King of Reach by B&S has partnered with Mark Anthony Brands and Avolta for a series of brand activations focused on the Americas in 2024. The partnership will continue in 2025 in key locations as spirits brands, White Claw Vodka, Glendalough and Bearface are further spotlighted in the travel retail channel.
King of Reach by B&S and Mark Anthony Brands (MAB) identified the Americas as a key regional expansion target leveraging the popular White Claw Seltzer brand. Through their partnership with Avolta, the companies have worked on a multi-location activation program that has been successfully implemented this year.
“The locations selected for our 2024 activations are based on a variety of factors determined by our stakeholders, Avolta and Mark Anthony Brands. Avolta provided a comprehensive overview of available locations, detailing the types of activations planned throughout 2024. Following discussions with Mark Anthony Brands and the brand managers for Glendalough, Bearface, and White Claw, we identified key venues that align with the overall rollout strategy, including the domestic market plan,” said Tijn Oomens, Head of Americas Duty Free & Travel Retail, King of Reach by B&S.
For brands like Irish whiskey Glendalough, King of Reach by B&S prioritized locations with significant Irish traveler representation. “In the Americas, we carefully considered the most effective activation methods, such as advertising, high-profile placements (HPP), and tastings designed to introduce the products directly to consumers,” explained Oomens.
Kicking off the promotional program for White Claw Vodka and together with their regional brand ambassador, King of Reach by B&S held a MAB training session at the Sao Paulo Guarulhos Airport location in August. The training session underlined the importance of engagement between the sales staff and the brand itself. Training was held with two groups and 45 participants in total, and was fundamental in improving the sales teams’ technical skills and deepening their knowledge about the brand offer, says the company. Training sessions will continue at additional locations in December 2024 and throughout the full year of 2025.
The White Claw activations took place in Newark and Chicago during September and moved on to Cancun in October and Santo Domingo in November, all in partnership with Avolta.
Americas push
“Together with Mark Anthony Brands (MAB), we’ve embarked on an incredible journey to officially launch the MAB portfolio of White Claw, Glendalough and Bearface in the Americas, kicking off with key travel retail locations. It all began with the DFS White Claw activation at JFK Airport in August, and since then, we’ve continued to build momentum, securing multiple listings with nearly all key airport retailers across the U.S.,” said Oomens.
“In addition, over the past 18 months, we’ve successfully introduced White Claw Vodka across various channels throughout the Americas and will continue to expand our presence in travel retail.” he said.
Working closely with the Avolta team has been integral to the success of this campaign, according to Ronan O’Neill, Market Director Spirits at Mark Anthony Brands International.
“We targeted locations based on key factors including PAX numbers, age profile and nationality. We also looked at category data to identify the top performing locations for vodka and cross referenced them with our domestic activities,” he explained.
“It’s been an amazing journey with B&S to date. We set out to bring White Claw Vodka to the travel retail channel in 2023 and build the brand from the bottom up which we have done with great success. We are now available in key airport locations throughout the Americas working with industry leading retailers. We have great sales momentum and look forward to continuing to build on this in 2025,” said O’Neill.
Activations roll out
In 2025, King of Reach by B&S and MAB will continue to activate White Claw Vodka, Glendalough and Bearface in key Avolta outlets.
King of Reach by B&S and MAB, in partnership with Avolta, will execute of series of duty free activations in key locations throughout the year, featuring tasting bars, walkthrough stores, and HPP’s for Bearface, Glendalough, and White Claw in cities like Chicago, Boston, Cancun, and Las Vegas. A standout activation for White Claw is set for November during the Las Vegas F1 Grand Prix, offering an ideal platform to engage travelers and elevate brand awareness, according to Oomens.
