To survive and thrive
Fabio Ruffet, Global Brand Director at BACARDÍ Rums.
by Alyssa Jaffer
When your brand revolves around bringing people together through food, drink, hospitality and travel, a sudden global shutdown due to a public health crisis presents a bleak picture.
And yet, some drinks brands like BACARDÍ Rums (a name synonymous with escapist imagery of crowded beach parties that jars with new socially distanced norms) have survived and even thrived in the wake of the global pandemic. How?
We got to know Fabio Ruffet, Global Brand Director at BACARDÍ Rums, to learn how — despite worldwide lockdowns, restricted international travel and a general mood of uncertain listlessnes — BACARDÍ has navigated brand building over the last year.
ALHAUS magazine: Tell us about your career in branding — how did you end up at BACARDÍ?
Fabio Ruffet: I always knew I wanted to work in marketing. From an early age, my favourite part when going to the cinema was often not the movie itself, but the commercials at the beginning. My career started in traditional marketing, but I soon moved into advertising to immerse myself and understand the creative process firsthand.
I found myself working on global campaigns for brands such as Dove and Ford in high-profile shoots with big-name film directors. It was a great way to learn by observing, throwing myself into things I had very little formal experience in.
After a decade in advertising, the opportunity to join BACARDÍ arose. The company was undergoing a transformation, which involved creating a centre of excellence for creativity. What immediately attracted me to BACARDÍ was that it was — and still is — a very entrepreneurial and creative enterprise and there are endless possibilities to try new things.
It was effectively the best of both worlds when it came to agency and client side, all in one. Five years on and with a few different roles under my belt, I am as excited today as I was then about pushing myself into uncharted territories, while being encouraged to take risks as a way of doing business.
American singer Leslie Grace on set. Her new song “Conga” was created in partnership with BACARDÍ as part of their “Conga Feat. You” campaign. Photo courtesy of BACARDÍ.
American rapper Meek Mill and Leslie Grace, who collaborated on “Conga” (created in partnership with BACARDÍ as part of their “Conga Feat. You” campaign). Photo courtesy of BACARDÍ.
AM: How has food and beverage branding been impacted by the pandemic, given its disruption to tourism?
FR: During uncertainty, we see people choosing well-known, trusted brands that they know and love. The closure of the hospitality industry obviously has had an impact on our business, but has also pushed us to create more immersive consumer experiences.
Campaigns have required adjustments to ensure that brands are not promoting a lifestyle and imagery that is unrealistic during the pandemic. On a practical level, we found there was a lot that we could do as a brand to provide utility to consumers seeking opportunities to try new things in the confines of their homes.
Most importantly, we know how much the closures have devastated the industry, so last year we created the Raise Your Spirits initiative, which has donated $4M globally.
AM: How have you effectively led an F&B brand through the uncertainty of the last year?
FR: Over the last couple of years, work towards digital ecosystem acceleration and product development gave us a critical level of preparedness to react to such an unprecedented environment.
It was important to encourage consumers to do things not necessarily expected from a spirits brand: we launched dance lessons and brought millions of people together virtually, through the remix of Conga by Miami Sound Machine and working with artists like Leslie Grace and Meek Mill. The response has been phenomenal.
From launching “le numéro verre”, one of the first mixology concierge services run entirely via WhatsApp, to connecting bartenders to their local communities via food delivery services, we found ways to add value in contextually relevant ways.
In the UK, we partnered with Deliveroo, delivering BACARDÍ cocktails from the nation’s best bars to the doors of consumers. Not only did our fans enjoy bar-quality drinks, but more importantly, it helped bars and bartenders generate income during the crisis. We also partnered with East London restaurant Berber & Q to create barbecue packs and marinades featuring BACARDÍ Spiced during the lockdown.
These pilots have given us real opportunities to test new services and products to maximise our e-commerce offering and develop new products in hot demand.
A mixologist creates a signature BACARDÍ cocktail.
AM: You were promoted during the pandemic, from directing the BACARDÍ Europe brand to overseeing the brand globally — congratulations! What has that change been like for you?
FR: Beyond the global scope of the role (as I love interacting and learning from so many different cultures), I am excited about leading and focusing on global brand strategy, CSR, brand advocacy, experiential and acceleration of our own digital ecosystem. The common denominator is to put consumers at the heart of everything we do, try new things and develop programmes that provide BACARDÍ a competitive edge, irrespective of geographies.
AM: What has the pandemic taught us and what would you say to brands struggling right now?
FR: Each will have its own complexities and challenges, but as we say in Spanish: ‘Every time it has rained, it has stopped.’ Of course this is not just rain, but the principle of seeing a crisis through and being ready to come out stronger still applies. What has paid off for us has been readiness across all the basics, having a very clear strategy during each stage of the pandemic and preparing to emerge from it stronger.