Following the launch of Snow Leopard Vodka into Asian travel retail last September with Mongolian Airlines, Edrington Asia Travel Retail is running a series of initiatives at key Asian airports to further promote the brand.
Customers who purchase Snow Leopard Vodka will receive a hand-woven snow leopard ornament, made in Mongolia by women in rural herding communities. This GWP activation, which is exclusive to travel retail and will run while stocks last, is currently taking place at Incheon International Airport with Lotte Duty Free and in Taiwan Taoyuan Airport with Ever Rich Duty Free, Tasa Meng and Taiwan Tobacco Liquor Corporation, where Snow Leopard has been on shelves since the beginning of the year.
Snow Leopard recently launched with King Power Thailand at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, DFS at Singapore Changi Airport, and DFZ at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Arrivals stores, where sampling activations are running until the end of April. It is expected to hit DFS stores in Hong Kong in May 2015.
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Above: the Snow leopard marketing visuals; below: the hand-woven ornament that is being handed out as a GWP with purchases of Snow Leopard | |
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Communities from 12 countries participate in the Snow Leopard Enterprises programme, a scheme run by the Snow Leopard Trust which provides training and equipment to enable communities who share snow leopard habitat to make handmade items from the raw wool of their livestock. The Snow Leopard Trust then purchases the finished items at a mutually agreed price. In return, participating communities must abide by conservation agreements that protect both the snow leopard and its prey.
These traditional nomadic communities were previously completely dependent on their livestock for income and often resorted to hunting snow leopards to prevent attacks on their herds. Now these communities are actively protecting the snow leopards.
Edrington Asia Travel Retail Managing Director Ryan Hill commented: “Snow Leopard Vodka is built on a unique vision and has a compelling story. Communicating these actively through customer interaction and sampling is therefore a key pillar in our growth strategy for the brand and one which is proving successful to date. Asia remains a less mature market for the vodka category but one which has major growth potential. By targeting major Asian airport locations, we aim to put Snow Leopard Vodka at the forefront of this growth, not only building the brand through increased consumer awareness but also working towards our long-term goals for snow leopard conservation.”
15% of all Snow Leopard Vodka profits are donated to snow leopard conservation projects. Edrington’s long-term goal is to raise US$1,000,000 annually for snow leopard conservation.
