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Drink Well - Best of Both Worlds with Dos Maderas Rum
The Best ofBoth WORLDS
Visual Storytelling with Dos Maderas Rum
By Michael Tulipan
With opportunities for face-toface consumer education on hold, brands look to connect in more captivating ways with their audience. Rum producer Dos Maderas recognized the opportunity to better tell its own story and set about designing a robust new digital destination to introduce its portfolio of premium rums to both consumers and the trade. “A steady increase of sales over the past three years has increased interest in the brand,” says Gonzalo Medina García, Bodegas Williams & Humbert International Marketing Director. “Yet they did not have a verified destination to learn and connect with the product and the story. Given the growing importance of brands having an online presence in the market, we felt it was time to create a digital footprint for Dos Maderas.”
Newly launched DosMaderas. com lets the brand convey its tagline “One Spirit, Two Cultures” through visual storytelling. Visitors are greeted with a striking series of videos that breeze from picturesque Caribbean locales to the stages of production. The homepage flows beneath
the videos, giving visitors a clear, broad overview at key points, as well as the option to dive deeper into each section, whether the creation of its rums, details on individual bottlings, or cocktail suggestions.
One section, “Delve into Our Craft,” offers a graphic representation of the rum-making process with an overview of the spirits’ origins and aging. Combining the best of both worlds, the rum is first aged in the tropics then transported to Jerez, Spain, where the blend is matured for a second time in the traditional sherry solera system. Along the way, the company’s remarkable devotion to quality is evident at each stage of the process. Sugarcane is harvested in peak condition between February and June, fermented and distilled in Guyana and Barbados, then aged five years in ex-bourbon casks. The resulting rums have the characteristics of their homes, light and refined from Barbados, more full-bodied from Guyana. After careful blending, the rum is sent for final aging in 20-year-old Palo Cortado casks at renowned sherry bodega Williams & Humbert.
Social media has increased the brand’s exposure, and the team has launched dedicated social channels in five markets. including the United States, Czech Republic, France, and more. “Over the past two years, we have seen a significant increase in web search terms for Dos Maderas,” says Medina García, “as well as an increase in social media engagement from community posts to followers from all over the world.” In addition, he says the company discovered key differences in the audiences, which led to the splitting of accounts. For example, Czech citizens respond to rum being served neat, while Americans are more interested in cocktails.
Premium aged rums have been driving the category’s growth for some time and increasingly rums like the Dos Maderas collection are elevating cocktails. Bartenders and cocktail fans can now explore an extensive cocktail section on the new site, with everything from classics reimagined to new creations. Dos Maderas has long been recognized for excellence in its rum making. Now it has a website to match.
