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Bacardi's bet on marketing through experiences

By Priyanka Sangani, ETBrandEquity Last Updated: Dec 14, 2019, 11:39 AM IST
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Synopsis
John Burke, global chief marketing of cer of Bacardi, tells Brand Equity why it is
important for the brand to nd ways of connecting with consumers through culture,
and not through the core product - alcohol...

John Burke has been a regular visitor

In India too, there is a shift towards premium
brands within the portfolio like Grey Goose and
the recently launched Bacardi Ocho.
to India over the past decade, but
‘unbelievably’ this was his rst time at
NH7 eekender, the music festival
sponsored by Bacardi, where Burke
heads global marketing. Bacardi has
been the chief sponsor of the festival
over the past decade, in line with its
philosophy of connecting with
consumers on a cultural level.

“Every market has di erent regulations around content censorship or access

to media, so we’ve learnt to adapt,” says Burke, referring to how they handle
Indian regulations that don’t allow alcohol brands to advertise directly. “The
key thing is we build brands which have cultural meaning for consumers and
exibly use channels to communicate in di erent markets,” he says. The
company is using insights from the market to understand what are the
moments when the brand has a higher relevance to consumers, and as a
brand, how it can add value to make that occasion better.

Burke, who has spent over 25 years with Bacardi moved up to heading
marketing globally two years ago when former India chief Mahesh Madhavan
took charge at the Bermuda-headquartered company, synonymous with white
rum worldwide. India is among the fastest growing markets for the company
globally, growing in ‘high double-digits’ for many years.

Last year marked an important milestone for Bacardi, with the company
becoming the largest international spirits retailer in India by volume with
rums crossing 2 million cases while the ready-to-drink portfolio, driven by
Breezer, has sold to 3 million cases, said Anshuman Goenka, India marketing
head for Bacardi, positioning the company as one of the fastest growing
multinationals in the country.
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8/27/2020 bacardi: Bacardi's bet on marketing through experiences - The Economic Times

India is also fast emerging as a hub for new initiatives. Burke says that a lot of
learnings from the Indian market are now being implemented in other
countries, like ‘1862’ a content creator collaborative hub it set up in Mumbai.
This has helped the company partner with content creators and in uencers
across platforms and connect with consumers. “We put in some incremental
investment into the market to try and learn, and now the approach is to codify
the things that work out and turn those into best practices,” he says. Similar
labs are now being set up in Eastern Europe and Latin America.

(In Pic: John Burke)

Over time, he’s seen his role – and the broader CMO function – evolve to more
of a mentoring and coaching role, working with teams on how they can
implement their plans rather than focus on the actual brand campaign. With
social and digital marketing, it’s no longer about spending a year nalizing the
one big TV commercial but being much more responsive to conversations
taking place in the market.

Bacardi uses social listening as a key aspect of framing its go-to-market

strategy, using arti cial intelligence to code conversations and be culturally
relevant. For instance, last year it launched Dewar’s in an already crowded
blended scotch whiskey market in India. “We did a lot of social listening on
Instagram and saw that the food culture was changing and becoming much
more informal,” says Goenka. The company then created ‘The Doers Club’,
which provides a gourmet street food experience, coupled with Dewar’s
cocktails to bring a culturally relevant experience to consumers.

Globally, there is a move towards health and wellness, one fallout of which has
been people abstaining from, or completely giving up alcohol. Burke says that
there are a few things that have happened within this space. Spirits as a
category is much more exible to provide lower alcohol solutions to meet the
consumer need to moderate their alcohol consumption. “Also, they are
drinking less, but drinking better, so we are building a more high-end
premium portfolio with the acquisition of Patron (tequila),” he says. The third,
is to innovate and create new products. The company is currently testing
Martini Dolce 0.0 sparkling wine. “It is a wine like product which meets the
consumer need to drink something non-alcoholic, but adult,” he explains.

In India too, there is a shift towards premium brands within the portfolio like
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8/27/2020 bacardi: Bacardi's bet on marketing through experiences - The Economic Times

Grey Goose and the recently launched Bacardi Ocho. Goenka adds that the
market is now ripe for them to bring in their scotch portfolio with the trend
towards premiumization picking up pace.

Looking ahead, Burke is focused on implementing the company’s ten-year

strategy with an end goal to double the size of the business in that period. “The
focus is on the value we’re creating for consumers in their lives and becoming
the world’s leading premium spirits house. This is based on four pillars –
making bold bets, reignite marketing, winning in on-premise and disrupting
future moments that matter,” he says. This is what the company is super
focused on trying to deliver for the consumer, and India, he says, will only
grow in important for the company.

READ MORE NEWS ON

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8/27/2020 bacardi: Bacardi's bet on marketing through experiences - The Economic Times

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