Airport activation breaks down category walls

Rémy Cointreau Global Travel Retail is running a multi-brand promotion at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport this month in association with Gebr. Heinemann.

‘The Craft Journey – Travel to the Origins of Elite Spirits’ is an immersive activation intended to let shoppers discover a selection of the crafted expressions from the Rémy Cointreau portfolio, and encourage them to jump from a category with which they are familiar to another, thereby enlarging their repertoire.

Secondly, from the retailer’s perspective, the promotion is intended to maximize the revenue per basket and drive sales across the various liquor and spirits sub-categories while providing a unique consumer experience.

The Craft Journey associates a selected range of premium expressions from the Rémy Cointreau portfolio: Mount Gay, The Botanist, Bruichladdich, Rémy Martin, Cointreau and Metaxa.

Lyndea Dew, global marketing and development director at Rémy Cointreau GTR, explains: “This asset is a huge opportunity to encourage exploration and multi-buy. There is no reason why a client interested in the Bruichladdich craftsmanship on Islay should not be interested in the way Mount Gay is hand-made in Barbados. This is an opportunity to break down category walls because it is about the client’s passion for authenticity, know-how and origins. It is not about sticking to one tried and tested category.”

Launched in Amsterdam Schiphol Airport Lounge 1, the activation combines brand story-telling, video and, of course, tasting. A video plays about the heritage of the brands that the customer has chosen while he or she savours the aromas and intricate flavours of the drink.

For each brand on display there is a link on the wall map depicting individual brand journeys, highlighting the bottle, the craftsmanship story and relevant sensory elements such as ripe golden barley for Bruichladdich whisky, botanicals for The Botanist gin and the bitter sweet oranges from which Cointreau is derived.

Rüdiger Stelkens, purchase director liquor, tobacco, confectionery at Gebr. Heinemann, comments: “Amsterdam Schiphol is a vibrant mix of seasoned business travellers and enthusiastic holidaymakers of all ages and backgrounds. To capture their attention we love to dramatise retail with lively activations, spectacular displays and other customer- engagement activities. We are delighted to have worked with Rémy Cointreau on The Craft Journey, which is a perfect example of a discreet promotional tool that informs, educates and entertains in a refined and contemporary way.”

24 November 2016 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Rport, editor-in-chief