrated by brand reps at off-premise experiential events. Shoppers can view entertaining tips, recipes and videos, download and submit rebates up to $45 and learn about the USO program and Facebook page. A 4-bottle carrier is offered as a gifting option.

“The iPad is so much more interactive and shows the Bacardi brands to be a current and contemporary brand,” Perry said.

On mobile phones, two “Food & Wine” apps take over the loading page and push ads on transition pages while content is loading.

In stores, case cards, banners, posters and pole toppers draw attention to the promotion and merchandising displays. Very limited sampling is taking place.

“It’s really about the power of presence in the store environment, if you can have a bigger footprint, you are going to get more attention and leverage more equity than if you have a single brand on display,” Perry said.