Absolut
Vodka was launched in NYC in 1979 and became a huge part of the American culture
- embracing artists like Andy Warhol
along the way.
Their
iconic print campaign was actually outsourced to the media it ran in. When companies came to discuss how many pages
their magazine should receive in the coming year they arrived with creative
ideas in hand. As a result the campaign
remained fresh and interesting for years.
I even
remember a cousin telling me that at his university it was cool to collect the
ads and display them on your dorm room walls.
Can you imagine that? A
pre-Internet viral campaign!
Sales
surged from 10,000 cases in 1980 to nearly 5 million by 2000. (Gianatasio,
2015)
But
nothing lasts forever and somewhere along the way Absolut lost their cool. So, I was fascinated to read that they are
now actively trying to retrieve it.
They have
chosen to begin by reintroducing themselves to NYC with a neighborhood tailored
Out-of-Home campaign, meant to speak to New Yorkers. This billboard near the High Line certainly succeeds.
Billboards
have also gone up in Hell's Kitchen, the Lower East Side, Chelsea and Midtown
East. Additional campaign elements will
roll out later this year. (Monllos, 2017)
So
what do you think? Is the timing right
for a come back? Why or why not? Is NYC the right place to do it? What generation are they trying to
reach? How does their approach
demonstrate that? Do you think they will
be able to connect emotionally with their target? How? Can
they become cool again?
Gianatasio,
D. (2015, September 28) How Blending Art and Commerce Drove Absolut Vodka's Legendary
Campaigns. adweek.com. Retrieved November
15, 2017, from
Monllos,
K. (2017, November 13) Absolut
Reintroduces Itself to New Yorkers With Out-of-Home Work Tailored to the
Neighborhood. adweek.com. Retrieved
November 15, 2017, from
17 comments:
Hi class!
In my opinion, it is not as much about timing as it is about being strategic and creative in design. It would be interesting to see Absolut capitalize on the fact that the company originally launched in New York City in 1979. Perhaps Absolut could incorporate its thirty-eight-year presence into the New York City market somehow? Perhaps Absolut could brand it as being “New York’s very own.” Just an idea!
Originally, I was not sure of the company’s target audience, but I found research, posted on June 7, 2017, indicating that the target audience are women urbanites between the ages of twenty-three and thirty-four. See link for more details – https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/absolut-vodka-branding-and-image-overview-marketing-essay.php.
More specifically, “the company also tried to feature the product as a high end product. For example, Absolut had an identity campaign termed 'Smart, showy, sassy, sophisticated and stylish'. By this kind of brand personality statement, the brand was associated with the fashion conscious, rich, desperate and dynamic lifestyle-namely ‘the Absolut Lifestyle’” (See Link Above).
So what does this mean? In my opinion, Absolut’s billboard(s) fails to target the aforementioned audience. How does the ad, “LOOK OUT: SLOW WALKERS AHEAD” differentiate itself and solely target women between the ages of twenty-three and thirty-four? Unfortunately, it does not. At this rate, I question whether the company can become cool again.
Best,
Grace
I believe that the ad is targeting millennials with a anual average expenditure of 52,000. According to Ad Age Caucasian and hispanics are the ethnicities that spend the most (.9%) income on alcoholic beverages.
I found a report from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene saying “In 2011, current alcohol use (drinking) among youth was lower in New York City (NYC) than in the US (31% vs. 39%), and 13% of NYC youth reported binge drinking compared with 22% nationally.” This study showed that the current drinking fell from 2007 to 2011 by 10% among NYC young drinkers (which are kids in NYC public high school from 9-12 grade). The statistics I found clearly state that the overall consumption of Vodka has declined. According to Fortune magazine the competition has become more like this: “In the U.S. alone vodka sales went down 0.3%, whiskey went up 2.7%, and American bourbon and Tennessee whiskey rose 7.4%.” (Addady,1).
I believe that entering the market in NYC with the vast amount of “more affordable” alcoholic beverages is a challenging task for Absolute. Because Absolute wants to make Vodka the “cool” drink for millenials again, it is doing different things such as adding new “traditional” citrus flavors. Nick Guastaferro the person in charge of running the Absolute business says that citrus flavors is the main focus of the sales because“You can add lime juice to make more complex cocktails, but the idea is that the [Absolut Lime] liquid can stand on its own and you don’t need the lime. That step can be replaced.” (Kell,2017). However, for me it still seems like the huge variety of citrus drinks make the Vodka taste even worst. Mixers are more common because they make the vodka taste a little more pleasing. Yet, I do think that Absolute will be able to maintain and make a stronger connection with its' current clients by having this new campaign.
Best,
Melissa
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/epi/databrief21.pdf
http://adage.com/article/news/multicultural-consumers-numbers/297869/
http://fortune.com/2015/08/23/decline-vodka-sales-absolut/
http://fortune.com/2017/01/16/absolut-new-flavor-lime/
Absolut was the first premium vodka to be launched in the US in 1979, since then the space of premium vodka has grown with better tasting and cooler Vodka taking Absolut out of the number one spot. I actually can’t remember the last time I have seen anyone drink or ask for Absolut Vodka.
I feel like some of the other brands seem a lot more “sexier”, look like Ciroc, Grey Goose, and belvedere. Changing the look of Absolut is a start but a cool bottle will only sell vodka once, it is about the taste that keeps consumers coming back.
I think Absolut biggest problem is not that older people are changing their drinking habits, it’s that millennial are not drinking vodka not matter what favor you mix with it. Millennial are moving toward the organic handcraft taste of whiskeys and Bourbons.
The spirit market is over eighteen billion dollars in the US and Vodka is about 29% of that so I understand why Absolut man want to increase market share but I don’t see how they will get there without having some kind of mixologist training for the versatile use of their vodkas.
The new ads definitely are nowhere near as cool as the originals!! I guess alcohol is always around so there is no bad time to have a come back. Cities are definitely the place to do it, especially NY, since nightlife and drinking is a part of its culture. The ad is targeting the NYer subculture (my favorite ads!) since they are tapping into the fear of slow walking for those who are NYC natives. I think it’s cool and it works, but their old ads are cooler.
I think the whole concept of the brand is very cool, “absolut vodka” definitely meant something. Also, put a billboard in the High Line is very smart as well.
I think the company is trying to target Millennials because Millennials are impacted by celebrities. I also found an article talks about Millennials’ lifestyle, they are the generation believes in “YOLO,” and also they drink more vodka than other generations.However, if they are trying to reach Millennials, I think the platform for advertising should be more on Internet, such as a blog, and YouTube videos, since this generation, really consider the opinions from others. Absolut Vodka is trying to reach a specific narrow population (in my opinion)-- the artists! By collaborating with different artists and capture their fans’ eyes. Still, if I look at this ad, I will probably think oh it’s a cool ad, but that’s it. It is a little bit too abstract.
Part of Absolut's issue is that millennials are not consuming Vodka in the same way as previous generations. I think part of the reason that Absolut used to be so popular was because it the first of its time and it was always around, but the thing about New York is you can access anything now so it is no longer special. Often the choice of alcohol consumed by millennials is a reflections of it's rarity. As we have previously discussed in class, millennials want things everyone doesn't have, hence why the concept of scarcity functions so successfully. When it comes to which alcohol we are more likely than other generations to experiment with obscure options rather than a typical drink everyone has had. A study by the Wine Market Council stated that, "As an age set, millennials tend to seek out what’s different or unusual rather than sticking with the traditional or expected. For many that means looking beyond a Napa cab to a Slovenian rosé from a winery they’ve never heard of." I agree with Walter, that the issue they face is that their previous target is drinking something else and they can't seem to convince the new generation that their cool enough. I'm not sure it is possible for them to make a comeback, especially with young New Yorkers.
https://www.thebacklabel.com/heres-what-millennials-are-drinking-and-why/#.WhQ_LrT80-c
i think Melissa did a really good job on the research about the report. i have the same idea with her, i also believe that millennials are the target for the campaign, however, i also think that the main customer group for absolute vodka do not have a high income. It is a rather cheap liquor. and from my personal pespective, millennials are not difficult to reach, connecting the brand with "cool thing" is definately a very good idea. Lenny Kravitz is one of the celebrities that the brand endorsed, picking Lenny Kravitz is a very smart move, because he is also from New York.
New York is definately a great place to do it, firstly, the market in NY is huge, it is the one of the biggest city in the world. Secondly, a lot of people who lives in NY arent born in NY, the city culture of NY is pretty diverse and welcome, it is just like the versatility of vodka.
Absolut's campaign is timely, as alcohol consumption is up. This campaign seems to be targeting Boomers in my opinion and Gen X'ers, who display more brand loyalty and have shifted spending into vodkas in recent years.
http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2014/generations-on-tap-beverage-alcohol-purchases-vary-by-age-group.html
Absolute seems to be suffering from brand fatigue. According to alcohol industry watcher BevSpot, Vodka is the #2 spirit behind whiskey, however Absolut has fallen to #4, behind leader brand Tito's, Ketel One, and Grey Goose.
https://www.bevspot.com/2017/07/19/americas-most-ordered-beer-liquor-brands-for-2017-so-far/
The reason for Absolute's slide seems to be that Millennials prefer small batch/craft style alcohols, and Tito's has cornered that market. Absolut may be a victim of their own success, as people remember and associate them with their ubiquitous flavored vodka campaign.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/25/millennials-whiskey-trend-vodka
So unless they radically shift their brand stylings and marketing, they may have permanently lost their cool factor.
As a person who drinks Absolut myself, I always considered it a mid-tier vodka. Comparing it to high-ends like Belvedere, or low end like Pinnacle, I find that I get the best bang for my buck when I purchase Absolut. Over the past 10 years, Absolut has expanded their line to include tons of flavors. I believe once they started experimenting and straying from their core product is when they lost the market share. Flavored vodkas were a fad and are rarely ordered at bars unless used in some type of specialty drink.
As far as timing is concerned, any time is a good time for a comeback. Today, lots of things from the 90's and 00's are becoming relevant again from all different sectors such as apparel (FILA, Reebok), music (Blink-182, NSYNC) or even TV (Fuller House, Will and Grace). Absolut is simply riding the wave of nostalgia. Starting their campaign in New York is definitely the right idea, but I feel that targeting the 'NY Tribe' is the wrong way to do it. Lots of companies today use 'belonging' to sell their products and I feel it's overdone. Being that NY loves exclusivity, that is the message they should be conveying. Using billboards means they're trying to capture foot traffic which typically targets 25-40 year olds who currently have full time jobs. While Absolut is targeting the correct audience, I feel that billboards don't convey exclusivity, but just another brand trying to get your attention. It's just noise. People will read that sign, agree with it, and go to the bar and order a Grey Goose martini without question.
Anthony Talpak
Yes, it's a great time to do alcohol business in USA since "In 2015, North Americans bought 33.8 billion liters of alcohol, an increase from 33.1 billion liters in 2014.(LaMagna)"And NYC is a great place to launch almost any products. I think this Vodka is trying to reach generation x since it can make generation x feel nostalgia about it. However, I don't think drinking Vodka will make you cool again.
Source:https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-world-is-drinking-less-alcohol-except-americans-2016-05-19
Due to the fiercer competitions in beverage industry, along with more savvy consumes’ ever-shifting tastes and higher standards regarding beverage products, it is the earlier the better to bring back the brand when it still can wield the power of its heritage and reputation. So isn’t now the better time than later to repromote it? And I think New York is the right place to do it. After all, it is where it reached its peak. Consistency makes its reintroduction easier.
The traditional marketing approach touched on New York City’s cool culture of artistry and vibrancy. Now, it seems that Absolute Vodka is trying to promote another New York culture which is inclusiveness and authenticity because it is trying to reach the social and urban millennials aged 24-35 who have growing interest in authenticity. The new Absolute Vodka’s campaign‘s key message is authenticity, so I think Absolute Vodka stands on a good positioning point to reach its target market. As this target market’s consuming pattern is more influenced by their values, it is important to frame the message in the way they want to hear and through the way they can hear. I remember professor once posted an article that stressed millennials care about the stories behind the wine consumption and tend to turn to people around them for purchase advice, so story-telling and word-of -mouth can be ways to connect them. Also, online media and social media are the channels to get the digital generation’s attention. For example, social media influencers can put into good use. With its classic image and innovative marketing approaches, I think it can be cool again.
Absolut has always had very interesting and effective ways of branding itself. I recall, as a kid in highschool, being fascinated by the limited edition bottles they used to have, such as Absolut Disco and Absolut Rock (both of which i still have in my room back home).
The brand has always managed to shift in order to keep up with the relevant trends and fads going on at the time. I remember their Absolut Greyhound campaign that came out around 2013, with the release of Swedish House Mafia's final album, and the announcement of their final tour before breaking up.
Also around the same time, they came up with Absolut Elyx, their luxury label that was set to compete with Grey Goose and Belvedere.
I think that their current strategy is a fresh way for the brand to return to its roots.
(DISCO)
http://c0248141.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/FAMB_21420_12652543A.JPG
(ELYX)
http://www.chiefmarketer.com/absolut-elyx-tries-knock-grey-goose-forbes-video/
(Greyhound)
http://www.howcoolbrandsstayhot.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Absolut-greyhound-430x2411.jpg
(Rock Edition)
http://press.absolut.com/deployedFiles/b1c94d1819d0e31ea4a09f591ceb88b6.jpg
In my opinion, it is targeted to new consumers who is millenials. They are grown up and they are potential and current users. Also, even though many consumers already know about the product, the advertising place is ny. So they will get positioning advantage about this plan. There are tons of tourrist come to Ny who is not familiar wirh the drink yet. So I think this ad is not only target to current users but also potential users.
Alcohol always sells, even when people don’t have money so it’s always a good time for a vodka to try to make a come back. I like the highline ad, I think it is cute and will most likely be photographed and Instagramed and will be passed around a bit visually. I do not think it will make people actually choose to buy the brand, I think it is just a reminder, like “hey we are here- Absolute.” On the other hand, it is also the holiday season and people will be buying alcohol that do not normally buy it. People hosting holiday parties (who don’t drink vodka) may remember seeing the ad and think that Absolute is cool or trendy and may choose to pick it up for their guests. These same people will probably prefer a lower price tag since they are not connoisseurs. Absolute is a nice medium priced vodka that doesn’t make them look like a dork. Yuncheng’s comment is hilarious “I don’t think drinking vodka will make you cool again” hahah.
After reading a bit about Absolute, it claims to be made from natural ingredients. I am surprised they aren’t working that angle since people are becoming more conscious of what goes into their bodies.
I think it is the right time to try. Absolute Vodka lost its “cool” status a while ago. It is priced as a low end top shelf liquor. Which in my opinion pushed the wealthy customers towards buying more expensive “real” premium liquor.
According to Deirdre Absolute Vodka is targeting young professional females between the age of 25 - 30 who live in an urban city and enjoys spending on quality food and beverage products. Their target demographic make purchases base on style and are active on social media.
Therefore NYC is a good target. People here are famous for chasing their dreams and seeking status. Furthermore the city has endless quality restaurants which makes it a paradise for “foodies”.
Given that Absolute is trying to target the “Status seekers”, I don’t believe the billboard adds is a good idea. It doesn’t make it cool or premium. In fact it does quite the opposite it makes the brand look more mainstream than premium. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but don’t think it will help to get the target consumers to buy more Absolute
https://www.slideshare.net/DeirdreRyan3/absolut-marketing-plan
Adam
This is an interesting topic and reading through the below comments it seems as if most people believe that 7/11 won’t do well in the beauty industry.
7/11 has become a one stop shop for people on the go or on the road. I think of times of going on roadtrips and stopped to buy things like medicine for headaches, a snack for the road, and sometimes in need for a pick me up if I’m showing up to a last minute event or gathering. This is where 7/11 will see most of it’s growth are those last minute events where someone may need a beauty product like mascara to go along with their coffee.
Private labels have become increasingly popular because of the millennial point of view in being unique and more interested in quality rather than quantity. Private labels such as store brands actually have been reported to do better than other brands because of price primarily as found in the following article: http://business.time.com/2012/11/01/brand-names-just-dont-mean-as-much-anymore/
When it comes do things on impulse, I’ll always buy 1L water bottles/gum whenever I stop at a convenience store. Sometimes I may grab for a lip-gloss or chap stick to freshen up so I believe again that 7/11 will do well!
7/11 has a stigma of being a cheap one stop shop as I mentioned so it won’t be heavily used by users who care about brand names/high end products. It will be primarily popular with younger generations and those of lower income because of it’s convenience.
On the other hand, I personally would not purchase Jet.com’s new products only because the packaging isn’t that great. Unless I got a sample of the product by using Jet.com or from a friend I wouldn’t see myself adding their products to my cart. You arrive at Jet.com to find brand names cheaper – not to find their brand’s rebranded. Packaging is a psychological factor when it comes to products and companies such as Apple and Glossier have don’t a great job at presenting their products.
Joelly
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