Bacardi Global Travel Retail has executed a month-long promotion for Leblon, the ultra-premium cachaça, at RIOgaleão and Sao Paulo airports, capitalising on the increased tourist numbers during the Olympic Games.
The activation, which ran throughout August, formed part of #liveloveleblon, a cross-market campaign designed to raise awareness and trial of Leblon and its signature Caipirinha cocktail serve, through maximised brand distribution in bars and in areas of high footfall.
The airport campaign ran across five different locations in both arrivals and departures stores operated by Dufry. It offered passengers the chance to taste a Leblon Caipirinha, handcrafted by brand ambassadors at specially made beach carts and in the dedicated in-store bar areas.
A major investment in high-profile digital screening across the airports and special personal appearances from Leblon star mixologists also took place during the promotional period.
Bacardi Global Travel Retail Regional Director Americas Geoff Biggs commented: “Cachaça is the third most consumed spirit in the world and, as a leading premium cachaça brand in both Europe and, more significantly, in North America where we have over 40% value market share, we wanted to capitalise on engaging the huge numbers of overseas visitors to Rio and Sao Paulo this summer with the iconic local Caipirinha cocktail, ensuring they associate it with Leblon above all other brands.
“Since our global travel retail division took on the distribution for Leblon earlier this year in the region, this is our first major scale campaign and we are delighted with its success in creating sales uplift and a positive halo effect for the cachaça category.”
Dufry Global Category Management Director Eduardo Heusi added: “Leblon Capirinha is one of the first brand campaigns we have run in our new stores at Rio Galeao and it’s been hugely successful. Our shoppers have loved being able to see first-hand the art of cachaça making and to understand just how easy it is to recreate at home.
“Buying a bottle of Leblon is a perfect reminder of their trip to Brazil during the 2016 Olympic Games and we’re pleased to have seen significant sales uplift.”
