BACARDÍ **Untameable launch**

ROLE: UK PR, EVENTS, PARTNERSHIPS AND MUSIC LEAD

Overview

I led the UK earned, experiential and partnerships strategy for BACARDÍ’s Untameable Since 1862 platform - a global repositioning rooted in the brand’s Cuban heritage, resilience and rebellious spirit. The work translated a late-stage global campaign into meaningful UK relevance, using earned storytelling, liquid credibility and on-trade engagement to reinforce BACARDÍ’s cultural and commercial position with younger audiences.

Rather than replicate global ATL, the UK approach focused on editorial value, experience and advocacy, ensuring the Untameable idea felt authentic, premium and newsworthy in-market.

The Challenge

The Untameable platform launched globally toward the end of 2013, creating a specific UK challenge:

Limited opportunity for a traditional “big bang” launch
No new ATL moment to anchor media attention
A need to avoid repetition while still reinforcing the new positioning
Rebuilding credibility with drinks media and the on-trade

The task was to create fresh earned relevance - not noise - and to bring the Untameable story to life through lived experience rather than announcement.

Strategy

I designed an earned-first UK framework built around three principles:

Heritage as cultural currency: Using the Bacardí family story and Cuban roots as editorial substance, not nostalgia
Liquid-led credibility: Reasserting rum authority through education, craft and cocktail culture
Experience before amplification: Letting media, trade and influencers experience the brand world first-hand, then tell the story themselves

This ensured the global idea landed locally with integrity, relevance and longevity.

Earned & Experiential Execution

Media & On-Trade Briefings
A series of regional and London-based briefings combining brand education, cocktail mastery and editorial access:

London:
- The Savoy - trade and brand education briefings
- One Mayfair - consumer and on-trade launch event
Manchester:
- Albert Hall - consumer press masterclass and on-trade event
Glasgow:
- The Old Fruit Market - consumer press masterclass and on-trade event

Each session included senior brand storytelling, cocktail masterclasses led by the UK Brand Ambassador, and structured interview access for attending media.

Press Trip: Miami & Puerto Rico
I developed and led a press trip for key consumer features and drinks journalists, designed to immerse media in the Untameable story:

Bacardí family archives
Puerto Rico distillery visit
Deep education on liquid craftsmanship and heritage
Interactive cocktail masterclasses

The trip was engineered to generate long-form lifestyle and features coverage, rather than short news hits, reinforcing depth, authenticity and premium credentials.

Editorial Architecture

Media outreach was structured around tailored angles to maximise relevance across titles:

The Bacardí family story and Untameable heritage
The evolution of the bat icon and brand design
Craft, history and modern rum culture
Cocktail culture and contemporary masculinity
Behind-the-scenes of the Untameable creative platform

This ensured consistent messaging while allowing editors to approach the story through their own lens.

Assets Delivered

UK consumer and marketing press releases
Curated press packs and gifting for priority media
Heritage imagery and ATL stills
UK TV advert and making-of content
Cocktail and liquid education assets

Measurement & Outcomes

The UK activation delivered:

Sustained coverage across UK lifestyle, drinks and marketing media
Renewed credibility with drinks press and on-trade opinion formers
Strong engagement with culturally curious, younger audiences
Reinforced perception of BACARDÍ as a resilient, heritage-driven brand with contemporary relevance
Effective UK amplification of a global platform without reliance on paid launch mechanics

Strategic Impact

The Untameable UK programme demonstrated how a global brand platform can be reframed through earned storytelling and experience to deliver local relevance, credibility and commercial support. It strengthened BACARDÍ’s cultural positioning in the UK, rebuilt authority around liquid and heritage, and created a repeatable model for market-level amplification without dilution.

ON TRADE EVENTS

MEDIA ANGLES

Continuous outreach to gold media and wider media with the following PR angles:

Consumer News: The men behind iconic BACARDÍ cocktails, the history and heritage behind the ‘Untameable’ Bacardi family, the story behind iconic cocktails
Consumer Features Surprisingly manly cocktails
Design Titles: The evolution of the bat logo and revised logo, heritage imagery
Marketing: The ‘making of the advert’, the story behind the advert and the Bacardi families history & heritage, interviews with BACARDÍ spokespeople

ASSETS DELIVERED

Press packs and gift (to key gold media)
Consumer press release
Marketing press release
Heritage imagery & ATL stills
Video of the UK advert and ‘making of documentary’

PRESS PACK EXAMPLE

STORYTELLING INCLUDED IN PRESS PACK EXAMPLE

RESULTS

Media Coverage: Significant coverage in major UK outlets.
Social Media Engagement: High engagement from influencer partnerships.
Increased Awareness: Boosted brand awareness among millennials.
Enhanced Perception: Strengthened the brand's image as resilient and rebellious.

This strategy successfully elevated Bacardi's brand presence and connected with the UK market.