The first challenge in the planning process was defining the target. Demographics could only get us so far, as it was the mindset of the consumer that would determine who would spend $30 on a bottle of Vodka.

Using retailers that mirror the brand’s essence (Gucci, Prada, Armani etc.), a psychographic target was created to reach America’s Trendsetters: consumers who are interested in what’s hot and what’s not, who are likely to try things before their friends, who are willing to spend more for an image they’re trying to portray, and most importantly, who buy on quality not price. It was this target who would value the brand’s message – “Vox is the ultimate expression of vodka.“The strategy was to create mutually-beneficial relationships with key media partners and their readers, to consistently ‘own’ relevant editorial sections and to extend the brand’s presence via added-value programmes. To do this, we attempted to build relationships with other ‘ultimate’ entities (magazines, high-end retailers, hotels, celebrities etc.) that would generate awareness whilst maintaining the brand’s cachet. The 2001 media plan set the benchmark for Vox’s future plans. With an incredibly limited budget, we were able to take the plan above and beyond mere ‘pages in a magazine’, through the creative use of positioning and merchandising. Ads appeared in Food & Wine, OUT, Details, Esquire, Interview, Travel & Leisure, Vanity Fair & W. Vox ‘franchise’ pages were negotiated to give Vox an association with the readers’ favourite sections. With this base-plan in place we set out to bring the brand to life, capitalising on relationships that our media partners already had. The first of these ideas was to create a Mini-Martini Bar in high-end hotels. Details and Travel & Leisure made it happen. Details created a package designed around Fashion Week in New York City at the ultra-hip Chamber’s Hotel. Travel & Leisure executed a similar programme at Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles, Empire Hotel in New York, as well as Hotel Monaco in Chicago and San Francisco.

For the second event Food & Wine Magazine helped us bring to life the concept of a Vox Martini Week in New York City’s ultra hip and trendy SoHo. Over the course of five days, Vox was the featured product in retail window displays, fashion shows and an unforgettable series of parties. Food & Wine promoted this event via a custom-created double page spread advertorial, as well as on their website. It was such a success that Jim Beam requested that we renegotiate it for 2002.The third highlight of our plan was created with the assistance of Esquire Magazine. Built around the concept of ‘sex’, a package was created to associate Vox with the ultimate trendsetters of 2001, the stars of Sex & the City. The package included an in-book sponsorship of Esquire’s 2001 ‘Things a Man Should Know about Sex’ excerpt, which was opened by a custom-created, three-page gatefold of Vox advertisements. Vox was also the exclusive spirit of the book-signing party, where the guest-list included cast members of Sex & the City, Kim Cattrall and Chris Noth.Not only was the client more than satisfied, she saw sales increases of approximately 20%! “Distilled five times, Vox is the ultimate expression of vodka.” This is the tag-line that set the tone for the brand in 2001. The challenge was to capture the brand essence of Vox, not only in the creative but also in the media plan. Vox is sophisticated, timeless and aspirational. Just as Gucci and Prada exemplify such attributes in premiere fashion outlets, Vox needed to take the same approach in the premium vodka category to make its mark on America’s trendsetters.With a tiny budget of $2 million and the challenge of supporting a new brand, on the market for less than a year, we needed a creative idea which would capture the essence of the Vox, as well as build a buzz. Whilst we knew the plan would be solid from a quantitative standpoint, we also examined each considered publication with a more qualitative focus in mind. How could positioning be exploited to make the creative ‘fit’ in each publication?What types of merchandising could we create that would build buzz around the Vox Vodka brand?Most importantly, how could we make our plans seem disproportionately big, given our limited dollars? The 2001 Vox campaign was the perfect example of an integrated marketing plan. Eight, high-end publications that mirrored the brand’s qualities (timeless, aspirational and sophisticated) were selected as partners to assist the advertising in taking Vox to the next level. Creative use of positioning, combined with unique merchandising concepts truly brought the brand’s voice to life. Three high-profile, cool merchandising programs were created by the media team and executed through relationships formed with the help of our media partners:A hotel programme A martini weekA tie-in with Sex & the CityThese extended the brand beyond the pages of the magazines and created some great stand-out. Stringent positioning guidelines, resulting in dominant franchise sites, aligned Vox’s message with the same editorial feature issue after issue, gradually building a relationship with the magazine and its readers. This plan took a very limited budget and maximized it from every angle. As Jim Beam’s then-VP of Marketing, Nancy Lintner, put it, “this is how an integrated plan is supposed to work.”

“Distilled five times, Vox is the ultimate expression of vodka.” This is the tag-line that set the tone for the brand in 2001. The challenge was to capture the brand essence of Vox, not only in the creative but also in the media plan. Vox is sophisticated, timeless and aspirational. Just as Gucci and Prada exemplify such attributes in premiere fashion outlets, Vox needed to take the same approach in the premium vodka category to make its mark on America’s trendsetters.With a tiny budget of $2 million and the challenge of supporting a new brand, on the market for less than a year, we needed a creative idea which would capture the essence of the Vox, as well as build a buzz. Whilst we knew the plan would be solid from a quantitative standpoint, we also examined each considered publication with a more qualitative focus in mind. How could positioning be exploited to make the creative ‘fit’ in each publication?What types of merchandising could we create that would build buzz around the Vox Vodka brand?Most importantly, how could we make our plans seem disproportionately big, given our limited dollars?