 |
The Whisky Lounge at Frankfurt Airport was a partnership between Diageo, Heinemann Duty Free and Fraport |
GERMANY. Gebr Heinemann and Diageo Global Travel & Middle East have revealed details of the Whisky Lounge, an exclusive Trinity-style collaboration at Frankfurt Airport.
Thanks to a partnership between Diageo, Heinemann Duty Free and Fraport, the brand activation focused on the premium selection from the Diageo portfolio of blended Scotch whiskies and single malts. It ran simultaneously across all terminals at Frankfurt from mid-August to the end of October.
Heinemann and Fraport installed staff, promotional materials and screen messages and made passenger announcements throughout the terminals to communicate the message.
The cross-airport activity centred on interaction with shoppers, including specially trained staff operating across the airport to invite travellers into the participating stores. Inside, shoppers learned about the Diageo whisky portfolio.
Highlights included the European debut of Johnnie Walker Double Black blended Scotch whisky and the Heinemann launch of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, The John Walker Edition blended Scotch whiskies (alongside the familiar Johnnie Walker Black Label, Johnnie Walker Gold Label blended Scotch whiskies and Johnnie Walker Green Label 15yo blended malt whisky).
Other whisky brands included four single malts: The Singleton 12yo, Dalwhinnie 15yo, Talisker 10yo and Cragganmore single malt Scotch whiskies.
 |  |
Left: The European debut of Johnnie Walker Double Black; Right: The John Walker blended Scotch whisky | |
The Whisky Lounge was supported by a variety of promotions designed to appeal to all passengers. These included a range of premium quality gwps, including luxury glassware and a specialist book on malt whisky to help educate consumers on the heritage, serve and appreciation of the whiskies offered.
A mix-and-match promotion offered “˜2 for €79′ on the range of three luxury single malts: Dalwhinnie, Talisker and Cragganmore.
In addition, passengers could enter a competition to win a luxury weekend in Paris for six, which they entered via the Heinemann website. The winners were flown to the French capital in one of Lufthansa’s private jets.
Second prize was a golden octagonal dress by Franco-Spanish designer Paco Rabanne; and third prize was 180,000 air miles from the Lufthansa Miles & More rewards programme (the equivalent of a first class flight to Asia from Europe).
Sampling was a strong element of the Whisky Lounge. Heinemann’s ‘Taste before you travel’ activity offered guided tastings of the single malts and Johnnie Walker Double Black, including chocolates from Hachez and Feodora.
Diageo GTME Trade Marketing Manager Constanze Salamanca commented: “The Whisky Lounge was a major activation in every aspect and was one of the largest and most sustained promotions ever carried out across such a large selection of our premium whisky portfolio. The activity was complemented by the scale and quality of the in-store and cross-airport messaging that Heinemann and Fraport delivered. It was also supported by exceptional levels of customer service input from the sales teams, created a truly exceptional experience for the whisky shopper at Frankfurt.”
Shoppers targeted before reaching the airport
Shoppers were targeted before they even reached the airport. Salamanca continued: “In order to drive footfall we successfully used several touchpoints such as flight schedule screens, Heinemann’s homepage, newsletters, leaflets in Lufthansa Business Lounges, Fraport shopping assistants landside and airside, as well as Fraport leaflets across the airport with big screen visibility in-store.
“We were delighted that a large number of shoppers visited the store having been made aware of the Whisky Lounge in advance. This proves that the combination of various touch-points that communicated the promotion to the consumer on their journey through the airport worked out really well and has driven incremental footfall.
“With the European arrival of the Johnnie Walker Double Black Blended Scotch whisky, we worked closely with Heinemann to deliver an amazing blend of innovation, exclusivity and service. The incomparable global appeal of the Diageo whisky portfolio provided our retail partners with unique opportunities to share in delivering out of the ordinary experiences and we were delighted with the way that Heinemann have seized that opportunity.”
Gebr Heinemann Trade Marketing Manager Britta Johannsen explained how the Whisky Lounge supported that strategy: “The Whisky Lounge was a powerful expression of our strategy to give the shopper at Frankfurt such an outstanding premium experience that they ended up thinking that “˜It has to be Heinemann’.
“The Heinemann experience is based upon spectacular installations and outstanding levels of service but it is essential that we carry innovations in products and promotions that excite the shopper, and the Diageo portfolio delivered exactly that. We were especially delighted to host the European launch of Johnnie Walker Double Black.”
As the latest venture between Diageo and Heinemann, the Whisky Lounge built on other activations over the past few years, including the Passport to Luxury and The Luxury Lounge.
 |
Heinemann’s ‘Taste before you travel’ activity offered guided tastings of the single malts and Johnnie Walker Double Black |
Advertisement |
