Absolut Vodka – Creating

Advertising History
• Presented By:-

• Abin Abraham 19123

• Divyasree BS 19137
• Gowtham 19139
• Kanna Naga Puzvika 19143
• Katta Ashish 19144
• Nidhil Krishna 19152
HISTORY – ABSOLUT VODKA
• 1910- Sweden Govt realized that it needed to take
step to monitor the country’s liquor trade.
• 1917- Govt established AB Vin & Spritcentralen
(V&S) to help monitor the country’s liquor trade.
• 1923- V&S became monopoly in the Swedish
alcoholic beverages industry.
• 1920s- V&S launched Kron in Sweden, which
became very popular.
• 1929- V&S setup first laboratory at Reimersholm,
Stockholm.
• 1940’s- the trading of alcohol declined to the
lowest level.
• 1950- Swedish govt abolished some regulations
regarding alcohol business.
• 1957- V&S decided to launch vodka brand under
the name “Explorer Vodka”.
CONTD….

• 1979- V&S decided to export vodka to the US to capture the growing demand.
• 1983- launched different types of wines (Spanish, Italy, French) in the country.
• 1987- sales rose to 20 million litres and second most popular imported vodka in
the country.
• 1994- tenth largest selling premium spirits brand in the world.
• 1999&2003- acquisition of companies by V&S.
• 2000-Absolut Vodka was ranked the fifth largest Premium spirit brand
• 2001-Absolut Vodka was ranked the third largest Premium spirit brand
• 2002-Absolut Vodka was ranked the second largest Premium spirit brand with
total sales at 7.5 million cases
COMPETITORS
IN US
• Smirnoff (Russian)
• Wyborowa (Poland)
• Finlandia (Finland)
• Wolfschmidt
• Stolichnaya
• Vin and sochu
Variants of Absolut
 Marketing mix
Product:
• The brand’s name is Absolut, derived from primary name of “Absolutely pure
vodka”.
• The Absolut vodka was produced from pure Swedish grains.
• The style and package of the product differentiates it from all the other vodka
producers around the world.

PLACE:
• It is exported to 16 different markets world wide as well as in home
country Sweden.
• A phase of Absolute advertising strategy in innovative ways.
Price

• Categorised as a premium
• Simple understanding of proper pricing and exquisite.
• It was created as a brand for American's affluent classes.

Promotion
• The unique concept of campaigns which was designed by Steven Bronstien.
• The marketing concept has helped the company to differentiate itself from the other
available brand.
 3 C’s Framework – Company Analysis
The company changed its name from AB Vin & Sprit Centralen to
V&S Vin and Spirit AB.
3rd largest selling company in premium spirits brand in the world.
They also sold in more than 125 countries.
US Subsidiary of Swedish Liquor Company V&S Vin & Spirit.
Apart from launching of ‘Absolut Vodka’, V&S also launched
Spanish, French and Italian alcoholic beverage in the country.
It divided it’s operations into 3 business areas:
• V&S Distillers
• V&S Wine
• V&S Absolut Spirits
 COMPETITION Analysis

• The Russian vodka brand ‘Smirnoff’ was very popular in U.S market(20%
market share)
• Other vodka brands emerged from U.S, U.K, and West Germany
• All the Brands had similar pricing
• Cheap Vodka was also available
• Well organized distribution Network of the competitors
• Also, locally manufactured vodka from Estonia, Japan, Sweden, Russia, Poland
• Smirnoff established that, advertising on the origin wouldn’t impact the mind
of people
CONSUMER Analysis
• Vodka being a fashionable
liquor in U.S, it attracted
women and younger people
apart from older men.
• Consumers could hardly tell
the difference between the
two brands based upon their
taste. They didn’t drink a
particular brand for it’s taste
but for the image associated
with it.
• They focused on America’s
affluent classes.
• People chose white liquor
over brown liquor.
SWOT
STRENGHTS
• Market Leader in flavoured vodka segment.
• Prestigious and easily recognisable brand with long history.
• Innovative promotion
• Used wheat gains

WEAKNESS
• Premium brand
• Competitive market
Cont..
OPPORTUNITIES
• Online sales
THREATS
• Long time competition
• Government action against alcohol
• Raising costs due to government taxes
STP (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning)
Segmentation
• 18-35 aged Male and Female (especially)
• Premium segment
Targeting
• Primarily urbanites
• 18-35 aged men and women
Positioning
• Unique shape of bottle
• Naming the product ‘Absolut’
• Priced lesser than other premium brands
 Brand Identity Prism
• Physique:
-Shape of the bottle
-Labelling Of the bottle
Physique Personality -Cap Of the Bottle
• Personality:
-Sophisticated
-Way of Advertisement
-Stylish
• Culture:
Relationship Culture -Purest of the Pure
-Being Different
• Self-Image:
-Swedish brand
-Quality
• Reflection:
-Inexpensive
Reflection Self- Image
• Relationship:
-Entertainment
BASED BRAND EQUITY PYRAMID
NEW PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
• Opportunity Identification:-USA
• Concept generation:-demand of vodka
• Concept evaluation:-Market Research
• Development:-Design and ads
• Launch:-US
Q1. What are the various issues that V&S had to keep in mind before coming
up with an appropriate brand name and a brand image, given the fact that
Swedish Vodka was not expected to find ready acceptance in the target market,
the US?

• Vodka is famous for being a Russian Brand

• Shape of the bottle
• Colour of the bottle
• Labelling on the Bottle
• Advertisement Campaign
Q2. Discuss the role advertising plays in increasing brand awareness and brand
loyalty among consumers, especially for products which have very subtle
differentiable attributes? In the above context, examine the impact Absolut
advertisements had on its target audience. Do you think the advertisements
fulfilled their purpose?

• Yes, Absolut advertisements had an impact on target audience in increasing brand

awareness and brand loyalty
• Ads was designed with a intention of the product being marketed as purest of the purest.
• Respondents highly exposed to alcohol ads are much more able to recall brand names,
identify slogans and symbols, and know key claims featured in advertisements.
• Consumers do not drink a particular brand of vodka for its taste, but they drank for the
image associated with it.
• The company initially focused on premium segment and later targeted other segments
• It also targeted sports fans, professionals, artists ,intellectuals and even those who could
not understand art /architecture.
Q3. “The Absolut advertising campaign is successful because it is
contemporary.” How did TBWA maintain the ‘freshness’ of the Absolut
campaign? Discuss with respect to the brand’s association with different media,
art, fashion, technology and music.

• Art: In 1985 Andy Warhol famous artist painted the bottle this attracted lot of
accolades and celebrity association gave the brand a lot of media attention and
publicity . Different art form like Sculpture , glass , photography, woodwork ,
digital art etc. were also used. Absolut’s association with art gave the company a
lot of media attention and publicity.
• Fashion: In 1988 David Cameroon designed a dress with Absolut vodka name and
text printed which was modelled by rachet Williams (the print ad named ‘Absolut
Cameron’) which gained tremendous publicity. This paved the way for more
creative advertisement in fashion field.
• Music: In 2003 Absolut ventured into the world of music with the launch of Three
tracks project. Absolut opened up an entirely new chapter in brand
communication as it enabled users to listen to the Absolut brand.
• Technology: With the help of technology, Absolut was able to come up with
different variants of vodka.
Q4. Even though Absolut ads have been depicted in different media, the central
theme of the campaign has remained unchanged (the bottle and the two word
slogan) over the years. In the Light of the above statement, do you think that
the campaign will manage to hold its sway or lose its impact in the near future?
Give reasons to support your arguments.

• Yes, The campaign will manage to hold its way for longer years. Each
year the amount of creativity and innovation of the brand will go up.
• The ads of Absolut Vodka create curiosity among the customers.
• People were influenced by the theme of Absolut vodka.
• The contents of the ads gets updated when a product is launched.
LEARNINGS
• Advertising and promotional activities can be the core competence
• To sustain in the competitive market, the company should always
come up with product innovation and variants.