Captain Morgan rum has added another element to its multi-million dollar “Calling all Captains” campaign: A customizable voicemail tool that lets people send goofy calls to friends.
The tool, built by MRM Worldwide, can be found online. The promotion targets Captain Morgan’s core customer, 21 to 25 year old males, who can choose from three voicemail scenarios, the “cute girl” at the bar, the “angry boyfriend” or the “un-paid bartender.” The point of the tool is to keep friends communicating about their nights out on the town.
In addition to contributing a persons name and mobile number, people using the tool must also answer a number of questions such as a description of the person the call is going to, where they have run a tab lately, did they order any food and the name of a mutual friend.
The message is sent either directly to voicemail or the recipients’ phone rings once and then the message goes to voicemail, depending on the recipient’s phone carrier.
The tool has been up for one week and getting a “good response.” A few last minute kinks are being worked out before marketing support goes into full swing in the coming weeks, Tom Herbst, the director of marketing for Diageo Rums, said.
He said there were backend costs to develop the Web site and that the company purchased 50,000 calls at “pennies” a call.
The voicemail tool will be promoted at many of the 6,000 on-and off-premise events the brand holds throughout the year. Information about the tool will be distributed and some demonstrations will be held. The tool will also be promoted via a number of social networking sites and will be added to Captain Morgan’s Facebook page, which has 30,000 fans.
The “Calling All Captains” campaign launched in June to replace the “Got a Little Captain in You?” slogan, which was last seen in March. Under the new campaign, 12 TV spots created by Grey Worldwide will roll this year (seven have so far), thousands of on- and off- premise events will be held along with PR, outdoor advertising and digital promotions.
Captain Morgan is the third largest spirit by volume. Last year sales grew 2.5% and more than six million cases were sold, Herbst said.
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