Bacardi CMO Urges Marketers to Challenge Complacency

Ned Duggan told industry leaders at the 50th Annual Impact Marketing Seminar that brands must give consumers reasons to drink at all.

Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Cocktails

Bacardi CMO Urges Marketers to Challenge Complacency

Live Poll

Do you plan to drink alcohol less often than you did a year ago?

Bacardi global CMO Ned Duggan addressed industry leaders at the 50th Annual Impact Marketing Seminar in New York, in a talk titled "Challenging Complacency With Innovative Marketing." He said the challenge for marketers is to give consumers compelling reasons to choose to have a drink at all.

Why it matters

The spirits category is seeking to overcome headwinds that have hampered growth in recent years, and Duggan argued that marketers must earn preference within the category and a role for it within each occasion. His remarks point to a shift toward entertaining consumers rather than simply advertising to them.

St. Germain rose nearly 40% in NIQ channels in the year to date, after rising 43% to 256,000 cases last year according to Impact Databank. The extraction does not indicate whether this growth will continue through the remainder of the year.

The players

Ned Duggan

Ned Duggan is the global chief marketing officer of Bacardi, the spirits company that owns St. Germain.

Bacardi

Bacardi is a global spirits company that owns the St. Germain elderflower liqueur brand.

The details

Duggan said Campari boosted its own brand with Aperol by invigorating the Spritz cocktail in the U.S., and noted that Bacardi's St. Germain is part of the Hugo Spritz. He told the audience the industry should think less like advertisers and more like entertainers.

Last year (2025): St. Germain jumped 43% to 256,000 cases.
Year to date (2026): St. Germain rose nearly 40% in NIQ channels.
Article published on 2026-11-09 covering Duggan's seminar remarks.

Culture Shift

Duggan pointed to Campari's revival of the Spritz with Aperol in the U.S. as a model for reviving a cocktail category. St. Germain's place in the Hugo Spritz follows that same pattern of reviving a drinking occasion.

For New York drinkers, the Hugo Spritz featuring St. Germain is a practical option to try at bars and at home. The shift toward reviving cocktail occasions could change which drinks appear on menus and shelves.

The takeaway

Marketers in spirits are increasingly looking to make drinking occasions feel relevant again rather than relying on brand awareness alone. Readers who enjoy cocktails can try the Hugo Spritz as an accessible way to explore that revival.