Don Julio goes beyond the bottle for Apple Vision Pro experience

Dive Brief: 

• Tequila Don Julio unveiled an immersive brand experience coming to the Apple Vision Pro, parent company Diageo’s first experiment with the mixed-reality headset, according to a press release. 
• The app experience launching this spring invites users to travel virtually to Mexico, where the brand was founded, and explore four steps in the process of making Don Julio. Future iterations will include guided tastings and mixology demonstrations.
• The offering was made with Trigger XR and is an extension of Don Julio’s “Por Amor” global brand campaign, which launched in 2022 as an homage to the product’s heritage. Diageo claims to be the first beverage brand to experiment with the Apple Vision Pro. 

Dive Insight: 

Diageo’s Don Julio is taking consumers back to its roots with an immersive Apple Vision Pro experience, placing the tequila marketer among a handful of companies tapping into the hype around the mixed-reality headset. E.l.f. Cosmetics, Snickers and Lowe’s have launched Vision Pro experiences of their own since the $3,500 device’s highly anticipated February debut. 

Arriving this spring, Don Julio’s Vision Pro experiment leverages spatial computing to connect consumers to the people, processes and places behind its tequila production. Users will be able to travel virtually to Mexico and experience four chapters of the Don Julio creation process, including harvesting agave, baking piñas, distilling the liquid and, finally, aging the tequila. Down the line, consumers will be able to access additional experiences meant to celebrate modern Mexican cocktail culture. The experience will launch as an app via visionOS, the Vision Pro’s operating system. 

The Apple Vision Pro drummed up a wave of initial excitement, with Apple reportedly selling between 160,000 to 180,000 units just days after the hardware became available for presale in mid-January. Still, virtual reality headsets have historically struggled to maintain traction, and the Vision Pro could prove to be no different. After just a month on the market, there’s already been an uptick of consumers on social media reporting that they are returning the device. Still, the buzzy headset could present brands with an opportunity to connect with audiences in a more interactive way. 

The Vision Pro yields Don Juliao an opportunity to share the backstory behind its brand, which was founded by Don Julio González in 1942. The experience is an extension of the brand’s “Por Amor” campaign that rolled out in 2022 and has featured additional installments designed to immerse consumers in the culture and history of Don Julio. 

The Vision Pro experience was created with Diageo’s Global Breakthrough Innovation team, which was formed as part of the company’s goal to “push the boundaries of how people socialize” and capitalize on innovation beyond new products, per release details. The company also plans to bring similar experiences across its wider portfolio.  

Diageo’s net sales grew 10.7% in its fiscal 2023, according to the company’s annual report. The growth was supported by strong performance in the tequila category, which grew net sales 19% over the same period. High performers Don Julio and Casamigos grew 20% and 16%, respectively, driven by North American sales.