I prepared this document for a rum brand in 2012. Nothing ever came of the meeting, but I thought my followers might enjoy seeing a discussion document that highlights how to make a brand super premium. It was meant for a presentation-style meeting so some slides may not be 100% clear, but it should still be an enjoyable read.

1. Mount Gay Rum
How to Become “Super Premium”

2. “We argue that moving away from
product to corporate branding means
moving from communications/
marketing driven activity towards
adapting a brand-based strategy for
managing the organization. Corporate
branding implies that the whole
organization serves as the foundation
for brand positioning...”
2 Source: R. Elliot & K. Wattanasuwan, International Journal of Advertising, 1998

3. AGENDA
WHO AM I?
GLOBAL RUM MARKET
SUPER PREMIUM BRAND STRATEGY
US RUM MARKET
SUPER PREMIUM BRAND IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY
3

4. STRATEGIC MARKETER AND BRAND SPECIALIST
• Overall, Dexter has 12 years of branding experience in the beverage space and has built an
extensive network of contacts and has tremendous experience in managing and leveraging key
trade, distributor and retailer partners.
• In 2009 Dexter launched Morpheus Imports, Inc, an importer of wines and spirits from across
the globe. Dot Au vodka is the first product to be launched in the US.
• From 2007-2009, Dexter was a senior brand manager of Strategic Alliances and Luxury Gifting
in Diageo NA’s Reserve (Luxury) Brand Group.
• Prior to joining DIAGEO, he served as a senior brand manager at Moët Hennessy USA (LVMH)
where he led Hennessy’s Privilege VSOP and its luxury Prestige Range from 2003-2007.
• Prior to entering the alcoholic beverage industry, Dexter was a brand manager at The Coca-
Cola Company in Atlanta from 1999-2003 where he marketed many of their flagship products
like DASANI, diet Coke, Fruitopia, Cherry Coke and Minute Maid sodas.
• Dexter began his marketing career as a brand management intern working on the Head and
Shoulders brand at the Procter and Gamble Company in Cincinnati, OH.
Who am I?
Media Coverage
2005 BizBash Magazine
Event Planner of the year
Skills:
Brand Strategy & Mgmt
Corporate Strategy
Organizational Leadership
Innovation/New Product Dev
Internet/Social Media Strategy
Media Planning & Buying

5. Highlights: Global Rum Market
Rum is a fast growing, lucrative segment dominated
by big global players
• Five global giants control 65% of overall spirits globally and 4 have major
rum brands in their portfolios.
• The global rum market is 150MM 9L cases and 12% of global spirits [2009
IWSR]
• Rum’s CAGR = +7.4% from 2004-2009 and is projected to grow +3.4%
2010-2014 [IWSR & Euromonitor 2014 Rum Market Forecast (2009)]
Diageo Pernod Ricard Bacardi Fortune Brands
Captain Morgan Havana Club Bacardi Cruzan
Zacapa Rum Malibu Coconut Rum Bacardi Flavors Ronrico
Myer’s Rum Montilla CastilloRon Conch Republic
Ron Cacique Palmas
Pampero Ron Ron Estelar
Bundaberg Rum
* Diageo Annual Report 2010 & Impace Databank 2011

6. Key Global Rum Markets*
6
Key Market Global Market Share CAGR (2007-2009)
USA 28.9% 5%
India 10.4% 16%
Spain 7.0% 2%
Canada 6.5% 4%
UK 5.7% 8%
Germany 4.2% 3%
France 3.5% 7%
Venezuela 2.5% 50%
Dominican Republic 2.4% 15%
Australia 2.1% 12%
Top 10 Rum Markets Represent 73.2% of Volume
*Source: 2009 IWSR (Intl Wine & Spirits Research) Report

7. “The old brand model, which
advocated the creation of an external
brand image to influence consumers,
is a thing of the past... brands must be
better from the inside out. They must
embrace a cultural shift.”
7 Source: The Liquid Agency, Brand Culture White Paper, 2012

8. PURPOSE
THE REASON
YOU EXIST BEYOND
MAKING MONEY
(NEVER CHANGES)
GOALS
SHORT-TERM OBJECTIVES THAT SUPPORT YOUR MISSION AND VISION
(1-5 YEARS)
THE STRATEGIC PYRAMID
MISSION
A MASTER PLAN
FOR CREATING VALUE
(5-20 YEARS)
VISION
A SHARED PICTURE
OF MISSION SUCCESS
(5-20 YEARS)
LIQUID AGENCY
Strategic Pyramid: The “What” of Brand Strategy
8 Source: The Liquid Agency, 2012
Google:
To organize the world’s information
and make it universally accessible.
Coca-Cola:
To refresh the world
PURPOSE VISION
JFK Space Program:
Put a man on the moon by the end
of the 1960s
Mount Gay Rum:
Become a Top 5 rum brand in the
USA by 2018

9. Mount Gay Rum is the ONLY _____
that _____.
9 Source: R. Elliot & K. Wattanasuwan, International Journal of Advertising, 1998
Mount Gay Rum: What Makes It “The Only?”
ex - HARLEY DAVIDSON
WHAT: The only motorcycle manufacturer
HOW: that makes big, loud motorcycles
WHO: for macho guys
WHERE: mostly in the USA
WHY: who want to join a gang of cowboys
WHEN: in an era of decreasing personal freedom

10. THE CONVERSATION VALUE
GENERATED BY INVENTIVE
ACTIVITIES AND EXPERIENCES.
“THE REASON TO TALK”
CREATE
BRAND MYTHOLOGY
THE AUTHENTIC, AND UNIQUE
BRAND STORY THAT HAS THE
POWER TO EXCITE PEOPLE
AND MAKE THEM CURIOUS
Who do we TARGET with Mount Gay?
A NEW CLASS OF
INFLUENCERS,
INDEPENDENT THINKERS
AND DOERS THAT ARE NOT
AFRAID TO STAND OUT,
EMBRACE AUTHENTICITY
WHILE LEAVING CLASSLESS
LUXURY FOR DEAD
THE REBELLIOUS
ELITE™
ESTABLISH
CULTURAL RELEVANCE

11. Consumer Target: The Rebellious Elite™
The Rebellious Elite™ - A new class of influencers, independent
thinkers and doers that are not afraid to stand out and embrace
authenticity while leaving classless luxury for dead.
•Marketing Target: Age = 27 yrs
•Volume Target: Age = 25 - 35 yrs
•Psychographic: Global travelers who party
where the weather is best. They’re transitioning
to adulthood and deciding who they want to be
and what brands will represent that mindset.

12. “In consumer culture people no longer
consume for merely functional
satisfaction, but consumption
becomes meaning-based, and brands
are often used as symbolic resources
for the construction and maintenance
of identity”*
12 Source: R. Elliot & K. Wattanasuwan, International Journal of Advertising, 1998

13. Amer Whiskey
11%
Impor Whiskey
14%
Gin
6%
Vodka
31%
Rum
13%
Tequila
6%
Cognac
6%
Liqueurs
11%
Cocktails
3%
13
US Distilled Spirits Consumption by Category
2009
Source: Adams 2010 Advanced
Rum is 3rd largest segment in the US and is growing about +2.5%
Vodka’s % of Distilled SpiritsVodka’s % of Distilled SpiritsVodka’s % of Distilled Spirits
2007 2008 2009
28.9% 29.5% 31%

14. Mount Gay volume has been flat in the USA
14
200
400
600
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
0 1 3 2 6 711 20 26 27 23 22
57
125
213
344
475
575
0 0
69 73
118
195190 190 197 207 195 193
Cases(000s)
Mount Gay Don Q Sailor Jerry 10 Cane
Oronoco
If Mount Gay increased its share of US rum market to 1% its volume would be 255K
cases and after a growth rate of +32%

15. 2010 Top Rum Markets in USA
15
State Volume CDI Growth Rate Mount Gay
Fair Share*
1
Florida 2.7MM 178 2.5% 20.4K
2
California 2.5MM 82 2.4% 18.9K
3
New York 2.1MM 127 2.0% 15.9K
4
Texas 1.3MM 69 2.2% 9.8K
5
Illinois 1.1MM 108 2.2% 8.3K
6
New Jersey 1.1MM 147 2.3% 8.3K
*Based on Mount Gay Rum US Market Share of 0.76%
(1) California and Texas are underdeveloped rum markets
(2) Mount Gay should be generating 81.6K cases and 42% of its volume in Top 6 markets*

16. Mount Gay Rum’s 5 Stage Repositioning Model
5
Full Portfolio
and
Continuous
360 Degree
Growth Driver
Activation
4
Expand and
Deepen
Distribution
Global Duty
Free Strategy
3
Tier 2 On-
Trade
Distribution
Tier 2 Off-
Trade
Distribution
Luxury 3rd
Party
Partnerships
2
Influencer
Adoration
Activation
(Guru/Key
Decision
Maker
Strategy)
Mentorship
Activation
(Events/
Training/
Education)
PR and Media
Visibility
Activation
Retail
Distribution
and Activation
(in the Top-
End Leader
Accounts)
Foundations for GrowthFoundations for GrowthFoundations for GrowthFoundations for GrowthFoundations for GrowthFoundations for GrowthFoundations for GrowthFoundations for Growth Commercial PlanningCommercial PlanningCommercial PlanningCommercial PlanningCommercial PlanningCommercial PlanningCommercial PlanningCommercial Planning
1
Top Tier Mgmt
and Sales
Organization
Portfolio of
Exceptional
Brands
Superior
Consumer
Understanding
Establish
Route-to-
Market
Define Top-
End Leader
Accounts
Develop
Influencer
Adoration
(Select Gurus,
Trade
Partners)
Strategy
Plan PR and
Media
Visibility
Years 1 - 2
Years 2 - 3
Years 3 - 4
Years 4+
First 3-6
Months

17. PR
Influencer
Strategic
Alliances
Training
Material
Packaging
CRM
Sampling &
Drink Rituals
Retail
Theater
Advertising
Brand
Experience
Interactive
Mount Gay Rum’s
Marketing Growth Drivers

18. “A people’s ethos is the tone,
character and quality of their life, its
moral and aesthetic style and mood; it
is the underlying attitude toward
themselves and their world that life
reflects.”
18 Source: C. Gertz, The Interpretation of Culture, 1973

19. Brand Platform: Surf/Sailing Culture
Luxury manifested in living where and how you want while doing whatever you want
when YOU decide.

20. Mount Gay’s Digital Strategy:
Consumer Generated Ecosystem
Create a brand-equity-building Internet ecosystem utilizing social media
(Facebook, Twitter), blogs (Tumblr) and mobile (Instagram, Foursquare) to connect
with target consumers. Enable brand connection by requesting and posting
consumer-generated content via Internet ecosystem.

21. Brand Promotional Calendar
Mount Gay rum’s promotional calendar will be conducted in cities with satellite surf
culture towns, i.e. NYC + Montauk (Hamptons) and take place during their high
seasons.
Essentially, Mount Gay rum will be where the Rebellious Elite “plays” and vacations.
Spring/Summer:
NYC + Montauk; Boston +
Vineyard
Fall/Winter:
LA + SoCal Coast; Miami

22. Example - Brand Equity Partnership
Using principle of “borrowed equity” Mount Gay rum should partner with brands that
are already establish super premium/luxury players.
The strategic partners should also support Mount Gay’s brand positioning and platform.
Hinckley Yachts
Events for Hinckley

23. 23
Packaging Upgrade Case Study
BENEFITS
of
PACKAGING
UPGRADE*
•Provided
a
mechanism
for
consumers
to
re-­‐consider
the
brand
•Generated
tons
of
PR
&
Press
due
to
it
being
“new
news”
•Increased
Smirnoff’s
“super
premium”
cues
at
a
premium
price
(increased
value)
•Combined
with
advertising
to
provide
enough
value
for
price
increases
•Helped
brand
to
increase
its
execution
of
retail
theater
resulting
in
higher
distribution
of
volume
driving
displays
•Enabled
brand
to
benefit
from
consumer
switch
to
off-­‐premise
purchase
patterns
during
recession
Smirnoff has added 1.5MM cases since 2005
*Anecdotal analysis based on work experience

24. 24
Mount Gay Rum Cocktail Program
Cocktail Program: Should be developed by high end talent behind influential bars and cocktail culture
SHOTS/SHOOTERS
CLUB
COCKTAILS
HIGH
END
COCKTAILS
Mount Gay’s versatility, both in cocktails and drinking occasions, will drive
velocity.

25. 25
Thank You