“Gentlemen, This is Vodka”: An Analysis of Ketel One’s Marketing StrategyJohn Carvalho / Mark Banks

May 4, 2011

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1. Description of the advertisement in question.

The television commercial we are discussing is for Ketel One vodka. The commercial’s name is “Bar”. It can be accessed at http://www.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/34459643 . The commercial is shot in muted color; not quite grayscale, but as if we are viewing everything through sunglasses. The musical accompaniment is a driving rock guitar soundtrack. The setting is a classy, dimly lit, upscale urban bar. Businessmen mingle, while enjoying the occasional longing glance of women around the room’s periphery. The attire is simple in style, spartan in color, but luxurious in quality. Black or charcoal pinstripe blazers, crisply starched white spread-collar shirts.

The action follows one man in as he enters the frame and joins a party at the bar. The remainder of the scene does not seem to be focused on any one individual- rather, the camera pans across the various groups around the bar, catching a laugh, a flirtatious glance, the Ketel One bottles on every free surface, and ending with a toast. The colors we see the most of are black, white, and especially clear, the absence of color, as our eyes are repeatedly drawn to the pure, clear stream of vodka splashing down into the clear crystal glass filled with clear ice cubes sweating with condensation.

A narrator guides the action throughout the commercial. It is a deep, gravelly voice, somewhat akin to what Morgan Freeman. The narration transcript is as follows: “There was a time when standing for something stood for something- when men preferred to write their own stories, and refused to drink whatever the world just happened to pour in their glass. There was a time when men were men- it was last night. Inspired by 300 years of tradition- Ketel One. Gentlemen, this is vodka. Drink responsibly.”

2. Identification of the TM

In this case, we deemed it prudent to look toward hard numbers, and use demographics for our answer. While our subjective impressions are interesting, they are just that, subjective- Ketel One certainly has access to the demographic information and likely uses that to determine who their target market is, and who their “average customer” is.

In general, our demographic data was acquired on Media Mark, a service that compiles extensive data of this type for marketing entities and companies making marketing decisions. In every case, the amount of raw data provided vastly exceeded that which we could easily utilize. However, an index was provided that showed the percentage above or below the norm for each piece of data. That is to say, an index of 184 would suggest that individuals who fit in the relevant category were 84 percent more likely to partake than the norm. So, in the interest of significance, we were generally interested in indices of 150 or above, that is to say, 50 percent more than the norm. Our exceptions were for gender and age data, which we deemed relevant even if they were not as immediately significant. In each case, we try to identify one general trend each in TV, magazine, and internet use. That is, we try to highlight in broad terms what the TM watches on TV, reads, and how they use the internet, thereby providing a useful picture of both how they interact with media and thus how media can be effectively leveraged to target them.

As such, we quickly realize that our target market that we derive from the demographic and psychographic data is quite similar to the individuals portrayed in our ad. The target customer is male, from 35-44. He likely has postgraduate education, works in a professional or

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corporate field. He has an extremely high household income, and lives in a house valued north of five hundred thousand dollars. His love for leisure is reflected in his media habits- he watches on-demand TV, reads magazines about gourmet food and the like, and frequents travel websites with a frequency indicative of somebody with the financial ability to travel regularly, whether for business or pleasure.

Although the market is very specific, it is still fairly substantial- because these individuals have a tremendous amount of purchasing power, they are still certainly still a relevant segment to target. With psychographics and demographics allowing us to discern the target market with such specificity, this target market is in some ways fairly homogenous. This segment has very similar purchasing power, similar needs and similar desires.

One segment that is heterogeneous to the target market we previously identified could be the market for women of around the same age and psychographic characteristics. This market may have to be given a different iteration of product (considering that original Ketel One has been marketed as a vodka for gentlemen), but this could be easily accomplished with a flavored beverage or a packaging tweak. Another segment that could be identified as a substantial heterogeneous segment for vodka would be college age students. It would likely take a widening of product lines to include a lower price alcohol to accomplish this, however. It would be much more surprising to see Ketel One produce a lower-priced vodka, as it may effect the company’s brand image, gross margin, and profitability.

3. Identification of key strategic decisions.

The competitive advantage illustrated here is simple and obvious. This ad is selling a lifestyle, and getting inside men’s heads to do it in a subtly stealthy way. This ad is targeting men who may have just moved to suburbia, men who believe the VP in the office to their left is better looking and has more hair left and is getting all the attention from the cute new account executive. This guy being targeted is a guy who wants to become a real man, and watches this ad knowing that the partners in the law firm or his bosses at the company probably celebrate like this on the weekends when he’s not around. This is selling the image of the modern “real” man, oozing both masculinity and cologne; comfortable in designer clothing, comfortable drinking designer alcohol. The benefit the marketer is then providing is the fleeting promise of an invitation into this exclusive lifestyle, a membership pass at this suave club.

4. Identification of basic product features/attributes.

The attributes and features offered by this product are simple. It is vodka, a clear, alcoholic beverage that in this case is distilled from wheat, but in other cases is distilled from rye or potatoes. It is bottled in thick glass bottles, with large rectangular labels affixed to the front of each bottle. It is most commonly sold in 750ml size.

5. Identification of basic product benefits.

The benefits that this product offers are varied. There is the alcohol content. It is an alcoholic beverage, and as such will get customers who consume it drunk. Additionally, there is the “lifestyle” aspect that is being expertly tapped into. As well, we have the high ease of use- a

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highly distilled, especially pure vodka, it then has the potential to be mixed with a variety of mixers and used in a variety of drinks. Finally, there’s the taste. Presented as implicity but immediately superior to the more inadequate brands, Ketel One is smooth enough that it can be enjoyed straight or on the rocks. 6. Identify the value and type of value being offered to the TM.

As with any product or service, Ketel One offers value in a variety of ways. There is of course a very functional value- it’s an alcoholic beverage, it tastes good, it gets customers drunk. There is also a very definite social value. The very concept of a “social drinker” suggests that alcohol is often used in these situations. There is a real social value offered here; Ketel One presents itself as an integral product any time good friends get together. The emotional value is twofold. On one hand, alcohol in great quantities allows some users to suspend emotion, to get drunk and forget about their troubles. On the other hand, in more moderate quantities, there’s a strong positive emotional value tied into the already-mentioned social value- not only will this product help you celebrate with friends, it helps you be happy with them and experience happiness together.

7. Identification of messaging strategies

An important aspect of advertising to understand is that companies have different objects they want to meet (perhaps even at the same time), and as such utilize several different message strategies that meet the variety of requirements that they are concerned with. This ad seems to seems to be a hybrid between institutional advertising, which does not explicitly aim to increase sales but rather to augment corporate image, and product advertising done to directly increase sales. On one hand, the commercial is certainly suggesting that we buy vodka. We can watch the commercial just once and know immediately the product, what the bottles look like, where they can readily be found.

However, a closer examination reveals very little direct selling of product. This commercial seems to be chiefly about building the image, selling the experience and the “lifestyle”, as we have noted in previous questions. The fact of the matter is, Ketel One makes several varieties (at least 3) of product, and that variety was certainly not differentiated or focused on. Rather, the product itself was in this case an ancillary concern- it is simply the tool the customer must use, the product they must obtain, in order to avail themselves of the lifestyle being carefully portrayed in the ad.

Because the ad is utilizing two message strategies, one subordinate to the other, it then follows that we see two different types of persuasion at play as well. It seems that with the institutional advertising, they are taking a very central route to persuasion. If the goal of that messaging portion of the ad is to augment the views of the company in the eyes of the consumers, it seems that certainly expecting consumers’ Ketel-One related opinions to improve following the viewing of the ad. However, the product selling portion of the message is using the peripheral route to persuasion. If the ad increases sales or digital/social interaction, it’s not because somebody got up before a camera, extolled the benefits, the low price, or the locations it could be purchased. Rather, this ad is more about the lifestyle being portrayed, and customers would be prompted to purchase not because of direct, product-specific information from the ad, but rather to “gain entry” into that lifestyle.

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8. Examination of the message channel.

This particular television commercial is part of an advertising campaign that has helped revamp Ketel One’s approach to advocating for and illustrating their brand identity. Ketel One was formerly involved in mainly print advertising. These print ads were helpful in capturing their target market because in years prior, TV stations were fewer and far between, and the types of white-collar males who make up our TM were much more likely to have daily interaction with newspapers and magazine weeklies.

However, this target market has certainly followed news and sports’ move onto television, and is now a significant television watcher of news and sports. As such, when the commercial first aired, it could be seen on sports channels and news channels. Now the commercial is on the internet in various places. In the future, Ketel One is branching into internet advertising in order to stay abreast of the Internet’s incursion into every aspect of our lives. In short, this was a very effective choice of channel to reach the TM, because as we have noted in our discussion of this target market, they have a strong affinity for watching television.

9. An examination of the message efficacy in terms of the targeting and each step in the communication process.

In order to understand and critique the way that the message was communicated, it is important to come to a close understanding of what exactly the message is. The catchy “Gentlemen, this is vodka” phrase from the end of the ad seems like the right candidate, but let’s remember the true message went beyond the spoken or printed word and was more implicit and indirect. We know for a fact that this phrase, for that matter, wouldn’t make the grade as a unique selling proposition, because it would only be truly a unique selling proposition if all the other vodkas on the market were not in fact vodkas (or not drunk by gentlemen?) and we know this is not the case. Taking into consideration everything we’ve previously noted, the implicit message is probably something like this: Gentlemen drink our vodka, real men drink our vodka. Our company possesses the traditions and the know-how to produce a vodka that you’ll enjoy, but more importantly, that you should enjoy, if you are in fact a real man, and a discerning man who appreciates the finer things. Men who drink our vodka are men who truly experience life.

Now, we’ll consider several related ideas- how was the message communicated (encoded and decoded), the potential for feedback? We will also look at the efficacy of the message itself- is this message a good choice for the product and the TM? Additionally, we’ll look at some broader ideas regarding the message’s communication- did the marketers break through the clutter effectively? Were the strategies used effective ones for the TM? These questions are long and varied, but they are the relevant questions to consider in this situation.

First, let’s look at the way that this message was encoded. In this case, the message was less words that they were trying to relay and more of a feeling that they were trying to evoke. As such, we can see evidence of how they have converted this feeling into a 30-second TV ad to communicate it most richly to consumers. (One can think of encoding as a process mainly of conversion). This feeling of “masculine luxury”, so to speak, comes through in a variety of ways, both visual and auditory. We see this in the color scheme- it’s muted, mainly blacks and grays. We hear it in the music, with the driving rock guitar. Some clues are more subtle- the bar itself is clearly upscale. Everyone is dressed richly and luxuriously. This masculine, luxurious atmosphere comes to mind as soon as the gentleman we follow into the frame is greeted by his

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friends dressed in equally formal attire. There are cues we pick up from the interaction between the men. They are all comfortable, telling stories, enjoying each other’s company- they are all good-looking and in prime physical shape. These men enjoy the desiring glance of a woman. Pouring Ketel One into a glass creates an elegant waterfall of refreshing liquid.

In general, this set of cues is effective to reach the TM. From the demographics, we learn that drinkers of Ketel One are already men who likely live in some luxury, so by portraying luxury in the ad, Ketel One has been able to do two things. First, remembering that it is always easier to keep a current customer than find a new one, current drinkers of Ketel One will be reassured by the ad, likely seeing themselves reflected in it. Additionally, the ad will likely entice the aspirational shopper, with its invitation into this private lifestyle. Where luxury can sometimes turn off some audiences, it works in this case-the strongest Ketel One customers associate with and expect that lifestyle, and the aspirational shoppers and potential new customers will find its lure appealing. In sum, they are pushing all the right buttons with these cues, down to the age, gender, and apparent socioeconomic status of the people portrayed.

As for the effort made to interact with the consumer, to break through the clutter, the results are mixed. Is it a slick ad? Sure. Are the production values high, the music interesting, and the message seductive? Yes. If the consumer is already invested in or has interest in the product, will it be effective? Likely. Does it memorably break through the clutter? Perhaps not. One can look at psychological research that points out that messages on topics are most memorable when they’re topics that we already have a vested interest in. That is to say, if I’m a vodka drinker and potential customer, I will likely have my attention grabbed by this ad, I will positively perceive it, and may well recall it next time I’m at the bar. If I’m a forty-year old mother of four, watching it as I balance a baby on my lap and contemplate a run to Sam’s Club, the slickness and production values, high as they are, may not have an effect. That is to say, we believe that this ad will certainly engage our target market and do so in a memorable way, but given the specialty nature of the product, we’re not convinced it would be particularly successful in doing so with other individuals.

Finally, to complete the loop, Ketel one created effective means for feedback from the customer- there is a Facebook page and a website set up, and customers are encouraged to provide their opinions.

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