Havana Club
Create
Pernod Ricard asked us to help launch their first mainstream foray into customisation. The brand was Havana Club, an iconic Cuban rum, and the focus product was the 7 Year Old rum.
We were delighted when we were given the opportunity to develop a customisation experience, allowing users to learn about the brand, create their own labels and engage more deeply with the brand.
Each customisation palette was based on a specific narrative designed to convey the brand’s heritage and cultural relevance. Illustrations for each palette were developed with brand authenticity and storytelling in mind.
Customisation options were designed to be deep enough to unlock creativity, but light enough for those who just wanted to play.
And to ensure the project could be used for years to come, we developed a robust system of design to allow for additional future palettes.
To kick start the project we carried out intensive research into other brands that successfully offer customisation to customers. We analysed the customisation experiences, how they manifest physically and how they fit into the overall brand ecosystem.
Following our discovery phase, we landed on 4 strategic pillars that we would respect throughout the customer journey and creative development. In particular, the creative strategy gave us inspiration for the project name. In the end, we settled for Havana Club Create.
With the experience name in place, we developed a simple, expressive logotype for the project. The word CREATE was juxtaposed against HAVANA CLUB to explicitly convey the creative nature of the experience, but without forfeiting the Havana Club heritage.
To develop the customer journey, we took into account the different market segments, and mapped out what would inspire them to continue the journey through to completion.
To introduce different storytelling points of view, we created three palettes, each referencing a different part of Havana Club’s heritage and Cuban culture. Each palette was supported by colours, illustrations, animated patterns allowing you to build your own label.
With all the creative ingredients in place, we begun to design the desktop and mobile experiences We used moving elements throughout to bring the experience to life, and the experience culminated in a 360 degree 3D bottle, that the user could rotate and explore their custom label from all angles. We collaborated with our sister agency Rosie Lee digital on the design and build of the overall experience.
We created a video to introduce the project to users, and to visually explain the customisation journey. The video features animated illustrations and the 3D bottle displaying the label options available through the experience.
Once launched, the project was an immediate hit with the brand team and with customers, and expansions of the experience are already under consideration.
Try it for yourself:
https://havana-club.com/en/havana-club-create