- Brian Morrissey

DonQ rum is a household name, but only in Puerto Rico. In the continental United States, the brand is trying to make a splash with young men by taking a different marketing approach than its larger competitors.
 
DonQ has launched a "LadyData" push designed to portray its brand as digitally savvy and helpful to guys still trying to figure out the most mysterious of riddles: women. The center of the campaign is a makeover of the DonQ Web site that features a rolling focus group of young women who answer burning questions such as whether men should wear skinny jeans or if it's OK to eat garlic.
 
Each answer is displayed in an infographic, allowing users to drill down to view replies based on the age, relationship status, location or other characteristics of the 100-odd women in the focus group.
 
"The biggest thing for us was to become a piece of social currency in our target demographic," said Clay Parker Jones, a strategist at New York's Undercurrent, the digital consultancy that crafted the campaign. "We wanted to become a piece of social currency they can pass around."


Digital design firm Odopod built the DonQ site. Undercurrent is managing the content, including a Twitter account, Facebook page and Tumblr site. DonQ has also struck a deal with Buzzfeed for a content section on the viral venue.

DonQ faces stiff competition in the rum market from behemoths like Captain Morgan and Bacardi. With a comparably small marketing budget, the brand wants to become an antidote to the typical rum-marketing approach that positions brands at the center of glamorous parties.
 
"We're more real," said Yissell Muxo, national field marketing director at DonQ. "We're speaking to them in their language and a real service they can comprehend."
 
DonQ is supporting LadyData with some print and outdoor advertising. It is also finalizing a promotional push through up-and-coming mobile social network Foursquare that is slated to launch in early 2010.
 
DonQ plans to keep updating the LadyData site, treating it as a permanent feature rather than a campaign that will disappear after a few months, said Muxo.
 
"You want to be sure it becomes a destination for years to come," she said.

See also: "DonQ's Ladies Will Teach Guys a Thing or Two"