The world’s leading premium spirits and wine brands are
continuing to target high-spending Asian travellers through a number of
innovative, heritage-focused promotions. Here are some of the latest and best
executions at international airport shops:
DIAGEO LAUNCHES
JOHNNIE WALKER CONCEPT STORE
Diageo and World Duty Free Group have opened an exclusive
concept store at London Heathrow Terminal 4 that celebrates the Johnnie Walker
Explorers’ Club Collection of Scotch whiskies. The luxurious location pays tribute to the travelling
heritage of the John Walker & Sons agents who journeyed the world in the
19th and 20th Centuries, navigating their way down the famous trade routes in
pursuit of new business and adventure.
It is based on the spirit of the Travellers’ Room established by Alexander Walker at the company’s headquarters in London in the 1890s. Close to the shipping houses and docks from which its agents journeyed the world, they gathered to exchange stories, in turn inspiring generations of master blenders. Now modern-day travellers can enjoy the Travellers’ Room concept.
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| The new Johnnie Walker concept store at at London Heathrow airport |
The concept store features a tasting bar where travellers
can discover the Johnnie Walker Explorers’ Club Collection travel retail
exclusive releases – The Spice Road, The Gold Route and The Royal Route. The
store also combines Johnnie Walker inspiration areas alongside a retail zone.
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| The Johnnie Walker Explorers' Club Collection |
Paul Downing, key accounts director of Diageo Global
Travel, said: “The concept store is a striking spectacle that brings to life
the brand’s heritage in travel, exciting and inspiring customers on their
journeys.
“In keeping with the style of the Travellers’ Room, where
the agents swapped samples and tales from their voyages, consumers who visit
the Johnnie Walker Explorers’ Club will be able to return from their adventures
with something they cannot buy at home – the Johnnie Walker Explorers’ Club
Collection, a range of blended Scotch whiskies designed exclusively for
travellers.”
Eugenio Andrades, chief commercial officer of World Duty
Free Group, added: “Since the Johnnie Walker Explorers’ Club Collection
launched in November 2012 it has been very popular with global travellers and
is regarded as a brilliant example of a highly successful travel retail
exclusive.”
The store opened on 25 February and will welcome travellers
until the end of May.
ST HUGO TEMPTS
TRAVELLERS IN ASIA TRAVEL RETAIL
St Hugo, one of Australia’s most awarded fine wines, has
extended its Mark the Milestones campaign, launched in January 2014 in
Australia, to Singapore Changi airport. The campaign targets sophisticated wine
drinkers and aims to raise the profile of Australian fine wines.
The campaign was launched to create a strong correlation
between enjoying St Hugo wines with travellers’ own personal achievements.
Asia’s first leg of the activation takes place in Singapore’s Changi airport
and will run until 31 March. This will be followed by the launch in Hong Kong airport from 1 March to 30 April.
The wine category is becoming increasingly important in
Asia duty free stores. Two of the wines available to travellers are travel
retail exclusives, namely The St Hugo McLaren Vale Shiraz and the St Hugo
Coonawarra Shiraz. The promotion also focuses on the original product in the St
Hugo range – The St Hugo Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon.
Drawing on the campaign’s theme of marking the moment,
travellers can personalise their purchase with a customised red wax seal on the
bottle’s box packaging to commemorate a special occasion. A total of 16 seal
options are available in English and Chinese. Travellers can win a Montblanc
pen and branded journal to inspire customers to mark their milestones.
Pierre-Henry Coppere, brand manager for wines at Pernod
Ricard Asia Travel Retail, said: “The new activation is the perfect occasion to
establish the St Hugo range in the fine wine category. We have had a fantastic
start to our campaign roll-out in DFS stores in Singapore with positive sales
performance and great traveller interaction.”
THE GLENLIVET
UNVEILS BOUTIQUE IN TAIWAN'S TAOYUAN AIRPORT
Pernod Ricard-owned Scotch whisky brand The Glenlivet has
opened a dedicated branded space at Taiwan's Taoyuan airport. Drawing on the
single malt’s legacy, the space is inspired by The Guardian’s Library, the room
at The Glenlivet distillery exclusively available to Guardians of The Glenlivet
- the brand’s global community of connoisseurs.
Three distinct areas in the store are designed to reflect different
aspects of The Glenlivet. The Travel Retail Exclusive zone features the brand’s
travel retail exclusive whisky, The Glenlivet Master Distiller’s Reserve,
offering consumers an opportunity to taste the complex flavours of the
triple-wood expression.
In the lifestyle zone, consumers can enjoy a glass of The
Glenlivet (neat, with water or on the rocks) while being challenged to take
part in a game of snooker for a chance to win an exclusive whisky. The player
who scores highest throughout the period will win a bottle of The Glenlivet
Alpha, described by the company as “the mystery expression, released without
cask information or tasting notes, and of which only 3,350 have been released”.
Finally, the prestige section showcases the most premium
references of the brand including The Glenlivet 18 Year Old, 21 Year Old
Archive and the 25 Year Old. Visitors can interact with a motion-sensored
storyboard that tells the story of The Glenlivet.
Kim Tse, brand manager of Pernod Ricard Asia Travel
Retail, said: “The exceptional large-scale brand space allows us to engage with
travellers and whisky enthusiasts in a luxurious setting that brings them back
to the Scottish origins of The Glenlivet. We are proud to launch this pop-up
space in Taiwan airport, bringing a unique brand experience to this
sophisticated malt whisky market.”
The boutique will run until the end of March.
DEWAR’S CAMPAIGN AT NEW DELHI AIRPORT
Scotch whisky brand Dewar’s launched a promotion at
New Delhi Indira Gandhi airport celebrating its status as
the “World’s Most Awarded Blended Scotch Whisky”. The Bacardi-owned brand has
won more than 400 awards in independent tastings.
Developed with Indian travel retailer Delhi Duty Free
Services, the campaign featured Dewar’s 12 year old Special Reserve, Dewar’s 18
year old Founder's Reserve, the luxury blend Dewar’s Signature and Aberfeldy
single malt, which is used in each of the blends.
The promotion, which ran from 1 February for six weeks,
centred on the brand's distinctive ‘World’s Most
Awarded Blended Scotch Whisky’ gold medal-style crest.
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| The Dewar's Scotch whisky range |
Irving Holmes Wong, Bacardi Global Travel Retail regional director Asia-Pacific and MEA, said: “Asia Pacific is a core market for Dewar’s
and it's a key brand to watch in the fast developing market of India. New Delhi
Indira Gandhi International airport has a growing profile of affluent,
brand-conscious travellers seeking the very best luxury brand experiences.
“Renowned for their appreciation of whisky, the affluent
Indian customers are highly discerning and don't want to follow the mainstream.
Their pursuit of in-the-know brands drives them to seek out supreme quality and
authenticity and our high-profile Dewar’s activation leads them to a new
discovery, with the added kudos of the 'World's Most Awarded Blended Scotch
Whisky'."
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| Dewar's promotion at New Delhi airport |
Delhi Duty Free Services CEO Duncan Lawley said Dewar’s
was ideally suited to the airport’s passenger profile. "At Delhi Duty Free
we are developing a powerful premium retail experience and we're delighted to
further strengthen our working relationship with Bacardi Global Travel Retail.
As the world's most awarded blended Scotch whisky, Dewar’s holds a unique
position in the blended Scotch category in Asia and we are confident that this
powerful large-scale promotion will excite our shoppers."
