Bacardi, the drinks giant probably best known for its eponymous white rum brand, has been experimenting with voice marketing for several years and the experience of using platforms like Amazon Alexa and Google Home has prompted the company to concentrate on the “sound” of the brand rather than its “look”.
So much so that Bacardi’s global CMO has said the company now thinks the sound of an ad is at least as important as how an ad looks – and this development is reflected in some of its recent digital marketing.
“As we think about something like cocktail mixology, there’s also a lot of richness in that space and how to serve that just through audio,” said John Burke in an interview with The Drum.
“We’re now thinking about the sound [of a brand ad] first versus the look second. It’s a really interesting way of approaching that immersive consumer experience,” he added.
Burke, who is also president of Bacardi Global Brands, pointed to a video ad the company rolled out in September 2019 that used autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR), the relaxed feeling triggered by certain types of audio prompts.
The “Sound of Rum” video, which was produced by ad agency AMV BBDO, had a soundtrack that deployed the sounds of cocktail-making, such as bottles clinking, as well as the ambience of a bar.
According to Bacardi, the ASMR-inspired video reached 33 million people, generating a 366% increase in brand mentions across social media during its launch month, The Drum reported.
And in addition to its ASMR and other sound-related campaigns, the company intends to become more consumer-centric this year by concentrating on social commerce.
“We implemented our new strategy direction last year,” Burke said. “One of the key parts is putting the consumer at the heart. The desire to shift to be much more consumer-centric in the way that we look at how we solve for our customers.”
Sourced from The Drum; additional content by WARC staff
