Bacardi Global Travel Retail revved up its Patrón business at Miami International Airport this spring with a high-octane activation in partnership with Duty Free Americas celebrating the brand’s role as official Tequila partner to the Oracle Red Bull Racing team and timed to share the excitement of the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix.
As the Tequila partner of the Oracle Red Bull Racing Team – the Formula 1 team’s first-ever official global spirits partner – Patrón has established a close relationship with the sport and this was shared in the MIA activation with branding, signage and traveler interaction.
The pop-up, which ran in MIA Terminal D throughout April and May, was centered around the Patrón tasting bar, a contemporary circular structure of pale latticework, in white, green and gold tones, inspired by the colors, shape and texture of the piña of the agave plant.
The bar featured a range of premium tequila experiences from across the Patrón portfolio, including Patrón Silver, Patrón Reposado, and Patrón Añejo. Travelers enjoyed samples of straight tastings or pre-batched cocktails: Patrón Silver – Classic Margarita; Patrón Reposado – Paloma; and Patrón Añejo – Highball. In addition, the brand’s two most recent innovations – the prestige silver tequila Patrón El Cielo and the luxury reposado tequila Patrón El Alto – were available in the straight serve.
Uniformed ambassadors guided the tasting sessions, sharing Patrón brand stories. The promotion included a GWP offer with a range of branded Hydroflask water bottles and tumblers and Agave mugs. Travelers were also invited to ‘Test Your Reflexes like an F1 Master’ with a timed digital response game to test hand and eye coordination.
The activation’s imagery and brand messaging, including the banner line ‘Driven by Passion. Proudly Mexican’, highlighted Mexico’s iconic driver, Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez, who was born an 8-minute drive from the Patrón Tequila Hacienda, the brand’s home.
Geoff Biggs, Regional Director, America, Bacardi Global Travel Retail said: “We are thrilled to have brought this high-octane excitement to Miami International Airport in celebrating Patrón’s authentic partnership with the Oracle Red Bull team, sharing the exhilaration of Formula 1 and the category-leading taste of Patrón. From harvesting the agave to the signing of the finished bottle, all Patrón tequila is proudly still made by hand, a process that has been used since the brand’s inception just as, no matter what innovations the technicians and engineers develop in Formula 1 racing, the heart of the sport remains in the hands of the driver.
“As the world’s number one super-premium tequila, including a 47% share of global travel market share, Patrón has defined and ignited the Super Premium Tequila category and remains a significant contributor in the premiumization of spirits in Global Travel Retail. With its global positioning and our commitment to such innovative and engaging large-scale activations, Patrón is the brand that can energize the whole category. Within the Americas, passenger traffic levels led the global recovery and have already soared well beyond pre-crisis levels of 2019, particularly in the US market. Consumers are keen to travel and are eagerly exploring our brands.”
