Bacardi Global Travel Retail is staging the debut of its new Rum Tales campaign on the main concourse of Terminal D at Miami International Airport Terminal. The innovative Digital Rum selector platform is running from October 20 and November 12, 2023.
The pop-up is designed as a 360-degree experience encouraging travelers to explore and engage with Bacardi’s portfolio of premium-plus rums. It is also the first reveal of a new classification system that Bacardi Global Travel Retail has created to help travelers navigate its rum portfolio.
The promotion features four prominent brands: Bacardi, with over 150 years of family tradition; Santa Teresa 1796, a solera-aged, single-estate, artisanal Venezuelan rum; Pyrat Rums, a superior blended Caribbean rum; and ultra-premium Puerto Rican rum Facundo, sourced from the private reserves of the Bacardi family.
Developed in partnership with Miami airport’s duty free concessionaire Duty Free Americas (DFA) and advertising company JCDecaux, the innovative Rum Tales pop-up features a digital Rum Selector service to help guide travelers to find their ideal choice of rum. The activation also includes a supporting digital advertising campaign, and premium rums new to Miami airport from Bacardi’s portfolio, such as Pyrat Rums and the ultra-premium Facundo collection.
The digital Rum Selector platform – accessed via QR code within the activation space – guides travelers through an interactive quiz, asking them questions about their interests, lifestyle and flavor preferences to guide them to a recommended rum choice.
Highlighting the 360-degree approach Bacardi Global Travel Retail is employing with this activation, consumers will also be encouraged to try the Rum Selector via a targeted digital marketing campaign that engages with them before they travel.
Underpinning the Rum Selector is the new classification system to make it easier for traveling shop-pers to navigate the Bacardi rum portfolio. The system has three tiers:
First Discoveries
First Discoveries rums are ideal for those consumers entering the world of rum for the first time. These rums are easy to drink but have depth; and are ideal mixed over ice or shaken up into a classic cocktail. Rums that feature in the Miami pop-up in this category include Bacardi Reserva Ocho, a versatile, complex eight-year-old golden rum, and Pyrat XO Reserve, a blend of Caribbean rums aged for up to 15 years in French and American oak barrels.
Crafted & Curious
These rums appeal to existing rum drinkers seeking out new rums rich in story-telling and with depths to explore. These rums have a rich personality and character and can be enjoyed in sophisticated cock-tails, but also have the depth to be sipped and enjoyed neat over ice. Santa Teresa 1796, a super single-estate Venezuelan rum; Facundo Neo, a blended white rum aged up to eight years in white oak barrels; Bacardi Reserva Ocho Rye Cask, a rye-cask-finished expression; and Bacardi Gran Reserva Diez, a rich, fruity rum, aged ten years under the Caribbean sun, all belong in this category.
Rare Finds
Rare Finds comprises remark-able rums from true artists of the rum-making craft, appealing to discerning rum connoisseurs. With lavish flavors and a rich character, these rarities should be served neat, and sipped slowly and savored. The activation features three expressions from the Facundo Rum Collection – the private reserve of the Bacardi family: Facundo Eximo, a dark 10-year-old blend of rums married together before going into the barrel; Facundo Exquisito, an ultra-premium blend of rums aged between 7 and 23 years; and Facundo Paraiso XA, the pinnacle of the Facundo Rum Collection – a blend of at least 23-year-old rums rested in French XO casks.
At the heart of the experience, the activation provides a sensorial display that inspires exploration with the sounds and scents of each collection, including Caribbean beaches, ageing barrels and rich rum, creating the ideal backdrop for the perfect rum sampling experience. Consumers can sample a wide variety of rums either neat or in cocktails, showcasing the spirit’s versatility.
GWPs & Sense of Place
Anyone buying a bottle of rum at the Rum Tales space will be gifted Rum Tales merchandise such as leather hip flasks and copper cocktail mugs dependent on their purchase. To provide a sense of location, consumers will also have the opportunity to take a selfie under the ‘Salud Miami’ sign.
Bacardi Global Travel Retail Head of Marketing, Ignacio Vazquez explains the rationale behind the new format. “We are very excited to unveil the global launch of our new Rum Tales concept, signaling our ambitions to elevate the rum category and showcase the extraordinary breadth and depth of range in the Bacardi rum portfolio. Rum is a fascinating category, full of heritage and craft; and it’s rapidly premiumizing. However, we know it can be a complex category to understand and so, with Bacardí’s position as the world’s most awarded rum brand, we set out to help new and existing consumers navigate and explore the category, by offering many entry points that encourage new discoveries.”
Geoff Biggs, Bacardi Global Travel Retail Regional Director Americas, adds, “Miami International is a key location for rum lovers and, with the invaluable help of our partners DFA and JCDecaux, we are confident that Rum Tales will inspire rum connoisseurs to explore our premium selections, while also recruiting new consumers and unlocking category growth potential.”
