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Havana Club: Nothing Compares to Havana Havana Club, an alcohol
rum beverage brand, took the task in 2012 to defend its brands
position by rivalling the continuous number one hot brand, Bacardi
(WARC Case Study 2012: p.2). Teaming with M&C Saatchi, the
Nothing compares to Havana campaign was created, displaying the
Cuban culture using emotional selling appeal, directly addressing
the consumer with the strapline to go see your friends, you dont go
on internet, you go see your friends and using other strategic
selling techniques; combining above and below-the-line activity
including billboard, print and cinema advertising, as well as
online activity and PR support. The campaign exhibited success
after winning Grand Prix at the Euro Effie Awards 2012, the gold
standard in marketing communication effectiveness (M&C Saatchi
2012). Reported by Ben Bold (6th July 2011) Yves Schladenhaufen,
Havana Clubs International Marketing Director said, Havana Club is
known as the genuine inheritor of Cuban rum tradition. Not only has
it become a true ambassador of Cuba across the globe, but also
actively promotes the Cuban creativity and talents to an
international audience. Advertising Agency: M&C Saatchi M&C
Saatchi formed in 1995, after brothers Maurice and Charles Saatchi
were removed of their chairman titles at Saatchi & Saatchi by
shareholders. Brutal Simplicity of Thought is the core philosophy
of the agency, with recent clients including NatWest, TFL,
Ballantines Whisky, Peroni and Havana Club. In 2000 M&C Saatchi
won Agency of the year and officially overtook Saatchi &
Saatchi in billings according to the M&C Saatchi Story (no
date). M&C Saatchi acknowledge a technological change, creating
a Mobile sector at M&C Saatchi delivering 79% growth in its
first year, utilising a Central Strategy Unit to bring together
strategists believing that they [M&C Saatchi] are uniquely
placed to help clients navigate the incredibly complex new world
(M&C Saatchi, no date). Havana Club Brand & Campaign
Objectives The Havana Club brand sells whiskey-based products
around the world in over 125 countries promoting its Cuban
heritage, founded in 1878 by Jose Arechabala in Cuba (Sainsbury
2006: p. 178). In 2009, Havana Club International set an objective
to compete with rival brand Bacardi to become an iconic premium
brand, sold at a premium price worldwide (excluding USA) and not
become the second-best mainstream brand in selling rum (WARC Case
Study 2012: p.2). Bacardi sells three times more cases every year
with a global communication budget ten times larger than that of
The Havana Club (WARC Case Study 2012: p.2). The Havana Club,
despite the current economic recession working with advertising
agency M&C Saatchi, set out objectives to defend the brands
position, highlighted here from the WARC Case Study, Havana Club:
Nothing Compares to Havana (2012: p.2): Business Objectives:
Reach 3.9 million cases sold globally in the 2011-12 fiscal
year
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Increase volume and value market shares in all markets against
Bacardi Marketing Objectives: Become a hot brand (increase
advocates friends among consumers, become a reference for
bartenders) Improve the brand consumer funnel (awareness,
consideration, usage) against Bacardi Communication Objectives:
Improve brand image Be talked about: PR coverage The campaign
titled Nothing compares to Havana promoted the Havana culture known
as Havana Cultura whereby promoting contemporary Cuban artists, the
shooting of print adverts in Havana with genuine Cuban people
presenting Cuban culture and values, and promote a feature length
movie called 7 days in Havana co-produced by Havana Club. According
to Steve Paddok (2012) repeating messages in different ways will
encourage more of a response. The campaign media strategy was
distributed 24% in television, 5% branded content, 6% online/
interactive, 3% digital, 1% trade magazine, 38% consumer magazine,
1% point of sale and 22% on other marketing techniques (e.g. PR)
(WARC Case Study 2012: p.5). The wide range of media strategies
ensures Havana Club that the target audience have the best
opportunity of experiencing their campaign increasing the
probability of consumer consumption.
Alcohol Beverage Sector The August 2002 publication from UK
pressure group Alcohol Concern, 100% Proof: Research for Action on
Alcohol, concluded that the majority of econometric studiesfind
little or no evidence for advertising effects on total consumption
levels (Dorsett and Dickerson 2004: p.155). However, there is a
growing concern for the possibility, restricting the advertising
alcohol industry further due to the rise in youth binge drinking;
Campaign (26th September 2003) reports although ads should not
appeal to under-18s or depict drinkers under 25, the report said:
There is a perception the content and target of advertising go
beyond the spirit of existing self-regulation. Havana Clubs 2012
campaign Nothing Compares to Havana set their target market as
Urban Cultural Explores, both premium spirit drinkers and opinion
leaders (WARC Case Study 2012: p.2); they explicitly did not
include age, this prevents the possibility of encouraging youth
binge drinking but does not exclude them from the possibility of
the advert reaching them. FCB Grid Michael Ray developed an
alternative hierarchies model as seen in figure 1 (Belch and Belch
2012: p.162), demonstrating three stages on product involvement and
product differentiation, with three different outcomes, to learn,
validate and passively learn. However this model fails to give
clear recommendations regarding optimisation of advertising content
to advertise different products (Belch and Belch 2012: p.161-162).
According to Michael Rays model, the alcohol advertising industry,
selling low-involvement products,
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are required to advertise effectively by ensuring consumers are
passively learning. Vaughns FCB model, however, develops Michael
Rays model with the consideration of brain specialisation;
considering high and low involvement and thinking versus feeling
processing at each involvement, this is demonstrated in figure 2
(Belch and Belch 2012: p.165-166). Therefore, Havana Club, low
involvement/ feeling product known as the self-satisfaction
strategy would suggest consumers do not learn the product until
after purchase. The best forms of media strategy are billboards,
newspapers and point of sale, the same media strategies included in
the Havana Club: Nothing Compares to Havana campaign; furthermore,
the most affective form of creative strategy is attention
advertising, also exhibited in Havana Clubs 2012 campaign. Mortimer
(2002: p.463) advanced both Rays and Vaughns models suggesting each
cell grid evokes a different product category as seen in figure 3
(Mortimer 2002: p.465); high involvement, thinking products are
economic e.g. life insurance, car, house insurance and low
involvement, feeling products are social e.g. alcohol, fast food,
tobacco; therefore, the product differentiation, discussed by Ray,
is a cultural association between different product categories and
the consumers attitude, emotion and intension toward the advert; a
European consumer would enjoy alcohol with friends to relax, a
societal norm, therefore the product involvement is relaxed hence
low involvement, feeling strategy.
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Figure 4 (WARC Case Study 2012: p.4) exhibits the selected
advert from the campaign that will be analysed in the following
section of this report. Creative Strategy The unique selling point
of the Havana Club rum was its clear and genuine Cuban heritage, as
apposed to its rival vaguely Latin competitors, Bacardi. M&C
Saatchi and Havana Club choose to expose Havana Club as a Cultural
Brand, the only international Cuban brand. The agencys clear
objective was to make people experience the incomparable human and
artistic culture from contemporary Havana (WARC Case Study 2012:
p.3). Figure 4 (WARC Case Study 2012: p.4) exhibits genuine Cuban
citizens with a clear reference to the location in the strapline In
Havana. The display of Cuban cultural values throughout this
advert, is a rare creative strategy used for an international
campaign; society shapes consumers basic values, which affect their
behaviour and determine how they respond to various situations
(Belch and Belch 2012: p.640). The application of selling a product
in a different country displaying native values and norms as a form
of selling is usually unresponsive, as each country has certain
cultural traditions, customs and values, which may be
un-transferable between countries and cultures (Belch and Belch
2012: p.136).
Figure 4: Havana Club - Nothing Compares to Havana Advert.
(Source: WARC Case Study 2012: p. 4)
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Target Audience The Havana Club target market in the wake of its
new campaign did not specify a gender target; the spirit rum is a
unisex product internationally, therefore not using any specific
gender selling technique (WARC Case Study 2012: p.2). Both gender
and sexualisation of the gender hold good selling techniques that
cannot be directly applied to the selling of Havana Club, as it is
a unisex advert it must display appeal of both genders. Women are
usually presented as traditional housewives or contemporary
independent women when selling a product directly to a woman, and
men are usually presented as independent and strong with a strong
use of rational appeal when selling directly to a man (Zimmerman
2008: p.72). However, the use of women in an advert selling a male
gender product sexualises a womens body and attitude, and a man in
a female gender product advert displays a good father and/or
husband figure in the form of a metrosexual man (Zimmerman 2008:
p.77). Marketing (2012: p.14) reports there are great alcohol
brands that manage to disproportionately appeal to women without
defining their rai son d'tre [reason for being] by gender. Havana
Club: Nothing Compares to Havana, displays a balanced appeal to
both men and women, the advert displays both genders, neither in a
provocative manner. The lady in the background has a low cut top
and the man physic establishes him to be a strong man, the
interaction between the male and female is positive, these appeals
cover the range of techniques of communicating with both genders.
Print Advertising Print Media is a successful tool of advertising,
used in magazine, newspapers, collateral and out-of-home, figure 4
(WARC Case Study 2012: p.4) displays Havana Club Print advert used
in consumer magazines. Belch and Belch (2012: p.405) suggest
magazines have a number of characteristics that make them
attractive as an advertising medium. Strengths of magazines include
their selectivity, excellence reproduction quality, creative
flexibility, permanence, prestige, readers high receptivity and
involvement and services they offer to advertisements. Bronner and
Neijens (2006) completed a study whereby participants were surveyed
to state their experience of different mediums. As seen in figure 5
(Bronner and Neijens 2006: p.93), print media, newspapers, free
local papers and magazines present the least negative
emotion/irritation experience of participants and magazine medium
presenting the most successful medium in transformational
experiences amongst participants.
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Message The ability to effectively persuade an audience through
the use of print adverting is dependant on the message; the
structure of the advert and message appeal technique (Belch and
Belch 2012: p.195). Havana Club: Nothing Compares to Havana as
exhibited in figure 4 (WARC Case Study 2012: p.2) demonstrates the
most effective display of structure, research on learning and
memory generally indicates that items presented first and last are
remembered better than those presented in the middle. Havana Club
present the product at the bottom of the advert alongside the
strapline and the brands website. The visual content of the advert
is displayed from the top to the middle of the advert; subtly using
persuasive advertising techniques, yellow clothing worn in the
advert reflects the brands trademark colours alongside the
pigmentation of the colour red in the advert. The strapline reads,
In Havana, when you cant find a party, you throw one, a close-ended
conclusion is the technique used; although Belch and Belch (2012:
p.197) suggest, more highly educated people prefer to draw their
own conclusions, they also state even a highly educated audience
may need assistance if its knowledge level in a particular area is
low, it could be assumed that M&C Saatchis market research
presented a lack of knowledge of the Cuban culture, therefore using
this technique as an effective tool. Furthermore, a one-sided
message technique is utilised by Havana Club, due to the campaign
objectives of defending the brands position against rivals Bacardi,
a two-sided message may discourage the brand further; Belch and
Belch (2012: p.197) report one-sided messages are the most
effective when the target audience already holds a favourable
opinion about the topic, M&C Saatchis market research may also
of concluded a favourable opinion on alcohol beverages. Havana
Club: Nothing compares to Havana campaigns advert utilises an
emotional appeal message through transformational techniques. Puto
and Wells (1984: p.638-643) define transformational advertising as
one which associates the experience of using (consuming) the
advertised brand with a unique set of psychological characteristics
which would not typically be associated with the brand experience
to the same degree without exposure to the advertisement. Havana
Club is establishing a cultural belief that will be activated when
consumers use it, transforming their interpretation of the usage
experience (Belch and Belch 2012: p.294). Effective Campaign The
Nothing Compares to Havana campaign set out to defend the brands
position. One objective to reach 3.9 million cases sold globally in
the 2011-2012 fiscal year set to meet its objective, reaching 3.85
million cases globally sold in 2011 alone (WARC Case Study 2012:
p.6). Both business and marketing objectives set out to overtake
rivals Bacardi, as number one rum hot brand, in the Drinks
International Magazine 2012, yearly report, Havana Club was ranked
number one Hot Rum Brand for the first time, and even better became
the
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number one brand in the Bartenders Top 10 for all spirits brands
(WARC Case Study 2012: p.5). The success of the campaign was noted
and awarded with the Grand Prix the gold standard in marketing
communication effectiveness at the Euro Effie Awards 2012 (M&C
Saatchi 2012). The success of the campaign could increase
competition for number one Hot Rum Brand; Bacardi may encourage
their own heritage or loose their vague association with the Latin
heritage, dependant on market research in strategies at the given
time. To encourage further success, Havana Club could promote
social media networks on print media adverts as a call to action,
subtly sharing their brand message and weaving product promotion
(Kincy 2011: p.40). Havana Club were suffering from being the
second best Rum globally, in 2012 the brand teamed up with M&C
Saatchi agency with the clear objective to defend brand position
and become number one. The campaign, Nothing Compares to Havana,
consisted of radio, television, billboard, consumer magazine and
newspaper advertising as well as PR and marketing promotions. The
success of the campaign was evident and the objectives were met
when Drinks International published Hot Rum Brands 2012, with
Havana Rum ranking first place for the first time, with rivals
Bacardi falling short to second place (WARC Case Study 2012:
p.6).
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