Bacardi Global Brands has launched an iPhone application in an effort to extend its online cocktail recipe services to the mobile platform to reach on-the-go consumers.

Mix Master, the Bacardi-branded application, lets consumers search for drinks by name, style or ingredients. The application is an extension of the rum brand?s online experience, but features exclusive application capabilities such as shopping lists.

?The Mix Master iPhone application was developed as the first mobile extension of the Mix Master online platform, with many more to come,? said Gregoire Assemat-Tessandier, global head of digital marketing at Bacardi Global Brands, London. ?It strives to provide users with a valuable resource to find the perfect cocktail at their fingertips.
 
?Bacardi strongly believes in the need to provide instantaneous utility to consumers in the moment they need it: at home, relaxing with friends or in bars, in a social setting with more expectations, or at the supermarket,? he said. ?This app assists consumers with those choices in the manner most appropriate for the occasion.?

Bacardi is a spirits company best known for its lines of rum.

AgencyNet developed the application.

Mobile shaken and stirred
The application lets consumers search for drink recipes based on ingredients they have. Consumers are also notified about what ingredients they will need to complete a drink.

In addition to searching by name, ingredient or cocktail style, consumers can browse the entire recipe list or shake their device to get a drink suggestion.

The application also features a section of the day?s top 25 cocktails.

Once a consumer finds a cocktail, they can recommend it to others via email, Twitter or Facebook.

The Shopping List feature does the math for consumers by calculating quantities and reminding consumers what ingredients are still needed.

Ingredients can be checked off as they are bought.

Consumers can also create their own personal list of favorite cocktails.

To download the free application, consumers must be over of the legal drinking age.
 
The target demographic for the application is primarily consumers 21-29 years old.

The application is not ad-supported. It is available as a free download in the App Store.

?Cocktails are perceived as difficult to make and reserved to an elite of savvy mixologists and bartenders,? Mr. Assemat-Tessandier said. ?Mix Master and this app want to break that paradigm.

?At Bacardi, we think that there's a cocktail for every occasion, every skill level and budget,? he said. ?This app provides immediate access to the most relevant cocktail and reaffirms the innovative role of Bacardi in cocktail culture.

?For the brand, it allows us to enjoy a pervasive connection with consumers, based on value and benefits.?

Reaching consumers
Bacardi said it decided to launch the iPhone application before versions for Android and Java to start talking to a high-indexing target demographic before widening the reach.

Mr. Assemat-Tessandier said Barcadi thinks that the right approach for the application is to give consumers something back for the time they give the brand.

The application is being supported through an online version of Mix Master on Bacardi.com and a video demo available on YouTube.

Mix Master is available in multiple languages and countries worldwide. Mr. Assemat-Tessandier said individual markets may decide to widen the reach through dedicated mobile or online media plans.

?Bacardi has always been involved in the mobile landscape, there?s not a lot of things more personal than someone?s mobile phone,? Mr. Assemat-Tessandier said. ?It is always with them, in their pocket, alongside their keys and credit card.

?By creating the Mix Master suite of apps, we are focusing our message at the core Bacardi's DNA and delivering something of value in a personal and social way,? he said.