Captain Morgan spiced rum pushes for Christmas sales

Diageo aims to push rum-based spirits sales through heightened activity for Captain Morgan’s spiced rum.

An overall £2 million investment in the category will see heightened activity on digital media and through consumer facing PR.

To help maintain momentum over the festive season, the company is running a high profile digital campaign to raise consumer awareness of the brand.

One of the major pull factors of the campaign is the possibility of winning a “legendary Captain’s Christmas” kit worth £1,000.

The kit contains an assortment of items deemed necessary for a “legendary” Christmas party, including decorations, crackers, festive outfits, and a Nintendo Wii plus games, as well as music and a take away food voucher.

One kit is given out every week in the run up to Christmas.

The kit has a Caribbean theme to it, in keeping with the recent global campaign that ran via the Captain Morgan Facebook page, which offered consumers a chance to win an “adventure” on a private Caribbean island, worth 15,000 $US.

Violeta Andreva, senior brand manager for Captain Morgan’s Spiced at Diageo, comments: “The golden rum and rum-based spirit category is experiencing strong growth and is one that retailers should get behind to maximise their sales at Christmas, to provide shoppers and consumers with a perfect drink for their Christmas parties. Our Legendary Captain’s Christmas kit will help emphasise our recommended Captain and cola serve, a great tasting drink that is easy to make and ideal for a range of festive occasions. We expect the digital element of the campaign to encourage consumer interaction and create a buzz around the category in the lead up to Christmas, driving purchase.”

Captain Morgan’s spiced rum is the leading spirit in its category in the UK and is growing at 57% in the off-trade – adding £12.4m in value to the golden and rum-based spirit category.