Absolut Haring campaign flies at global travel retail

We caught up with Rae Gibson, Global Brand Director, Travel Retail at Pernod Ricard, to find out why GTR was chosen for the Absolut Vodka Haring launch and how one initiative captured the imagination of younger generations.

Why is GTR so important for Absolut?

We hold global travel retail (GTR) up as a brand-building channel and it makes a significant contribution to the entire Pernod Ricard portfolio. Brand equity scores for travellers are around 30 per cent higher compared to non-travellers, especially for Absolut Vodka, making this audience highly attractive.

It’s a massive opportunity for brands. Over two billion travellers pass through travel retail each year, offering unmatched global reach. This enables brands such as Absolut Vodka to connect with millions at scale, ensuring consistent global visibility and fostering cross-border brand connections.

GTR is also the second-largest market for Absolut Vodka outside the US, while it also provides a unique stage for innovation. It allows us to test new concepts, launch limited-edition bottles and reward shoppers with exclusive first access, as we did with Absolut Warhol last year and Absolut Haring this summer. GTR is an immersive environment with a longer dwell time, enabling us to explore and deepen our storytelling opportunities.

Why did you decide to launch Haring exclusively on GTR?

Last year, with Absolut Warhol, it was the first time that we had an exclusivity period with an artist edition, or end-of-year edition bottle in GTR. It was a big step change for us, but a very successful one. The exclusivity aspect was crucial from both the shopper’s and the retailer’s perspectives. The number one challenge for retailers is getting people into the stores, so you have to make the campaign attractive enough for them to showcase it. The fact that we were able to do that with Absolut Warhol was a huge marker of success for us. It also created a halo effect on the brand overall and we saw an increase in sales across the Absolut Vodka brand during the time period when Absolut Warhol was launched.

How did you approach the Absolut Haring Artist edition GTR activation?

We conducted a brand uplift study during the launch of Absolut Warhol within the airports we were activating, gathering feedback from brand consultants and the people on the ground to help us improve our activation for for the future. Last year, we had a big pop-up activation for Warhol at Amsterdam airport and were activating as far as Brazil. This year, we decided to refine our focus by choosing fewer strategic key locations, focusing on Europe (London and the Nordics) and the Pacific (Australia and New Zealand) to maximise impact. However, we also wanted to test and learn about a couple of new ideas regarding activation, such as using a vending machine at Gatwick and offering an Uber incentive at Heathrow.

Tell us about the vending machine and Uber initiatives.

The vending machine was wrapped with a Haring design. The idea was that people would purchase the bottle at retail and be given a code to enter into the vending machine. They then had the choice of two gifts: an Absolut Haring poster or an Absolut Haring luggage tag. The vending machine was a first for us, but we were able to drive both consumer engagement and conversion in a really distinctive and super fun way. Anecdotal feedback has been really positive so far!

Last year, we partnered with Uber on pre-trip engagement ads to drive awareness for Absolut Warhol. We built on that this year with a ‘wallet’ mechanic, where Uber users going to Heathrow added a coupon to their wallet, which they could use in the store at the airport to redeem for an Absolut Haring poster. We have been informed that we’ve exceeded all of Uber’s benchmarks in terms of engagement, particularly among younger travellers. This was great to hear – the Haring campaign aimed to reignite the artist’s work to a new generation 40 years after our first collaboration. Consumers always love the opportunity to get instant gratification with a gift from a purchase!

How do you make Absolut appealing to travellers in GTR?

Shoppers in travel retail are seeking more than just price advantages compared to domestic markets. Although price is an expectation in duty-free, travellers also look for exclusive products and added value, such as unique experiences or gifts with purchase, which are less common in domestic retail environments. Besides leveraging price promotions at key times of year, we have also recently developed a twin pack (of two Absolut Vodka bottles) that is proving successful. It may not sound particularly exciting, but the green and blue design is beautiful and really stands out. It gives us the real estate to drive that mixability messaging, as we include simple cocktail recipes to encourage at-home cocktail occasions. It drives incredible standout on the shelf. Our team works very well with Absolut Vodka, creating immersive and engaging activations that benefit our shoppers, customers and ourselves throughout the year.