A COMPETITOR BRAND in the Market
MOUNT GAY RUM " The Rum that invented Rum"

It is the oldest Rum brand in the world existing since 1703

Mount Gay Rum is the emblem of BARBADOS and its Lifestyle.

Mount Gay brings together passion and spirit for the sea. The Mount Gay lovers wear a red cap to signify their link to this rum brand and to the sea which is common in sailors. The sailing world refers to this Rum brand as their drink.

Mount Gay Rum has 4 types of medium-bodied rum collection with key aromas which are ripe banana, sweet almond, Moka and vanilla.

Mount Gay Rum is Barbados!

Types of Havana Club

Añejo 3 Años

The premium cocktail rum

"Light and dry, ideal for a luxury Daiquirí."

Don José Navarro, Primer Maestro Ronero

Havana Club 3 Años, the most prestigious of all white rums, brings a touch of unparalleled class to all cocktails and blends.

Havana Club 3 Años is the most prestigious of all white rums. It brings a touch of unparalleled class to all cocktails and blends. Havana Club 3 Años is the result of blending aged and aromatic sugarcane aguardientes with extra light sugarcane distillates to produce a selection of young rums. This batch of rums is then allowed to rest in white oak barrels after which the Maestro Ronero chooses the best barrels and blends the final three-year-old rum, which is again set to rest, then filtered and bottled.

Añejo 7 Años

The epitome of Cuban rum

"The very essence of aged Cuban rum which I am most proud of."

Don José Navarro, Primer Maestro Ronero.

Havana Club Añejo 7 Años embodies Cuban rum-making excellence and is recognized as one of the best aged rums in the world.

Havana Club Añejo 7 Años is the epitome of Cuban rum. It is a legendary rum which reinforces Cuba’s standing as the birthplace of the finest rums. Within the Havana Club range, Añejo 7 Años embodies all the distinctive flavours, richness and know-how for which Havana Club is renowned.

Añejo Especial

The versatile gold mixer

"…whispers the hidden secrets of premium dark aged rums."

Don José Navarro, Primer Maestro Ronero

Havana Club Añejo Especial is a premium golden rum, combining the lightness of white rums and the robust aroma of dark rums.

Havana Club Añejo Especial is a premium golden rum, a blend of rums aged for up to five years in the ageing cellars of Havana Club, under the watchful eye of Don José Navarro, Havana Club’s Maestro Ronero. As the name suggests, it is something special, a blend of old and young rums that results in a rich, warm gold-coloured rum. Its character combines the lightness of white rums and the robust aroma of dark rums.

The types of Captain Morgan

• Captain Morgan spiced rum is inspired by spices native to the Caribbean Islands. The brand, which is recognized by its mascot, an illustration of 17th-century buccaneer Captain Henry Morgan, produces rum in eight varieties, from 100-proof rum to silver spiced rum. The rum can be consumed on the rocks, as shots, or in mixed drinks.

Original Spiced

• Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum is the flagship product of the Captain Morgan Rum Company. It contains a blend of Caribbean rums and spices, mixed with other flavors and is aged in white oak barrels. According to Ministry of Rum, it's distilled in Puerto Rico and contains 35 percent alcohol by volume.

Silver Spiced Rum

• Captain Morgan Silver Spiced Rum is lighter and dryer than original spiced rum and has a vanilla taste. It's distilled in Puerto Rico, is 35 percent ABV, and blended from white rum and tropical spices. A popular mixer is the "Silver and Soda," which consists of 1.5 oz. of the silver spiced rum, 6 oz. of club soda and a lime garnish.

Parrot Bay

• Captain Morgan Parrot Bay blends tropical flavors with Puerto Rican rum to enhance fruit-punch mix drinks. It comes in seven flavors-pineapple, coconut, mango, passion fruit, key lime, strawberry and orange-and contains anywhere from 21 to 45 percent ABV. According to a review on Viewpoints.com, Captain Morgan Parrot Bay doesn't have an overwhelming alcohol taste.

Private Stock

• Captain Morgan Private Stock is aged in oak for at least two years before distribution and is 40 percent ABV. It's available only in the United States and China, according to the company's website. Captain Morgan Private Stock is commonly served on the rocks. A recommended mixture is 1.6 oz. of private stock in a ice-filled cocktail glass.

Lime Bite

• Captain Morgan Lime Bite is similar to the silver spiced rum, except its offered in a lime flavor. It's available in the United States, is 35 percent ABV, and works best as a mix drink. It mixes well with beer, lemon lime soda, fruit juices, energy drinks or colas. According to The Bar.com, a mixed drink known as "Lime Bite Squeeze" consists of 1 oz. lime bite, 0.5 oz. triple sec, and a splash of orange juice.

  
  

  Tatoo

  Captain Morgan ® Tattoo ® is a dark and mysterious spiced rum with a touch of Caribbean heat in the finish. ABV: 40%

  
  

  Long island iced tea

  Captain Morgan ® Long Island Iced Tea is a legendary mix of rum, vodka, whiskey, gin and triple-sec liqueur with a refreshing taste only the Captain could deliver – simply pour over ice and party!

  ABV: 17.5% Available: USA

  
  

  100 Proof Spiced Rum

  Legend has it, the pirates of old stored their high proof rum in charred oak casks in order to give it a smooth mellow taste.

  Today this tradition lives on in Captain Morgan ® Black Cask™ 100 Proof Spiced Rum, a secret blend of Caribbean rums and select spices which brings out the intensity of rum in all its original full-flavored glory.

  A firm favourite with The Captain, it's specially crafted to taste great with cola or as a shot.

  ABV: 50% Available: USA, Canada

  
  

Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!

Pirates. The word conjures images that have been with us for centuries: a white skull and cross-bones on a flag of black silk; a parrot on the captain’s shoulder; buried treasure; daggers clenched in teeth; walking the plank; eye patches; black-bellied schooners roving free under a Caribbean moon and of course – a lot of Rum…

Pirates drank while eating, they drank while sailing, they drank before, during, and after fighting. People molested by pirates routinely complained that their oppressors smelled of two things: tar and rum.

The word Rum produces close association with pirates in Connotative system of many cultures. This makes pirates a great tool in the marketer’s hands.

Think pirate and you probably get an image in your head of Henry Morgan. Why? Because his name and face appears on the label of the second biggest-selling brand of rum in the world.

Morgan never made rum. His image was borrowed by Seagram’s as a marketing ploy in the early 1980s. But even though he never made his own rum, Morgan did make a tremendous effort to drink as much of it as humanly possible. On a typical evening he could tip six pints of the stuff and show no exterior effects at all.

Handsome, genial, and well-educated, Henry Morgan moved with ease through high society (King Charles II was his personal friend), but his first love was the high seas. He was an expert seaman and, unlike his contemporary, Captain Kidd, his crew loved him.

There has always been some question as to whether or not Morgan was a pirate at all. He always carried a letter of marque from the British crown, after all, and confined his attacks to Spanish shipping, striking blows for king and country. On the other hand, his fleet was made up of ships captained by known pirates and he never hesitated to use pirate-style trickery and brutality to achieve his goals. He was also, at age 32, made admiral of a group called the Brethren of the Coast, a loose confederation of pirates and privateers who, sailing the Caribbean, became known as the Buccaneers.

Flashback

In the 17th century on the sugarcane plantations of the Caribbean, the first distillation of rum took place. Slaves on the plantations discovered that molasses, a by-product of sugar, could be fermented into alcohol. The first pure rums were produced when distillation of these by products removed the impurities.

It is believed that rum first originated on the island of Barbados. The drink’s popularity quickly spread to North America. The first distillery was established on what is now Staten Island. Three years later, Boston had its own distillery. The manufacturing of rum became a lucrative industry. Plenty of lumber and superior metalworking and technical skills helped New England advance as a large distillery center. The rum produced in New England was lighter and had a more pleasant aroma.

Today there are many grades of rum. The variations depend on where the rum is produced. Light rum, Aaso called silver or white rum, is sweet with a mild flavor. After aging, light rums are often filtered to remove color. Light rums often come from Puerto Rico.

Gold rum, also referred to as amber rum, is aged longer and in wooden barrels. They are stronger and have more flavor than white rums.

Spiced rum gets its flavor from spices such as aniseed, pepper cinnamon and rosemary. Sometimes caramel is used also.

Dark rum, also known as black, brown or red rum, is aged in heavily charred barrels for a longer period of time.

Flavored rums are often infused with flavors such as coconut, banana, lime, and mango. These rums are less than 40% alcohol and are frequently used in tropical drinks.

Over proof rums have more than 60% alcohol and are considered premium boutique rums. They are very carefully produced and are often consumed straight.

Barcardi (Part 3)

ADVERTISING

Bacardi has a very classic and elegant image but it does not stop them from having content related to sexuality in their ads. For almost any type of Alcohol, publicity is somehow related to sexuality.

Probably their most original commercial, this one show ”people made of water “dancing and having fun. The comercial very playfull and dynamic and the bartender who is making the drink refers to the idea of a night club where people get together and have fun. The “water boy and girl” reflect the image of physical attractiveness and sexiness that the brand wants to associate with the products.

Another ad refers to the classic and timeless characteristics of the brand. The main character “walks across time” to go get is drink. Again, showing a fun, enjoyable atmosphere since 1862. We get the idea of tradition which suggests quality and authenticity. We also see young women glancing at the main character while he walks across the rooms again suggesting the idea of physical attractiveness and sexiness.

As for the web site, Bacardi is trying to comply with a code of ethic by asking you if you are of legal age to drink alcohol before you can access the website. Then, the first thing you notice is that it is very dynamic. The colors, music and movement remind you, once again of a nightclub but without losing the elegant touch of the brand. The presentation of the products is well designed. They display all their products at the same time. It makes it easy to just click and find out about any of their drinks.

 

A FEW EXEMPLE OF BACARDI’S PRODUCTS

Buying a bottle of rum does not represent a big risk either financially or socially. However, several elements are used to differentiate the various products from the competition and to appeal different target customers. For the physical product itself, the flavours, the colors, the presentation and the packaging are all factors used to influence the client’s purchasing decision.

Bacardi segmented its market in order to appeal all kinds of customers.  Different lines of products adapted to each segment are proposed:

The classic rum image refers much more to tradition.

The bacardi 8 : The shape of the bottle reminds us the shape of the barrel in which the rum is aged for 8 years. The colors on the label were carefully chosen to represent the smooth, rich and very full with a long expansivefinish taste as they say. The consumer of this kind of product is usally more mature and not to ecxentric just like the bottle.

The superior rum:  As you can see the company mention the fact that this is the original rum created in 1862. They suggest that the spirit of Bacardi is in every bottle. Once more, they refer to tradition and quality.  Hence, the bottle is in a very classic shape and the colors are quasi neutral to appeal a wider range of customers.

Bacardi created another line of product to attract younger customers

Ready to drink and flavour rums:

-Bacardi torched cherry rum

-Bacardi Superior Cola

-Bacardi Mojito

-Bacardi’s 4 flavours of classic cocktails

All these products conserve the classic and elegant image of Bacardi but with playful colors and attractive design and presentation. Rum is a kind of alcohol with a particular taste and just like wine, people tend to develop this taste as time goes on. By adding flavours, the brand reaches a new segment of young people who tend to like fruit flavours; coconut ,limon, cherry, apple. In short, they created a flavour for everyone to expend their  market consumer base. Moreover, these ready to drink beverages fits with the fast paste of life. People are time poor so it’s a perfect solution adapted to today’s reality.

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www.barcardi.com

Bacardi (Part1)

Bacardi was founded in 1862 in Santiago de Cuba by Facundo Bacardi. The company now posses many brands such as Grey Goose,  vermouths Martini & Rossi, Bombay Saphire and of course, the brand Bacardi. Bacardi sells more than 240 millions of bottles in 170 countries per year which makes it the third largest company in the spirits industry.  However, the company does not use its country of origin as a pitch sale. In fact, the Bacardi brand is not sold in Cuba anymore; Havana Club is the main brand of rum of the country. [1]Bacardi puts emphasis on their story and heritage; “Spirit for life” is the company’s purpose. They stand for the following values:

• Trust – true to each other.
• Caring – in all that we do.
• Passion – inspired by our heritage and vision.
• Excellence – beyond what is expected.[2]

The brand position itself as being classy, traditional, authentic, hence dynamic. The price range varies according to the products but Bacardi is generally seen as a high end class of rum. They propose quality products and the benefits are not only functional (taste) but also psychosocial and emotional (feeling good when being part of the group).

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[1] http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacard%C3%AD

[2] http://www.bacardilimited.com/resp_governance.html

A few statistics

In 2004-2005, 85% of the French citizen, aged between 12-75, sad they have drank alcohol at least one time during the year. Only 8% of the French citizens declared never have had a drink in their lives. During that year, among the people who drank alcohol, the consumption of wine was the most popular with 77% fallowed by spiritueux with 56% and finally beer with 53%. Alcohol is a pretty large and widespread market where competition is intense. To target a market segment, companies have to understand their consumers. Studies have shown that the consumption of alcohol is greater for the man with 20% of them saying they drink alcohol everyday compare to 7% of the women. On the other hand, occasional consumption is more popular for women with 41% compare to only 15 % for the men. In terms of quantities consumed, the gender gap is also very strong: men drank an average of 2.6 drinks on the last day they consumed alcohol, against 1.8 for women.[1]

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[1] http://www.alcoolinfoservice.fr/La-consommation-d-alcool-des.html

Overall description of the alcohol market

Alcohol is a very popular product among people of all ages. Pretty much all kinds of alcohol, are associatedwith partying, having fun, celebration and being with friends in an enjoyableatmosphere. You probably tasted a few brands of rum before without noticingthat behind each sip you’ve taken, there is a whole world with its owncharacteristics. In fact, the competition is very fierce in the alcoholindustry and the rum sector is not an exception. Moreover, in France, the Evinlaw limits the wrights to advertise alcoholic beverages in order to protectyoung people from the influence of marketing campaigns. Also, the new lawsencourage consumers to reduce their consumption of alcohol especially on theroad to limit the number of accidents. In fact, the overall consumption ofalcohol per capita decreased; from 1960 to 2001,in the average foodbudget, the share of spending on alcoholic beverages fell from 12.4% to 8.9%.

Welcome Message - Rum Blog

Hello everyone and welcome on the Rum Blog,

this blog is created in parallel with the Strategic brand management course given in SKEMA Business School - Campus Sophia Antipolis. The purpose of the blog is to share our knowledge about brand strategy by applying it into a specific market. We chose the rum industry because we find that it is a dynamic, entertaining and interesting market to explore.

In order to study how the brands are managed, we decided to chose and develop the strategy of 3 different rum companies; Captain Morgan, Bacardi and Havana Club.

In order the develop our ideas, the blog will use 3 main topics:

• The overall market 
• The customer insight
• The competition

Theses topics will help us to go further in the analysis and answer more specific subjects through an entertaining presentation. 

Thanks for reading us and enjoy the blog !