A Symbol Filled With Meaning.
Bacardí has been a patron and promoter of music for over 150 years, developing partnerships with artists like Major Laser to create activations like ‘Cash Bacardí’. One area which Bacardí could move into is hosting their own music festival.
A defining aspect of Latin culture, where Bacardí came to be, is music and more specifically their diversity within music. This cultural dimension is something that is mirrored within Bacardí’s brand ethos.
As well as creating a brand and positioning for the festival, I also developed a brand book, advertising and a programme as well as merchandising material. Which includes cocktail cards with signature rum drinks promoted by the headliners of the festival.
The name for the festival came from research into communities and cultures all over the world, and how people are often found in circles. The horizon is defined as “the apparent circle that surrounds the world, separating the earth and the sky”.
The strap-line of the festival is “This is a Good Place”, which comes from the connection between the Bacardí family and Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway lived in Cuba from 1939 until shortly after the Cuban Revolution and was thrown a party by the Compañia Ron Bacardí SA when Hemingway was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature.
The line itself comes from the novel “The Sun Also Rises” which holds a reference to the festival name. In the novel an exchange occurs which follows; “This is a good place,” he said. “There’s a lot of liquor.” I agreed.
