ENGAGE
A Grand campaign
In this month’s Engage – a recurring feature examining campaigns that successfully take in many elements of airport marketing – Liam Coleman looks at how William Grant & Sons brought the universality of Glenfiddich Grand Cru to life across the whole traveller journey at Singapore Changi Airport.
“Where the industry will see a difference is with the activation support, which is unlike anything done before by William Grant & Sons. We’ve taken cues from the fashion and beauty industry to develop concepts that combine an amazing sensorial experience for consumers with interactive features that exude luxury and create a true sense of celebration and occasion.” That was the bold statement from William Grant & Sons Global Travel Retail Managing Director Ed Cottrell ahead of the impressively ambitious launch for Glenfiddich Grand Cru at Singapore Changi Airport this September.
Like many of the great airport launches for fashion and beauty lines in recent years, the activity surrounding the launch of the new whisky range took in multiple elements of airport communications.
As well as a sleek pop-up in the heart of the Terminal 3 departures area in Changi and a miniature pop-up bar in Terminal 4, 57 dynamic screens across all four of the airport’s terminals brought the launch to life.
Not a barrel in sight: The Grand Cru pop-up owed as much to the beauty and fashion industry as to the world of whisky
Not a barrel in sight: The Grand Cru pop-up owed as much to the beauty and fashion industry as to the world of whisky
The advertising went live on 5 September – the same day as the pop-up’s official launch – and ran for three weeks until 25 September, with the ambition of reaching 3.6 million passengers over the course of the campaign.
“The purpose was to be able to drive as much awareness of the activation and extend that outside of the different terminal spaces,” William Grant & Sons Global Travel Retail Head of Marketing Manjot Riyait explains.
Much like the pop-up in Terminal 3, the advertising campaign took its lead from the beauty and fashion sectors, rather than the drinks trade. Instead of the usual rustic barrels associated with Scotch whisky, the advertisements had rich hues and showcased the sparkle of the bottle. This was, Riyait adds, part of the mission to widen the appeal of the new range.
“Because Grand Cru was about a new occasion and whisky, this was to drive further appeal for both men and women that may not even necessarily be into whisky,” William Grant & Sons Global Travel Retail Head of Marketing Manjot Riyait says
“Because Grand Cru was about a new occasion and whisky, this was to drive further appeal for both men and women that may not even necessarily be into whisky,” William Grant & Sons Global Travel Retail Head of Marketing Manjot Riyait says
“Because Grand Cru was about a new occasion and whisky, this was to drive further appeal for both men and women that may not even necessarily be into whisky. The look and feel of the bottle and adverts were designed to drive awareness with a much larger audience,” she says.
The activation and advertising were all part of wider attempts to ensure the campaign covered multiple platforms. Grand Cru’s launch at Changi was also covered in global press, trade media, the ishopchangi platform and Changi’s social media platforms.
“The idea was to ensure every passenger passing through Changi would see Grand Cru through one medium or another,” Riyait adds.
Sight Lines
Issue 5 | December 2019
Sight Lines is published by The Moodie Davitt Report (Moodie International Ltd) five times a year.
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