Bacardi unveils its new global campaign 'Bacardi Together' in India

Company Brief

New Delhi, June 9, 2011

Bacardi India Pvt. Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bacardi Limited – the world’s largest privately owned spirits company - announced the new global campaign “Bacardi Together” for its eponymous flagship brand in India at a press conference held at The Park, Connaught Place, New Delhi.

Bacardi’s Point of View

Since its launch in 1862, Bacardi - the world’s favorite and best-selling premium rum as well as the world’s most awarded rum - has been regarded as the world’s most mixable, sociable spirit, known to bring ingredients and people together to create the most memorable experiences.

The campaign exemplifies the brand’s long history of physically bringing people together. Bacardi believes there is no substitute for the joy experienced from getting together in-person and that life is better when shared with others. “Bacardi Together” addresses a growing concern that in our increasingly fast-paced and technology-enabled lives: people are spending less time getting together to enjoy friends and family. Bacardi wants to remind consumers of legal drinking age of the importance of getting together in-person.

Bacardi’s Insights

Bacardi recently studied the changing trends in the global socio- economic structure through the Global Monitor Study to understand the changes taking place in, and analyze the present and future scenarios of, human behavior & interactions.

The Global Monitor study is a quantitative consumer survey covering over 27,000 consumers in 20 countries. The study allows deeper understanding of key generational and other socio-demographic differences across and within the markets countries across the world. The Indian leg of the survey was done in association with TNS India. The findings showed startling facts of how HUMAN RELATIONS and HUMAN CONNECTIONS are growing distant day by day. A few key findings are as follows.

• 80% confirm that their relationship with friends/family is extremely/very important in determining how well they feel.

• 64% are so pressed for time that they rarely get to truly enjoy the things they do

Bacardi’s philosophy thus becomes more relevant today, and this paves the way for the launch of their global campaign that revolves around the joys and experiences of human connection - manifested through their powerful Bacardi TOGETHER movement.

Launching the Bacardi Together Movement in India

The “Bacardi Together Movement” aims at helping people overcome barriers, creating opportunity for people to connect and to enjoy the simple yet profound joy of being together, of having a personal, one on one connection.

In India, to kick-start the “Bacardi Together campaign”, Bacardi decided to play on the social nature of human interactions and chose “Music” to bring people together, for them to sing and speak one language, the language of “Togetherness”.

Bacardi carried out two unique exercises – one in the Online space, and the other physically on ground.

a. The Bacardi Together Anthem

Bacardi collaborated with Randolph Correira, one of the most prolific music producers in the country, and principle part of the iconic rock band Pentagram, and popular electronica duo Shaair n Func, to create a catchy base track. The track was uploaded online for music lovers to listen to, and to add too. Over 30 days, hundreds from across the country contributed to the track, along with scores of leading Indian musicians. Celebrated artists such as Monica Dogra, Raghu Dixit, Vishal Dadlani, Swaratma, Zero were some of the artistes of note. The final track arrived at is truly a Together anthem – the first of its kind, clearly demonstrating the magic created when barriers are broken and people connect with each other.

b. The Bacardi Together Beat

Bacardi also touched thousands of music lovers across the lead cities of Delhi, Pune and Bengaluru across a single weekend at the most popular malls in the cities. Using the powerful medium of Drum Circles at each venue, conducted by celebrated percussionists such as Sivamani, Montry & Jishnu (Swaratma) and Amit Kilam (from Indian Ocean), Bacardi helped to reveal to all onlookers the power of getting Together. By the end of the Drum circles, all participants – mostly novices – came together to produce one, unified sound that truly broke down barriers and helped people connect with each other.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Arvind Krishnan, Marketing Director, Bacardi India , said, “The ‘Bacardi Together’ campaign is an instinctive territory for Bacardi because it has embodied the idea of togetherness since the brand’s inception. We’ve reflected on the proud Latin heritage of Bacardi based on its values of freedom, passion for life, and togetherness. These values have existed for almost 150 years, but now, in our modern world of distractions and pressures, “togetherness” is as relevant as ever. The ambition of Bacardi is to remind people that real human connections are important. We want to facilitate people in getting together and encourage them to share & enjoy with one-another.”

Based on the “togetherness philosophy”, Bacardi also unveiled its new logo where the bat proudly shows characteristics of looking ahead optimistically into the future with pride, and wings that are spread wider to depict a liberated and a more dynamic, spirited outlook.

The fonts used for Bacardi have also undergone a change, with a more relaxed and less corporate look. The word now has a grave accent at the end, highlighting the Bacardi family name and the human behind the brand.

About the Global Monitor Study: Key Findings

It is a quantitative consumer survey covering over 27,000 consumers in 20 countries, conducted by The Futures Company, UK (ex-Henley Centre). The study allows deeper understanding of key generational and other socio-demographic differences across and within the markets of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, South Korea, Turkey and USA. The Indian leg of the survey is done in association with TNS India and covers 2500 respondents spanning 15 cities across tiers 1, 2 and 3.

Bacardi India subscribes to the Global Monitor program and has witnessed some startling facts about the fast pace of life and its challenges that India is coping with.

Key findings of the study are as follows:

• 80% * confirm that their relationship with friends/family is extremely/very important in determining how well they feel.

• 65%* strongly agree that having a small number of friends that you can rely on is more important than having a large number of acquaintances you can call on.

One of the key findings, which came from the survey, was the lack of connectedness in our everyday lives. But, looking at the busy lives of the youth today, there are many barriers that come between us making real human connections. Such as:

• 77% *of Indians confess that their life is so busy these days that it is a constant challenge to manage their time effectively

• 74% *complain that the pace of life is much too fast for them these days

• 51% *say that the pressure to be always ‘on’ affects them a great deal/very much

• 64% *are so pressed for time that they rarely get to truly enjoy the things they do

For further information, please contact:

The Communication Council

Deepti Karam Thakur

Mobile: +919910756510

Email: deepti@tccggd.com