International marketing communication: Absolut Vodka case

We decided to study Absolut Vodka which constitutes the third largest international spirit in the world. Absolut Vodka is a Swedish brand belonging to the public group Vin & Spirit. It is very successful and famous for the quality of its vodka and also for its special position in the market, the differentiation. Thanks to very creative advertising campaigns, the marketers have created awareness that will lead to trial and then to a decision making purchase. What is more, in 2002, Forbes Magazine ranked Absolut Vodka as the world’s number one luxury brand.

Absolut Vodka is very famous for its marketing and advertising campaigns that have won over 350 awards over the years. As a creative brand with great trend-awareness, it always considers it fundamentally important to update permanently its image and awareness using cutting-edge communication channels. Absolut Vodka gets coverage in every medium, but uses especially in the the ads: a picture of the bottle with a two or a three word caption starting with the word “Absolut” and often saying something complementary about the product. Furthermore, the brand takes great advantages of using the buzz marketing as a strategy to market its products (record player in the street, etc). All advertising campaigns are based on the development of a strong memorable identity for the brand through image advertising, an image that will appeal to product users.

[...] The primary objectives of Absolut Vodka are to differentiate itself in order to attract people’s attention. In comparison to the advertising campaign of the other alcohol brands, Absolut Vodka has unique positioning. The creative element in the brand’s campaigns is a critical part of its marketing communications program since it must reflect the market positioning strategy and directly communicate the brand positioning to its intended target audience. That is why Absolute Vodka decided to focus on its product differentiation. In a market driven by innovation, the aim is to show that the products are completely different leading to product awareness, trial and purchase. [...]

[...] As a consequence, in case of failures in their brand image building process, customers will be more likely to switch from ABSOLUT Vodka to competitors, because they are not connected to the quality of this vodka. Opportunities Advertisement On the contrary, many countries like France, the United States allows alcohol’s advertisements. The advertisement exists in several forms: magazines, the television, the Internet or billboards etc. In this market, the advertisements are more and more frequent, thus every brand creates their own campaign, and looks to win new customers. [...]

[...] (For example, Raspberri: between 20 and 23, Vodka 80 one litre: 23 to 27 dollars, Ruby Red: 20 dollars) Absolut Vodka is very famous for its marketing and advertising campaigns that have won over 350 awards over the years. As a creative brand with great trend-awareness, it always considers it fundamentally important to update permanently its image and awareness using cutting-edge communication channels. Absolut Vodka gets coverage in every medium, but uses especially in the the ads: a picture of the bottle with a two or a three word caption starting with the word “Absolut” and often saying something complementary about the product. [...]