Bacardi Global Travel Retail (GTR) has staged an ambitious seasonal gifting campaign for Diwali to promote its Dewar’s whisky brand.
The campaign, which began in October and continued throughout November, has been the largest Dewar’s Diwali campaign to date. It has spanned 12 airports across eight countries in Asia and the Middle East.
The 12 airport locations and retail partners to host the campaign were: Changi (DFS); Kuala Lumpur (Eraman); Bangkok (King Power); Delhi (Delhi Duty Free); Mumbai (Flemingo); Bangalore (Dufry); Chennai (Flemingo); Kolkata (Flemingo); Dubai (Dubai Duty Free); Muscat (ARI); Qatar (Qatar Duty Free); and Bahrain (ARI).
Bacardi GTR said the event targeted “the significant surge in traffic driven by Diwali, the Hindu festival of light”. The key product was a special edition Diwali-inspired gift tin for Dewar’s 18yo Blended Scotch Whisky.
The company explained: “With support from nine leading travel retail partners, the Dewar’s campaign celebrated Diwali at a dozen airports across Asia, including the targeting of the large Indian populations based in key cities across the continent and the major surge in holiday traffic.”
The campaign combined online and in-store elements and centred around the theme ‘Celebrate with the Most Celebrated’, referencing Dewar’s reputation as the “world’s most awarded whisky” and building on its strong presence in the Indian market.
In-store promotions used copper tones and intricate traditional patterns and motifs, which echoed the design of the special edition gift box. Displays incorporated specially made light installations as a celebration of the festival of lights.
A central display featured a peacock, the national bird of India, and visitors were offered frames and selfie sticks and invited to share photos online using the hashtag #CelebrateDiwaliWithDewars.
LED diyas took the place of traditional oil lamps and could be lit to “mark the festive period and make a wish”.
A key GWP was a set of four copper-toned metallic coasters that could be stored inside the Dewar’s 18yo presentation tin. These featured an unusual wire design allowing them to become tealight holders, referencing the traditional lighting of the diya.
Bacardi GTR said the activation was “probably the most extensive Diwali-themed travel retail campaign ever seen in the region”.
Bacardi GTR Senior Commercial Director Vinay Golikeri commented: “The scale and quality of this Dewar’s campaign provides an engaging shopper experience and a powerful expression of partnership between Bacardi and our retail partners.
“The region has many inquisitive whisky consumers. By carefully tailoring our activations to target the region’s key passenger profiles we can inspire emotional connections that enable Dewar’s to resonate powerfully with travellers across Asia Pacific and the Middle East, driving category performance and further strengthening differentiation for the travel retail channel.”
