According to Applbaum, the super-premium vodka category has suffered in recent years due to the elitist relationship it has with built with its consumers.
According to Drinks International’s The Millionaires’ Club, Grey Goose lost 0.5m 9-litre cases between 2016-17, but has since returned to growth in 2018.
“I think the category has been dumbed down,” Applbaum told Drinks International. “It’s lost its special qualities and Grey Goose is no exception. We haven’t differentiated one vodka brand from another.”
Grey Goose’s new platform Live Victoriously has been launched globally across all media and aims to encourage younger consumers to enjoy the smaller moments in life.
“I don’t like to call it a campaign because to me it sounds short term,” added Applbaum. “We want a sustainable and creative platform for the next decade. Live Victoriously is rooted in consumer insights but we want it to differentiate us from other vodka brands and other super-¬premium spirits.
“While our focus on the super-premium image of Grey Goose has helped the brand, it’s also limited the potential drinking occasions. So we want to move away from the nightclub drinking image – although this is still important to us – and encourage new occasions.
“We have to be seen as an affordable luxury, something everyone can enjoy and hopefully people will enjoy Grey Goose to celebrate the small victories in life.”
Applbaum said that the brand has focused too much on its French heritage in recent years, saying that because there is no geographical indicator for vodka, the brand’s origin isn’t as key as say scotch whisky.
He also believes that vodka particularly is associated with impulsive purchasing and so it is important for the brand to position itself for this through the Live Victoriously platform.
“Consumers often decide how to spend discretionary income on an impulse, so we are in competition with every super-premium spirit on the back bar and the new platform will hopefully help our audience celebrate more often.
“I have a great team of marketers at Grey Goose, some have been there for years, and it wasn’t along process developing Live Victoriously because it was actually quite obvious to us what we needed to do.
“We aren’t just changing the way people view Grey Goose, but hopefully the whole vodka category and even further.”
