The Campaign

Bundaberg Rum has always formed meaningful connections with consumers be taking them to the brand’s heart, in the form of distillery tours. But in 2011 Bundaberg was hit by disastrous floods that left the distillery underwater. The floods, combined with the distillery’s remote location, meant visitors were in decline, and the brand was in trouble. The objective of the campaign was to re-establish a connection between consumers and the heart of Bundaberg Rum. If Australia couldn’t go to Bundaberg, our solution was to take Bundaberg’s heart to Australia, so we created The Distillatorium—an innovative mobile experience that travels the country in an 18-wheeler truck. When it arrives at its destination, a hydraulic system transforms the truck into The Distillatorium—a museum/house of entertainment that takes people into Bundaberg’s past, and its future. Since the Distillatorium has been on the road, thousands of people have experienced it. It stirs up a storm of press everywhere it goes. Bundaberg Rum has become the fastest growing dark spirit in Australia. And the heart of Bundaberg Rum has been firmly planted in the hearts of local communities all over Australia. This entry is relevant to the PR lions (events and/or stunts) because it is the first innovative mobile event of this scale to be executed in Australia. Never before has a company taken its factory on a tour that is entertaining, engaging, and also endless.

The Brief

The goal of the campaign was to educate people on Bundaberg’s heritage in an entertaining way. And to form a connection between the heart of the Bundaberg brand, and the heart of Australia. The campaign would be considered a success of 90,000 people were given an experience, and 20,000 were signed up for Bundy’s facebook community.

Results

The Distillatorium is the first innovative mobile experience of this scale in Australia. Never before has a company attempted to take their factory into the hearts of local communities. By taking the distillery on an endless tour of Australia, The Distillatorium let people experience the distillery and engage with Bundy’s heritage in an entertaining way, without going anywhere. After six months on the road, the Distillatorium has visited 22 locations. Thousands have experienced the Distillatorium and it helped Bundy’s facebook community reach 110,000. Wherever the Distillatorium goes, national and local media follow—newspapers, magazines and local networks have run hundreds of articles. Since launch Bundaberg has become the fastest growing dark spirit in Australia. The Distillatorium has created countless Rumbassadors—devoted fan bases spreading the word of Bundy in their community—a result that means the heart of Bundy is now firmly planted in the hearts of local communities all over Australia.

Execution

If Australia couldn’t come to the distillery, we’d take the distillery to Australia. To do this we created The Distillatorium. This innovative mobile experience travels the country in an 18-wheeler truck. When it arrives at its destination, a hydraulic system transforms the truck into The Distillatorium—a museum/house of entertainment that takes people into Bundaberg’s past, and its future. Once inside, crowds view unique content, an antique tasting room, a library of curiosities, interactive timeline, full service bar. The Distillatorium is on the road 365 days, stopping at towns, cities, remote communities, music festivals, road shows and local events.

The Situation

Bundaberg Rum has always formed meaningful connections with consumers through tours of their distillery. In 2011 Bundaberg was hit by the disastrous floods, which left the distillery underwater. The floods, combined with the distillery’s remote location, meant visitors were in decline, and the brand was in trouble. The objective of the campaign was to educate people on Bundaberg’s heritage, but also to form a bond between the heart of Bundaberg (the distillery) and the heart of Australia.

The Strategy

The target audience was 18—45 year old males and females, who both had and hadn’t drunk Bundaberg. Most of these people had grown up with the Bundaberg brand. To them Bundy is a brand that is rooted in their country’s culture, but over the last few years the brand has become irrelevant, and they have lost interest in it.