Alcohol brands online: Summer 2010

Before the 4th of July weekend, Squeaky was asked by Tequila Avión, a premium tequila brand, to help with its digital presence. There was a sense of urgency to “elevate” the brand: Tequila Avión was being written into HBO’s Entourage by the creator, Doug Ellin, for episode “80: Buzzed” to be aired on July 11th (yes, in one week!). They asked for our help because their existing site didn’t do much for the brand.

We opted for a Facebook tab to “Experience Tequila Avión” which allowed the three different tequilas to be featured with custom recipes that are simple and sleek to reflect the premium product, yet lending the small, independent brand a grassroot feel by utilizing their Facebook fans. The strategy and execution were well received by the fans and the brand team, and we did it in a super crunch time!

During the discovery and strategy phase, we scan the web to see what other alcohol brands are doing online. (Trust me, there are a lot of them out there.)

Here are a few that stand out:

Absolut Vodka—Absolut-ly on top

Absolut has consistently done very well with their brand messaging. They are “smart, stylish, creative and witty” and they seem to always get it right, from web to social media to mobile.

Facebook Fans: 534,407 fans

Facebook Campaigns:

  • BROOKLYN: What’s your Stoop Story? Celebrating Summer, Bloggers sharing their love for Brooklyn, Spike Lee, etc.
  • Lemon Drop: To promote Lemon Drop the movie starring Ali Larter
  • NY-Z: Documentary with Jay-Z – video released on Facebook first
  • Berry Acai: With Zooey Deschanel

Remember their ABSOLUT Anthem video from summer 2009?

Mobile: Absolut’s iPhone app has the nicest interface with a card-flicking motion that has a nice stickiness to it.

In addition, Absolut is the first brand who embraces the LGBT market. The latest commercials I saw was during Ru Paul’s Drag Race (yes, the show is my guilty pleasure. I just love Ru!)  where LGBT personalities (from Santino Rice, finalist on Project Runway to journalist / editor / author / TV personality Merle Ginsberg) of shared their coming out / standing up story in a bar and Absolut creating different drinks named for them. Absolut was a sponsor and the segment with Berri Açaí is hillarious.

Summary:

I’ve always been a fan of Absolut, every since I saw those iconic Absolut print ads (Absolut Brooklyn is still my favorite and that was out in the 90’s). The fact that Absolut has managed to move on every new medium successfully and speaking about the brand consistently is an achievement not many brands can claim they did well.

So Absolut, from one vodka drinker to another: Very well done!

Grey Goose Vodka—Less than premium

When Urban Daddy’s The Dashboard came out in August and I saw the Grey Goose bottles on the bottom right corner, I was pretty excited to see what they have to offer. Unfortunately, the nightlife assistance tool is created for Urban Daddy and only sponsored by Grey Goose. So it wasn’t a creative push from the vodka brand.

The tool, albeit the really sleek 3D-ish design, is only half as cool and smooth as the Sprint “Plug into Now” dashboard, which came out almost 2 years ago and is still being kept up-to-date nicely.

Facebook Fans: 148,035 fans

Facebook Campaigns:

  • L’Orange: Downloadable Cocktail cards (go to Photos, with simple “Drag to desktop and print” instruction), Video of their TV commercial, Mobile Recipes App (Grey Goose Mobile Alert).
  • Boxes: Pocket Cocktail iApp, Send a Toast to friend (which links to their website)

Note: Unfortunately, all the campaigns above are no longer available.

Mobile:  Dubbed “A Guide To The Extraordinary, Delicious and Exquisite,” I felt that it was nice but lacking the pizazz that Absolut’s  iPhone app brings to the table.

Hornitos Tequila—Ballsy!

Facebook Fans: 48,1545 fans

Facebook Campaigns:

  • Grow A Pair:  Showing their commercials + monthly contest. Currently running ads with videos pointing to Facebook
  • Recipes: With an easy Print, Share, Comment & Like links under each recipe

What stuck was the hilarious commercials from their “Purer Than Your Intentions” campaign with “Cougar Phone” and “Doris.” Watch ’em!

Other notables:

Patron Tequila

With its recognizable bottle simply at the center on the website, surrounded by hovering, comment-shape features, the brand strongly presented itself as a premium spirit brand. I like it: It’s clean, straight-forward and it feels premium.

Was the hovering of the elements done intentionally to mimic the bee in the logo? I don’t know but now that I’ve noticed it, it’ll be interesting to find out.

901 Tequila

This is Justin Timberlake’s tequila. It’s not a spoof. He can now add “Distiller of fine tequila” to his list of accolades. The tequila is supposedly super smooth, according to tequila aficionado who tried it. Well, if you have what it takes to create a product, why not, right?

The website opens with a looped video of this girl, looking at you and, I have to admit, if you leave it on for a while, it’s kinda creepy. Within the FILMS section, you can watch its sexy smooth commercials. Coming from the guy who brought “Sexy Back,” it’s certainly appropriate.