Getting to know a deeper and warmer social contact
But since the idea of socializing and human connection through friendship is actually a rather general value for the entire spirits and alcohol sector, Bacardi wants to emphasize a more specific point of view regarding the free-spirited nature of its authentic brand. “In today’s digital world, social connections between people are more efficient than human,” explains the Global Brand Director.
“This is less rewarding and even when people are sitting with friends, they are constantly on their mobile phones with texts, emails and Facebook status updates. We are not anti-technology, but we want to make sure that technology is a tool to connect with each other and not just used for the sake of technology. With the Bacardi Together campaign, we want to re-introduce people to a truly human, deeper and warmer social connection. The brand’s approach can be seen as a real movement that brings back the art of enjoying free time together through street parties, for example.”
Other brands, such as Adidas , have also used the emotional and social moments of celebration in their video material:
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Bean bags in the subway
“The ability to simply connect with others seems like a lost skill,” says Macdonald. “When I commute to work in London, there’s hardly anyone talking on the tube, and there’s no eye contact. With our Bacardi Together movement, we’re planning to do some stunts, like putting beanbags on the tube, or facing city benches in busy public places. In this way, we want to transform the concrete jungle into a much more social environment. In other words, changing the physical space to change our behaviour. In this way, we want to encourage people to become more human.”
Organizing local branding activities
Bacardi marketing teams around the world have translated this idea of liberation into locally relevant activities. One idea was a street party where people from different apartments were given the individual ingredients and items for a Bacardi Mojito cocktail and an invitation to their local street party. They were then asked to work together at the party to create this classic cocktail. The new campaign continues to use TV commercials to get people excited about the movement and social media to keep the conversation going. But the real key to the campaign is spreading the word through local brand activations.
The idea reminds us of what Coca Cola did with Expedition 206 and the Happiness Factory. Don't you think so?
Jeff Macdonald: “There are indeed some parallels with the happiness theme that Coca Cola has been using in its campaigns for a while now – the sense of fun and a strong element of humanity. And a Coke has always gone perfectly with a Bacardi! In the Bacardi campaign, it is the real social connection between people that creates happiness and in particular breaks down the barriers that people face in today’s culture and lifestyle.”
Challenges like the loss of convivial values and solutions like the street party that requires people to work together rely on the idea of fulfillment and gamification, as explained in the happiness chapter of our book. The Bacardi Together campaign builds on Bacardi’s “Island” campaign from last year, where people come together to create an artificial island and throw a party. In our research with LDA Millennials, we found that this ad was already one of the most fun. “But this campaign is now more focused on the deeper human connection and less on the event or the experience,” says Jeff Macdonald.
“We saw in particular how powerful social media like Facebook are today – a large part of the nigeria phone number list resulting impact and positive feedback for the campaign was driven by the social medium.”
The Global Brand Director also saw how the storyline of togetherness resonated with this Gen Y generation. “When we spoke to our core LDA audience (29-year-olds), we found that they particularly liked the optimism and positive activism that is at the heart of our campaign,” says Macdonald. “This generation really likes a positive approach and brands that have a clear point of view that connects to their daily lives. It’s credible because the positioning is in line with our unique DNA and the image of the authentic brand as a liberator and freedom fighter.”
What do you see as the biggest challenge when targeting Gen Y consumers (LDA 21-29 year olds) ?
“Translating the big idea into something that’s really relevant to them. Delivering the message in an engaging and creative way. I think sometimes your story has to push things a little bit to make it interesting and brandable for this generation. When you’re a big international brand, there’s a tendency in creative development to flatten the edges of your ideas. I think the really successful campaigns are the ones that have the courage to go further with the wild ideas and translate the big idea into something that feels more human and natural.”
“Then there is the challenge of delivering global consistency that is also locally relevant – you need to engage and motivate all regional markets to implement the campaign effectively. In Thailand, for example, given the political situation there, there is an opportunity for the theme of togetherness to translate into a national feeling. These local differences are sometimes at a macro level, other times they are very micro-regional. I believe this local flexibility, combined with an active sense of social freedom that is at the heart of the Bacardi Together campaign, can be seen as the key success factor.”