Bundaberg Red is a story about a product that was originally created to recruit bourbon drinkers into rum but became an opportunity for the Bundaberg brand to defend its market share and user base against a larger category full of big brands and big media spends.

Bundaberg Red rum was created in 2008 as a smoother tasting rum to convert bourbon drinkers to rum. Red was successful at launch but its sales tailed off as commercial support declined. By the beginning of 2012, the business was in steep decline. Furthermore, the bourbon category had become a much bigger threat to rum and was sucking share out of the category. Rum drinkers were switching to bourbon because they sought out the smoothness offered by bourbon. As these traditional rum drinkers brought bourbon into their repertoire, consumption of rum decreased. The Bundaberg brand needed to reassert its smoothness credentials with Red and reverse “trading out” behaviour.

Problem – How do we take on Bourbon through Bundaberg Red’s smooth credentials?

Creative Solution – Make smoothness desirable in rum by telling people that they don’t deserve it.

The idea was a campaign called “As Smooth As Life Is Rough” that delivered an ingenious analogy that shows the extraordinary, yet wasted sensory ability of other organisms to make people appreciate the smooth flavour of Bundaberg Rum.

The campaign outperformed all growth and brand health goals. In markets where the campaign ran, value growth exceeded 13% and outpaced national sales by over 4.5% while key consumption measures (i.e. trial, conversion) were increased.

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