Get to know FLIRTY!!!

FLIRTY offers the idea of fun, excitement, adventure and pure sexiness with every sip as it reveals its unique, sweet with a little tart flavor.

We make FLIRTY Vodka from the highest quality grains and essential oils of Wild Cherries combined with a luxurious Vanilla Crème Liqueur.

Because of the creative bottle design, FLIRTY will look fabulous on every shelf, liquor cabinet, or bar. Even when the bottle is empty, it will be incredibly hard to discard.

Furthermore, the FLIRTY mixed martini drinks such as “So Flirty”, “Wild by Nature”, “Cherry Darling”, “Kiss Me Two Times”, are a thrill to order – These drinks have already been established and given to all the “hot spot” nightclubs.

"Many sellers make the mistake of paying more attention to the specific products they offer than to the benefits and experiences produced by the products. These sellers suffer from marketing myopia." Armstrong & Kotler, Ch1 - P. 39

In order to avoid marketing myopia, FLIRTY drinkers can submit ideas for their own mixed drinks recipes on the FLIRTY website. Also on the same site, drinkers can share wild, flirty stories – real or fictional, about nighttime escapades or even a run-in with the delivery person. We also encourage as much feedback as our customer would like to offer.

We make FLIRTY for one reason and one reason only - pure delight and it is our main goal to pass that delight on to every pair of lips (and the person attached to them) that has the pleasure of sipping FLIRTY.

First Poster of Ad Campaign

Click image to enlarge.

FLIRTY TARGET MARKET - "Ultimately, marketing managers must decide which customers they want to target and on the level, timing, and nature of their demand. Simply put, marketing management is customer management and demand management." Armstrong & Kotler, Ch1 - P. 41

Our target market is young ladies in their early twenties to early forties. Ladies who are most likely single or at least pretend to be during their "girls nite out". A FLIRTY Girl has a naturally vibrant and vivid personality or maybe they drink FLIRTY to bring that out of them. Either way, a FLIRTY Girl is a fun girl, a sexy girl... An Adverturous Girl!

Second Poster of Ad Campaign

Click image to enlarge.

FLIRTY VALUE ADDED PRICING - "In many marketing situations, the challenge is to build the company’s pricing power – its power to escape price competition and to justify higher prices and margins without losing market share." Armstrong & Kotler, Ch9 - P.294

Our price is far from modest but it's far and maybe closer to what some my call outrageous. But our customers get what they pay for and that is exclusivity. When one purchases a bottle of FLIRTY Vodka they will spend roughly eighty dollars but with that, they get so much more than vodka. Customers will recieve a key to the exclusive online FLIRTY Community where they mingle, chat, rant, and download VIP invites to parties in their area.

Third Poster of Ad Campaign

Click image to enlarge.

ITS ALL ABOUT THE CUSTOMERS - "Above all else, new-product development must be customer centered. When looking for and developing new products, companies often rely too heavily on technical research." Armstrong & Kotler, Ch. 8 – P.274

When deciding how to brand our vodka, we got out there, asked around, test marketed, and really saw how people were reacting to the FLIRTY concept. We observed how the brand positioned in our customers minds and with that, we sculpted the FLIRTY Vodka we have today.

Comments

Comment to Finn MacCool
My response to the entry titled "Logo for Finn mac Cool Vodka" on the Finn mac Cool blog."I really like your design. Very Celtic, and the picture of Ireland at the top is great! Would love to read the story of "Finn mac Cool"!"

Response to Finn Mac Cool Video
"Specialty products are consumer products and services with unique characteristics or brand identification for which a significant group of buyers is willing to make a special purchase effort." Armstrong & Kotler, Ch. 7 – P.223

I can definitely see a very specific group of people buying this Vodka. although it has a very distinct market, I can still see other who are just fascinated by the concept reaching for it and possibly making this vodka a staple in their cabinet.

Comment to B State Studios
My response to reading the article on B State Studios blog titled "Super-Premium Vodkas boost sales"."This is a really great and very informative article. It brought things to my attention I would have never thought about such as the U.S. and Russia being the only countries really into premium and specialty Vodkas. I would have thought that many countries were into drinking high end vodka."

Comment to Blushing Bride Vodka
"In its quest to create customer value, the firm needs to look beyond its own value chain and into the value chains of its suppliers, distributors, and ultimately, customers…. More companies are partnering with the other members of the supply chain to improve the performance of the customer delivery network." Armstrong & Kotler, Ch. 2 – P.78

I think you've done a terrific job deciding who to partner with. Blushing Bride teamed up with Blush Nightclub is an excellent idea. It wouldn't be a bad idea to partner up with the Wynn altogether. They could offer Blushing Bride to their newly wed couples. They could even put it in the Bride's Room inside the Wedding Salon for some prenump shots...

Comment to Forged Vodka - Welcome
"To create value for customers and to build meaningful relationships with them, marketers must first gain fresh, deep insights into what customers need and want. Companies use such customer insights to develop competitive advantage." Pg. 128

It seems to me that you certainly have found a gap to fill in the vodka market. Many Vodkas are geared towards women or are a bit on the bourgeoisie side. You really have something that none of your competitors do and that's studlyness ;)

Comment to Kettle V. New Vodka, New Generation - "Ad Campaign - Magazine, Billboards Part 2"
"The marketing strategy states that to be successful, a company must provide a greater customer value and satisfaction than its competitors do. Thus, marketers must do more than simply adapt to the needs of target consumers. They also must gain strategic advantage by positioning their offerings strongly against competitors offering in the minds of consumers." Armstrong & Kotler, Ch. 3 – P.99

With your ads you have done just this - There is definitely a strong position established here. You have created an excellent concept. The vodka itself has a nice classy feel while the ads transmit a sense of humor from the brand. Something about it says "we're sophisticated but we're not afraid to laugh and be a little silly." Way to strike that balance unlike any of your competitors!

Additional quotes from Armstrong & Kotler

"Customer-centered new-product development begins and ends with solving customer problems." Armstrong & Kotler, Ch. 8 – P.274

"Reaching service profits and growth goals begins with taking care of those who take care of the customers." Armstrong & Kotler, Ch. 7 – P.235

"Selecting and partnering with resellers is not easy. No longer do manufacturers have many small, independent resellers from which to choose… These [large] organizations frequently have enough power to dictate terms or even shut smaller manufacturers out of large markets." Armstrong & Kotler, Ch. 3 – P.98

"The major activity in strategic planning is business portfolio analysis, whereby management evaluates the products and businesses making up the company." Armstrong & Kotler, Ch. 2 – P.72

"In its quest to create customer value, the firm needs to look beyond its own value chain and into the value chains of its suppliers, distributors, and ultimately, customers…. More companies are partnering with the other members of the supply chain to improve the performance of the customer delivery network." Armstrong & Kotler, Ch. 2 – P.78

Industry Voices on twice.com

Lessons Learned From Vodka:

This blog will attempt to pass along historical views, along with a sometimes impious perspective on marketing tools like UMRP, distribution or relationships. No single answer works for every question, and any activity can be dead wrong under certain circumstances. For example:

* Selling more dealers might result in lower sales volume
* Raising prices could increase sales
* Simplification may undermine success stemming from complexity

Example 1 comes from the 1960’s — Smirnoff Embraces Price Chic

Years ago a popular college case study in marketing had to do with vodka. Use of vodka itself was also somewhat popular in college. Designer drugs had not yet been developed, so brown liquids (Scotch, beer, bourbon) dominated intoxication. Vodka was faintly alien, like wine, kind of European and not particularly manly. It would take the end of the three-martini lunch era, 15 years later, for breath-friendly vodka to hit its stride.

In the era preceding power import products like Stolichnaya, Absolut and Grey Goose, two labels dominated the vodka market — Smirnoff and Wolfschmidt. Liquor store customers decided whether to buy 80-, 90- or 100-proof vodka, but generally chose one of these two brands, or cheap house varieties like Piggly Wiggly vodka.

Deciding to break a market share deadlock, Wolfschmidt moved aggressively. After careful consultation with cost accountants, consumer demand charts and entrails secured at a northwest New Jersey sheep farm, they dropped their price to $12/case ($1/bottle.) Sales skyrocketed. Wolfschmidt VPs got new washroom keys, Hugh Downs interviewed them on The Today Show and they all would have high-fived except that hadn’t been invented yet. Smirnoff executives pondered how to react. About one month later they moved — and in a strange direction.

While capable of parity manufacturing costs — potatoes being potatoes after all — Smirnoff might have worked a little closer to the bone and undercut Wolfschmidt pricing. However, since neither computers nor calculators existed — and sales executives felt using a slide rule was simply too geeky — this seemed fiscally dangerous. Other ideas bubbled to the surface, perhaps increased advertising, or threatening liquor store buyers with release of last year’s cruise photos. In they end, Smirnoff eschewed a price war and RAISED their prices $1 a bottle. It worked.

Customers who had little knowledge in this liquor category now had a clear choice between average vodka and premium vodka. Since they bought approximately one bottle annually — in case Vladimir the exchange student decided to drop by for a drink — the $2 premium represented no financial hardship. Smirnoff became the No. 1 brand and remained there for many years (until Absolut passed them). Wolfschmidt never fully recovered. As a “tweener” value brand they languished in a category where consumer chic became increasingly important, hence the growth for import brands. Bang-for-the-buck shoppers used Kresge’s house vodka for their punch needs. Wolfschmidt had no customer base.

Smirnoff avoided loss by not engaging in price competition. They profited by forgetting the price elasticity charts, understanding that product cost represents simply another component in the marketing matrix.

Posted by Warren Mann on December 19, 2006