Spreading love, appreciation and understanding of cucumbers large,
small…and invisible
Today is the day when all
those with a curious mind are invited to celebrate World Cucumber Day with Hendrick’s
Gin. For the past three months, the build up to this most MARVELOUS day of
cucumber worship has been taking place from Auckland to Amsterdam, Spain to
Singapore, Delhi to Dubai. Intrepid global travel passengers have been able to
cultivate and embrace their unusual side via GTR ‘Cucumber Curiositarium’
activations, while a ‘currency exchange’ promotion at participating domestic
on-trade venues globally has enabled refreshment seekers to exchange their
cucumber (hopefully home grown) for a free Hendrick’s & Tonic.
The huge success of World Cucumber Day in 2017 has seen Hendrick’s
brand-owner, William Grant & Sons, upscale this most eccentric and
distinctive marketing campaign for 2018 in its remit to build global attention
for the best-selling super-premium gin. First invented by cucumber growers in
England in 2011, to extol the virtues of this gallant and remarkable fruit,
Hendrick’s gin has now made World Cucumber Day its own and this year has seen
the campaign really take off in global travel retail with over 50 airports
taking part, along with cruise ships, ferries and border stores.
WGS has worked
particularly closely with retailers including DFS, Dufry, Delhi Duty Free, Harding
Retail, Heinemann and Lagardère Travel
Retail
to bring the ‘Cultivate the Unusual’ campaign to life
in GTR using a combination of tasting bars, iconic branding, promoters, gifts,
and striking theatre pieces. Key to the campaign this year are the 22 ‘Cucumber
Curiositarium’ specimens (note there is no Specimen 13), presented in display
jars for travellers to marvel at, wherever they may be. Each specimen has its
own character and story and includes: ‘The World’s Smallest Cucumber’ (Specimen
No 2); ‘The Flying Cucumber’ (Specimen No 5); the ‘Explorer Cucumber (Specimen
No 6) and even ‘The Invisible Cucumber (Specimen No 3)!
Alongside six core
cucumber specimens there are localized specimens developed for individual
airports (or regional airports). These
include: The Climbing Cucumber (9) for Frankfurt, The Conducting Cucumber (12)
for Vienna, The Tallest Cucumber (15) for Dubai, The Indulgent Cucumber (17)
for Brussels and The Well Balanced Cucumber (21) for Kuala Lumpur.
Retailers have supported World Cucumber Day with great enthusiasm. This
year’s campaign kicked off at Amsterdam Schiphol where ‘The Dam’ cucumber
specimen No 7 featured with its own Penny Farthing cycle. “World Cucumber Day is yet another example of the innovative,
quirky, and unusual marketing ideas that we have come to expect from Hendrick's
gin and brand owner William Grant & Sons. This year's Curiositarium
activation has once again been fun, imaginative and totally over the top. We
were delighted to start the ball rolling this year for World Cucumber Day at
Amsterdam Schiphol and we're very confident that the sales results will prove
the value of activations such as this - not just for Hendrick's but the gin
category as a whole," says Ann-Kathrin Fürer (Head of Activity
Management at Gebr. Heinemann). Heinemann has also supported World Cucumber Day
on it own social media platforms.
June sees the fun and frivolity
continue with high profile activations running throughout the month at key
airport including London Gatwick South, Frankfurt,
Hamburg, Munich, Brussels, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and
Cancun. Says Sharon Beecham, VP Purchasing Dubai Duty Free: “We are delighted to partner with William Grants & Sons and
Hendrick's for World Cucumber Day, and to immerse our globetrotting
customers in this fun and unforgettable shopping experience. We are proud to
have Hendrick’s, with its signature cucumber serve, as part of our flourishing
gin offering.”
In addition, this year saw the creation of a
special World Cucumber Day microsite www.worldcucumberday.com which introduces the reader to the most wondrous of fruits
that ‘simply magnifies the already thoroughly deliciousness of Hendricks &
Tonic. Readers are introduced to the Cucumber Curiositarium specimens and
invited to play a ‘Catch the cucumber slices’ game.
This supports this
year’s World Cucumber Day YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYSmN30aCGM
As these are
current promotions, it is still early days for sales data. However, says WGS
Head of Marketing, GTR, Ifan Jenkins “Over the years, GTR has played a pivotal role in the
growth of Hendrick’s gin as the world’s number one super premium gin. Our
retail partners having brilliantly brought the peculiar brand world of
Hendrick’s to life with disruptive wall bays and displays featuring bath tubs,
giant tea cups, birdcages, and bicycles.
World
Cucumber Day is another example of how we at William Grant & Sons endeavour
to create distinctive, memorable and engaging brand experiences and the support
we have received from our retail partners this year has been second to none. Hendrick’s is oddly
infused with rose and cucumber, so World Cucumber Day has provided us with the
perfect opportunity to reaffirm the brand’s ownership of the signature cucumber
serve and make it globally famous
“This year’s ‘Hendrick’s Curiositarium’ which sees a
selection of the world’s most wondrous cucumber specimens travelling the globe
to build awareness, will – we hope – bring the opportunity to experience our
rose and cucumber infused gin to more than 70 million consumers worldwide. GTR
is the perfect environment to give consumers the opportunity to engage with
theatrical activations and leave with a new found knowledge that they can share
with friends when back home.”
But it’s not just travellers who’ve had the chance to
engage with World Cucumber Day. Gift boxes of seeds and instruction leaflets
supplied by WGS have enabled retail staff to cultivate and bond with their own
cucumbers from East to West. Indeed,
continues Jenkins, “We appreciate that the extraordinary bonds gardeners will have formed with their cucumber
may make harvesting today a somewhat emotional experience. Nevertheless, we are
sure the pure joy of enjoying said cucumber in its rightful place – as a
garnish in a Hendrick’s gin and tonic – will more than compensate for any sense
of loss!”
And so, for those of you reading this who are preparing to harvest your
own cucumbers today, here are the key elements to consider before you brandish
your knife!
Harvest
and garnish (fully-grown cucumber)
- Do
you want the good news or the bad news first? The earlier the cucumbers
are harvested, the smaller and more tender the seeds. They will also taste
sweeter and juicier. Oh, and there’s no bad news.
- The
cool calm of the early morning or evening is perfect for cucumber
harvesting. The fruits can be kept fresh overnight by standing them stalk
end down in a jug with a little water in it. You can keep yourself fresh
overnight by reading poetry before bedtime and wearing silk pyjamas.
- Please
do not yank your cucumbers when you harvest them from the plant. Instead
snip them off with a pair of secateurs or a sharp knife. Do not use a
cutlass.
- Once
you have tasted your cucumber, cut 0.3-cm slices and then submerge them in
your Hendrick’s & Tonic. If you wish to, you may then contemplate all
that is marvellous in the universe.
5.
The
Mesmadunion method of cucumber harvest & garnishment requires the
following:
1.
The
harvester must wear a cloak, 3-foot winklepickers and a beak.
2.
The
cucumbers must be culled at dawn within a mile of a viaduct.
3.
The
cucumbers must be sliced with affection.
4.
The slices
must be dropped into the Hendrick's & Tonic from an altitude of three
miles.
To join in the World Cucumber Day
festivities, use the hash tags #HendricksGin and #WorldCucumberDay.
ABOUT WORLD CUCUMBER DAY
Hendrick’s
Gin is uniquely infused with rose and cucumber, and best served with a slice of
cucumber, therefore the unusual gin maker holds this cylindrical being in the
highest regard. What better way to rejoice in its wonder than by celebrating
its own momentous day?
World
Cucumber Day is an annual celebration on June 14, which sees the unusual gin
maker hero the remarkable fruit by adding delightful peculiarity to everyday
universal things to inspire people to cultivate and embrace their unusual side.
Curious-minded
individuals observe the day every year with surreal experiences, events,
opportunities and, of course, a refreshing Hendrick’s & Tonic, garnished
with cucumber.
ABOUT HENDRICK’S GIN
Hendrick’s Gin is a deliciously super
premium gin, made with a number of unusual twists to deliver a most curious
arrangement. Unlike ordinary gins, Hendrick’s Gin is distilled in
Scotland, in small batches of only 500 litres at a time. Only
Hendrick’s Gin is made with infusions of cucumber and rose petals,
alongside a blend of 11 botanicals, producing a wonderfully refreshing gin with
a delightfully floral aroma. Hendrick’s Gin is made in a combination of a
Carter-Head and copper pot still, creating a divinely smooth gin with both
character and balance of subtle flavours.
ABOUT WILLIAM GRANT & SONS
William Grant & Sons Holdings Ltd is an
independent family-owned distiller headquartered in the United Kingdom and
founded by William Grant in 1887. Today, the global premium spirits company is
owned by the fifth generation of his family and distils some of the world’s
leading brands of Scotch whisky, including the world’s most awarded single malt
Glenfiddich®, The Balvenie® range of handcrafted single
malts and the world’s third largest blended Scotch, Grant’s®, as
well as other iconic spirits brands such as Hendrick’s® Gin, Sailor
Jerry®, Tullamore D.E.W.® Irish Whiskey, Monkey
Shoulder® and Drambuie®
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