The Cruz campaign supported the brand’s packaging rebranding with a modern, lifestyle-driven approach. To appeal to younger consumers, Cruz launched an email campaign featuring trendy, easy-to-make cocktails like the Cruz & Tonic — a fresh, playful twist on the classic gin and tonic. This activation repositioned porto as a modern, social aperitif, bringing new relevance and occasions to the brand.
Reposition the brand: Attract a younger audience by modernizing the visual identity and introducing new, more relevant consumption moments.
Drive short-term sales: Support the rebranding effort with a promotional push to encourage trial and purchase.
While the Cruz campaign was part of a broader omnichannel Retail Media strategy — combining Online Visibility, In-store Visibility, and CRM — this case focuses on the dedicated emailing component, selected for its precision targeting and high engagement potential. By using Delhaize’s first-party data, the brand delivered personalized content to 150,000 shoppers identified as having a high propensity to purchase cocktails, strong alcohol, and aperitif products.
This highly qualified audience received dynamic and inspiring content highlighting Cruz’s new packaging and fresh consumption ideas such as the “Cruz & Tonic.” The format proved ideal to engage younger shoppers with visually appealing storytelling and cocktail inspiration directly in their inbox — effectively boosting both awareness and traffic.
This campaign perfectly illustrates how a heritage brand can reinvent itself through the power of Retail Media. By leveraging Delhaize’s first-party shopper data, Cruz reached the right audience with a relevant and personalized message — turning visibility into real, measurable impact both online and in-store.
The campaign stood out for its innovative and data-driven measurement approach. Using a powerful control group algorithm, the study was able to isolate the true incremental impact of the campaign on sales — both online and offline. This scientific methodology provided a precise understanding of how Retail Media activations influenced shopper behavior, setting a new benchmark for evidence-based media effectiveness.
The Results speak for themselves:
The dedicated email performed strongly, media and sales wise, confirming a strong interest and engagement from the target audience.
This case demonstrated true audacity by going beyond the traditional media KPIs. Instead of evaluating sales in the usual before-during-after manner, the team compared results against a rigorously defined control group. This bold approach allowed Cruz to uncover the real incremental impact of the campaign, challenging conventional measurement methods and setting a new standard for how Retail Media effectiveness can be assessed.
