Pragati A SMba 1st sem

Absolute vodkaAbsolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, Scania, in southern Sweden. Since March 2008, the company has been owned by the French firm Pernod Ricard, having been sold as a part of the V&S Group, which was owned by the Swedish government.Building on a four century tradition of producing vodka at Åhus, Absolut was introduced in 1879 by the entrepreneur Lars Olsson Smith. Absolut is the third largest brand of alcoholic spirits in the world after Bacardi and Smirnoff, marketed in 126 countries. The largest export market is the United States where close to 73 million litres are sold. More than 40% of the imported vodka in the United States is Absolut.

The launch of absolute in united states:

It was introduced in the United States in 1979, by Carillon Importers, a division of International Distillers and Vintners, Ltd. (IDV), the United States marketing subsidiary of the British alcoholic-beverage marketing firm Grand Metropolitan. Before the rise of Absolut as Carillon’s star product, the company had focused on the orange- flavored liqueur, Grand Marnier

Company website: www.absolut.com

The target market: The target market for Absolut has been described variously as “anyone above 35,” to “the top of the pyramid,” “the upper end, trend-setting, artsy crowd,” to “the ferociously hip.”

they used demographics while planning but the target market is described as “everyone above 21 and older with the ability to drink.

The Absolut Advertising Strategy and media plan:In the advertisement, an intentional spelling mistake was done to make it unforgettable. This strategy created a marketing history.In its advertising, the two-word slogan became the standard, as it was easy to remember. The product and the bottle became the strength in all its advertising campaigns making the ad smart, showy, savvy, sophisticated, stylish and sexy.

Much of Absolut's fame is due to its long-running advertising campaign, created by advertising agency TBWA, based on the distinctive bottle shape. Having started around 1980 with photographer Steven Bronstein, and with more than 1500 ads, the ad campaign is the longest running ever.The ads frequently feature an Absolut bottle-shaped object in the center and a title "ABSOLUT ____." at the bottom.

The media widely used are:

Print media

Some of the poster ads (mostly at bus stops and train stations) Absolut has its iconic print ads starring the Absolut bottle dressed up by fashion designers,

famous photographers, and artists, with a two-word tag line.

Books –The Absolute book :the Absolut vodka advertising story and The Absolut sequel

The print ad illustrates the originality of ABSOLUT VODKA and delivers the single message that ABSOLUT is “The Absolute Vodka.”

Postcards

Magazines advertising outlets included the newsweeklies and the established glossies (Vanity Fair ,Rolling

Stone, Esquire,Sports Illustrated, Playboy, In Style ,cosmopolitian, US weekly ), also off-beat magazines such as Spy,Details ,LA Style , and Interview Carillon

Absolut magazine - Absolute reflexions

In Ms.and in The Advocate (a gay magazine).

Billboards Billboards tied to the locale, as on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills—“Absolut Drive”; billboards in Chicago with the letters in “Absolut Chicago” blowing in the wind;

trucks roaming the streets of New York in with reproductions of the bottle, on ice, on their backs, and similar “outdoor” advertising for San Francisco and Washington D.C

Sponsorships

sponsored an “Absolut Grapelli” concert at Carnegie Hall An “Absolut Concert” sponseror.

Absolut Vodka has also been the official corporate sponsor of the GLAAD Media Awards for many years.

sponsored major gay events with caption "Absolut Achievement".

The ad appeared in gay film festivals sponsored by the brand.

Advertising campaigns In 2007, Absolut began its "In An Absolut World" campaign in which the company posted

various, often fanciful scenarios of what the target audience might think would constitute a perfect, or "Absolut", reality.

The new campaign included themes like classics in pop culture, landing of Apollo on the moon with a tagline ‘Absolut Road Trip’, statue of Liberty with the tag ‘Absolut welcome’.

It also labeled Steve McQueen as an Absolut man, and featured Marilyn Monore entertaining troops with a tag ‘Absolut moral boosters’

Television :

The multimillion dollar push in the U.S. is Absolut's first all-new campaign in 25 years -- and will mark the first time it has advertised on TV

The 30-second spots will debut on cable channels such as Comedy Central, Fox Sports Net, and E!

The broadcast television spots illustrate a collage of “absolute” moments and icons that define modern culture.

A Vodka Movie

(Zach Galifianakis, Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim were commissioned by Absolut Vodka to make a film for their website)

Absolut Tracks Since 2005, Absolut has offered Absolut-Tracks: one base song ("Breathe").Each track has its

own video, and all are available as free downloads

Internet : Home website: www.absolut.com Absolute forums Absolut Collectors Forum Absolut Ads Gallery Online magazine- Absolute reflexions (www.absolutreflexions.com) Other websites like www.ebay.com ,www.absolutads.com etc.

Does the website convey the same message broad cast in the other media?

Absolut has always aimed to be on the forefront in all sorts of communication, but in recent years the Internet has made it possible to communicate and interact with everybody. Therefore site take care of the overall target group of Absolut and not only those who are looking for cutting-edge experiences on the web.

The site was created by a Swedish web agency, with a team of between 3-8 people on the project for 12-months.The website also had to follow our overall communications platform.so absolut.com gives the consumer a creative experience as well as information on the Absolut brand as that of any other broadcast media. The Absolut site is testimony to the Internet’s power as a global communications medium.