Benchmark of the 10 brand components of Smirnoff and its key Competiitors

Here is a diagram about the 10 brand components for Smirnoff but also for three main competitors:
Absolut Vodka
Eristoff
Sobieski

Absolut is the best one and win a lot of shares in consumers' minds but also in term of sales since its re-buying in 2008 by Pernod-Ricard.
Eristoff is novative and trendy, it has a problem to clearly target young people. The main message is, the strong experience and also the wild side of this brand of vodka ("the vodka that comes from the wolves' country").
Unfortunately, Sobiesky has a lack of visibility for young customers. It is not a reflex brand. When they think vodka, they do not think about Sobieski. Though, it has strong references and good global results. It is the 7th vodka brand in the world and it won the Beverage Tasting Institute prize  in 2007 in vodka category. But it is a young brand in France (2006) compared to Smirnoff, Eristoff or Absolut. But in few years, it could be a good competitor.

References
http://www.smirnoff.com/en-us/
www.vodkasobieski.com/
www.eristoff.com/index.php
www.eristoff-black.fr/
www.absolut.com/fr

So, for more details, you can see the diagram. We used different colours:

Smirnoff

Absolut

Eristoff

Sobieski

The Power Top 100

The Power 100 was created 6 years ago in order to monitor a brand’s power of the world's leading spirits and wine. During these years The Top 100 is valued as an industry benchmark of performance and recognizing brands. The aim of theis award to evaluate the level of brand’s activitiy. There are special rates which a

ssess each brand’s strengths and weaknesses, showing exclusively what is the best on the world market of spirits and wine brands.

For every brand to reach The Power Brand status is a great achievement. There are more than 10 000 spirits and wine brands in the world, but only 100 the strongest can be influential and drive the world. Those brand have the

name “Power Brand”.

Smirnoff brand for a long time keeps the leading positions even though it looses its value. According to The Power 100, the king continues to fall. The worlds largest spirits brand and the biggest vodka by over double the size of its nearest competitor continued its decline this year, with its total score down 5% on top of a 3% decline the previous year. Smirnoff's 1% volume decline and 4% value decline is symptomatic of its 'middle of the road' positioning.

The First 10 Leaders of The Power 100:

1. Smirnoff

2. Bacardi

3. Johnnie Waiker

4. Martini Vermouth

5. Absolut

6. Jack Daniel's

7. Hennessy

8. Chivas Regai

9. Captain Morgan

10. Ballantines

The Smirnoffs main competitor - Absolut is in the Top 5 in it is rapidly gaining the market share. But still it is The Power Brand.

The Power Top 100 report was made by Intangible Business - UK-based global brand valuation firm. Stuart Whitwell, joint managing director of Intangible Business, noticed, that according the report there is a tendency of increase in the drinking sector for the reason of the emerging markets in Central and Eastern Europe, China and other Asian markets. He emphasized: “The world has clearly changed following the recession with the balance of power shifting further east. No Chinese or Asian brands have yet made it into the top 100 but with the big groups increasing their presence there it is only a matter of time”. Whitwell also added, that consumers have also been exposed to and experimented with more value-orientated brands, developing a wider repertoire of options rather than sticking to the old favourites. He thinks, that while many of the big brands have been able to withstand much of this pressure there are signs that times are changing. “There are interesting times ahead”, said Whitwell.

References:

http://www.drinkspowerbrands.com

POWER 100 NAMES TOP ALCOHOL BRANDS. National Liquor News [serial
online]. June 2011;30(5):9. Available from: Business Source Complete,
Ipswich, MA. Accessed November 12, 2011.

What is your favorite vodka brand? :)

I did a little survey through to Facebook about the favorite vodka of my panel.

And as other larger studies  showed it, Smirnoff is not the favorite vodka brand. 26.1% voted for Absolut Vodka, 19.6% for Eristoff and Poliakov and only 10.9% for Smirnoff.
Why? If I compare my study and other wider surveys, we can see that people prefer Absolut and overall Zubrowka because of its particular taste and colour (Zubrowka is flavoured with buffalo grass). In my study, a lot of people voted for Eristoff and Poliakov because my panel has a small bias... They are young poeple and this category of drinkers consumes vokda with some juices,soda, energy drinks... and those two brands are prefect for it: cheap and without a strong taste characteristic.
But, strangely, Smirnoff is the bestselling brand of vodka, why?
We will see it in a next post...

The real nature of the brand

Here is a part about the values, the colours... In brief, what Smirnoff represents.

1. Shape, colour, duration:

-          Shape and colour:

The shape is a long 0.70L bottle. For some special case, the bottle can have a different design and the colour can vary according to the vodka. But the basic colours are red and silver.

-          The logo:

Smirnoff actual logo

We have two silver crowned eagles and a red banner written Smirnoff in capital letters. It is a nice mix of colour, combined with a modern design (former logo was not like that) to attract the eyes of the customers, overall young people. The flying eagles means the movement, vodka that goes higher, that is the best. The crown is here to symbolize the quality of the vodka. The red colour represents the strength and the old-fashion banner, the strong and old story of Smirnoff, its old tradition and everlasting experience. The silver colour is also a symbol of purity.

Smirnoff former logo

-          Duration:

Smirnoff exists for more than 150 years so it is a very old and experienced brand. But its last steps began in 1997 when Diageo acquired the brand. Diageo benefited from the past experience of Smirnoff and its team and also, improved it with its own background.  Before the Second World War, the brand suffered from some local regulations but globally, nothing was able to stop its forward pass. And Diageo perpetuated and accentuated it with its strong advertising campaigns. In French vodka market, we can say that Smirnoff is an everlasting brand; it was the first great vodka brand that has penetrated the French market. And Smirnoff stays the first vodka seller in France today.

1. Value, frequency of purchase, packaging

-          Value:

Smirnoff has a strong value. For customers, Smirnoff is high quality vodka, premium vodka. When you drink Smirnoff vodkas, you expect freshness, quality, and tasty vodka. You want good flavours and diversity. Drinking Smirnoff is trendy and a moment to share. So, Smirnoff represents also the sociability. You consume it in community. It is a vodka that gives a feeling of belonging. People appreciate Smirnoff for itself, for its intrinsic quality, compared to other vodkas drunk diluted with juice.

Smirnoff is seen as pure because of the quality of the vodkas distilled, but also as authentic because Smirnoff uses always the same techniques and apparels like in the past, in order to maintain the same taste and quality. Smirnoff is also defined as creative and avant-gardist because, Smirnoff is always innovating to find new flavours and to stay singular. It stays also a symbol of its native country, Russia. The Smirnoff team trys to put it forward regularly.

-          Frequency of purchase:

Diageo sells one Smirnoff bottle each six seconds.

-          Packaging:

It is a transparent 0.70L bottle with a sticker on it, with different colours depending of the Smirnoff vodka you buy. That is the same for the stopper. For example, the dominant colour will be red if you buy a Smirnoff n°21 and black if you buy a Smirnoff n°55. For different occasions, the design of the packaging can change, for example for a special event (Christmas, partnership with movie). But globally, the bottle stays the same for all basic and flavoured vodkas.

References:

www.diageo.com



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smirnoff

http://www.smirnoff.com/en-us/