Havana Club is the only Cuban brand of international renown that is produced in Cuba, (unlike its main competitor, Bacardi. The city of Havana is an inseparable part of the brand DNA - making it the only credible brand beneficiary of any positive cultural stories around Cuban culture. Hence, our ongoing theme ‘Nothing Compares to Havana’. Discerning premium rum drinkers who value authentic brands with credible cultural stories to tell.International alcohol brands invest in branded content not only to differentiate themselves, but to circumvent tight advertising legislation and as a way to reach a large international audience.

Havana Club has a media budget that is a 10th of Bacardi’s and with all Cuban goods, it cannot be sold in the US which represents 40% of global rum sales

We set out to make a film capturing the vibrancy of contemporary Havana that was critically and commercially successful. Leonardo Padura, an internationally respected Cuban novelist, wrote the script.Heavyweight directors such as Benicio Del Toro, Trapero and Gaspar Noé were commissioned for their international profiles.One of the most awarded independent distributors in Europe with 3 Palmes D’Or agreed to distribute it across 26 countries – including the US.As well as a marketing plan by distributors, an integrated trans-media promotional campaign has commenced from January 2012 including a soundtrack album, graphic novel, web series and merchandising.

As you read this, even before the release of the film, it is already guaranteed to be distributed in 26 countries, including the US, with a marketing budget of €50-150k paid for by each distributor per country.

The distributors have projected that the film will seen by a minimum of 3m people based on the past performance of similar films such as Buena Vista Social Club, a Cuban film and Paris Je T’aime, a city-themed film.It will be screened, hors competition, at the leading international film festival to boost the international profile of the film and give it legitimacy among film critics.

There has already been considerable positive international press coverage even before the film release from publications such as Variety magazine in the US, Arte TV channel in France, Rolling Stone magazine in Italy and The Guardian newspaper in the UK.This positive reception of the film has encouraged Atlantic Screen Music/Universal Records to produce and distribute the film soundtrack.Various acclaimed artists including Artus de Lavilléon agreed to contribute to the 7 days coffee table book based on the film. This book has since been nominated for the prestigious Nuit de Livre prize in Paris.