Can you Differentiate the Taste of one Brand of Vodka from the Next?

I’m sitting here thinking about the effect that marketing has on the sales of different products. Most products are innately distinct in some shape or form. For example, a Mercedes vs. a BMW; they are both German luxury cars, yet are distinct in myriad of ways. Clearly, marketing efforts in the car industry are a lot easier, because the products are unique in look, shape, maneuverability, prestige etc. I was trying to think of the toughest product to market: one where the products are so similar that marketing efforts are the only way to differentiate the products-VODKA!

Can you tell the difference in taste between Grey Goose, Bicardi, Smirnoff, Stoli, or Ciroc? I sure as hell cannot. Unless I am drinking the vodka that comes in a clear plastic bottle (the type I drank in high school and my frat parties), I cannot tell the difference. So why is it that Grey Goose is the Goliath of the Vodka industry. Goose has a certain mystique about it. The brand fosters a feeling of prestige and luxury. When you order Grey Goose at the bar, you are making a statement: “Yeah that’s right; I’m the man and I got money.” Vodka taste tests around the world have never picked Grey Goose as the best tasting vodka. In fact, the vodka that consistently wins best taste and smoothness from vodka connoisseurs is Smirnoff. So how is it that Grey Goose ascended to the top of the vodka market?

Every vodka brand has some claim to differentiate itself from the competition-“distilled six times, distilled four times, importe from Russia.” With a little research, I was able to find out exactly how Grey Goose created a brand that eventually sold for 2.2 billion dollars. Sidney Frank, a self-made billionaire saw a niche for Vodka in the United States. In 1997 he came out with Grey Goose. Ironically, the name is genius, but the only reason he used it was because he already owned the rights to the name from a previous venture-talk about a good luck. Sidney felt that Vodka imported from France (known for the best wine region in the world) would create a sense of credibility for the brand. He meticulously selected the design for the bottle-the frosted outside and the logo. However, the most genius part of it all was his decision to put a cork in the bottle. No other brand of vodka had done this and it created a sense of prestige to the consumer. Furthermore, he imported the product in wooden crates: the same way fine bottles of wine were and continue to be imported. All of these characteristics together, created a sense of superiority. In addition, Grey Goose sponsored a myriad of high end celebrity events, in which they gave out free bottles, T-shirts and gift baskets, simultaneously to the products launch. Even though Goose was purchased by Bicardi in 2004, it remains the premium Vodka. Grey Goose epitomizes “top shelf liquor,” and more importantly stands apart from its competitors in a crowded market. Vodka is one of the toughest products to sell: for the most part, ordinary people can’t tell the difference. However, people want to be served Goose, they want others to see them order and drink Goose. Grey Goose continues to thrive because of the perception that its marketing has instilled in consumers. Thoughts, feelings, objections? Love to hear them all.

D. Spinelli