Product Differentiation – Vodka
In 2005, I traveled to Russia. I went with a Russian friend who was excited to show me their homeland. Before going to Russia, I did not drink much Vodka. In fact, during my trip to Russia, I drank more Vodka than I probably had in my entire life. No meal was complete without a toast (or two) with chilled Vodka. Vodka is defined as “alcoholic liquor originally distilled from fermented wheat mash but now also made from a mash of rye, corn, or potatoes (Free Dictionary, 2013). Some people translate Vodka to mean water or water of life.
Brands can differentiate their products based upon size, form, performance, features, durability, reliability, ease of repair, design and style (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Three popular Vodka brands consumed in the United States include Absolut, Grey Goose, and Skyy. Each brand employs different tactics to differentiate itself from its competitors.
ABSOLUT
Absolut established in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith is solely manufactured in Åhus, Sweden, a small town of 10,000 people. According to Absolut (2013), this brand differentiates itself as follows:
PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION:
1. Form – Absolut Vodka is delivered in one-liter glass bottles. The Swedish Vodka brand shaped all their bottled in the likeness of an old Swedish medicine bottle (AbsolutAd, 1997). No labels are affixed to the bottle, so as to avoid covering up the product. Each bottle has a medallion of the face of the creator Lars Olsson Smith.
2. Features: Absolut offers seventeen different flavors of Vodka including Absolut Mandarin, Absolut Raspberri, and Absolut Citron (Liquor.Com, 2013). The brand website offers customers numerous recipes for making a variety of cocktails, including free apps for iPhone...
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Free Dictionary. (2013). Definition of vodka. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/vodka
Grey Goose. (2013). Our craft. Retrieved from http://www.greygoose.com/en/us/our-craft
Grey Goose. (2013). Our vodkas. Retrieved from http://www.greygoose.com/en/us/our-craft
Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2012). Marketing management (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall
Liquor.Com. (2013). Absolut Vodka. Retrieved from http://liquor.com/brands/absolut/
Liquor.Com. (2013). Grey Goose Vodka. Retrieved from http://liquor.com/brands/absolut/
Skyy. (2013). Skyy Vodka. Retrieved from http://www.skyy.com/
Washington Times. (2012). Grey Goose: The proof of social media. Retrieved from http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/status-update/2012/may/31/grey-goose-proof-social-media/
The beer brands were classified as popular, premium, super premium, and ultra-premium. The distinguishing factor determining if brands belonged to different classes was whether beer was produced by four largest companies (Anheuser-...
Armstrong, Gary, and Philip Kotler. Marketing: an introduction. 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2013. Print.
In the summer of 2011, Absolut Vodka launched a limited edition new flavor red apple and ginger of vodka and named it Absolut Brooklyn. They collaborated with Spike Lee, a filmmaker. He designed the style of the picture that was presented on the bottle. He drew a stoop because that is where he grew up in and the stoop was a place for entertaining. Before this campaign Absolut already produced three city themes which were New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Boston. Brooklyn was chosen for several reasons. Brooklyn is the most populated city in New York City populating 2.5 million people, making it the 4th largest city in the US. The campaign wanted something different that would make an impact in New York and Brooklyn was the perfect candidate for something unique and different. Through research Brooklyn was the new city of popular cool trends with art, music, film, and fashion. It was the new Manhattan. Also Brooklyn was a popular city that many people could trace their roots from.
Kotler, P., Keller, K.L. (2012). Marketing Management (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Art and substance are sometimes concomitant. One verdant drink, Absinthe, is a landmark to an era long passed among the modern age’s most brilliant artistic minds. Although originally used for medicinal treatment, it was consumed ravenously by such famous individuals such as Hemingway, Van Gogh, Degas in Parisian cafes. However, the rise of the prohibitionist movement and fear of its narcotic effects led to its ban across western Europe in 1915. Nevertheless, its resurging popularity stands as a testament to a yearning of the radicalism and change at the turn of the century.
There is no denying that women are given high standards when it comes to their appearance. Advertisements make women look flawless and always perfectly groomed; no matter what she is captured doing in the advertisement. Skyy vodka, especially in their July 2010 Maxim magazine advertisement, is guilty of discriminating against woman. At a first glance upon this hypnotizing ad, the white, flawless, perfectly groomed female appears to be in a dress with a matching background. At a closer look, the girl with luscious locks of orange hair is simply lying naked in a bed, under what is safe to assume, her man or any man’s sheets. Male dominance in our society is still a major problem. Males either create or are exposed to advertisements
Mackay, D., (2014). Vodka Binge-drinking Deaths in Russian Men on Rise Due to Boozed-up Fights and Alcohol Poisoning. Retrieved from http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/vodka-binge-drinking-deaths-russian-men-3097908
Turning Heineken into a global brand is needed to provide a unique and similar to experience to people across different countries and in different societies. To create and foster global brand development we must take into account the current stage of development in each region and country. In developing markets such as Africa and Eastern Europe a pushing strategy is desired. In established markets such as North and Central Europe, North A...
There are several different types of commercial beer, consisting of pilsner, lager, ale, stout, light, low-carb, malt liquor, dry, ice-brewed, bottled, draft, and non-alcoholic. Further, the U.S. market has been divided in to three categories: super premium, premium, and popular-priced (Alcoholic Beverages, 2005). In 2002, the U.S. Market Share Reporter stated that light beer consumed 40.1% of the beer market, premium held 25.9% of the market, and popular-priced beer held the remainder.
Etzel, Michael J., Stanton, Bruce J., Stanton, William J. (2004). Marketing. (13th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Cravens, D. W., & Piercy, N. F. (2009). Strategic marketing (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
We are used to seeing advertisements promoting alcoholic drinks and the use and purchase of these. We can find these ads in the movie theaters, television, expressway, and many other places. Have you ever seen a mockery ad against a drink? Have you ever seen an anti-alcohol advertisement that advises you not to buy a product? This is the case with the brand of Absolute vodka. There is an anti-alcohol ad that mocks against this product. At first glance the ad seems to be trying to convince the audience to have awareness that drinking and driving could bring you to an "Absolute end”. After further analysis it provide statistics where car accidents are linked to alcohol, and how teenagers today are exposed and surrounded to alcoholic beverages before their legal age to drink.
... P.H. (1988). Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control. (6th ed.). Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs.
Kotler, P. & Keller, K.L., (2009), A Framework for Marketing Management. 4th edition, Pearson Prentice Hall: USA
Philip Kotler; Kevin Lane Keller (2009): “Marketing Management”, 13th edition, Pearson Prentice Hall, pg 61-62