Branding within the alcohol industry
A study on the Swedish & global market
Bachelor Degree Project
Thesis within: Business Administration Number of credits: 15 ECTS
Programme of study: International Management Author: Carl Jörnmarker & Erik Nilsson
Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration
Title: Branding within the alcohol industry: A study on the Swedish & global market Authors: Carl Jörnmarker & Erik Nilsson
Tutor: MaxMikael Wilde Björling Date: May 18, 2020
Key terms: Branding, Strategy, Market, Alcohol, Management
Abstract
Background
A brand is the image of the company, a brief explanation of the society's view on alcohol being a normalized activity and accepted by society. There are a lot of risks with branding, therefore the importance of strategic branding and brand management is becoming more crucial all the time. The comparison between global and Swedish branding is being analysed to see differences.
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of the branding on the alcohol business, and different factors that have an impact.
Method
The research is based on a qualitative research approach, where interviews from three different size brands and two other companies were conducted. The representatives were either founders or specialists from the company.
Findings
The focus of the interviews was to get the interviewee's perspectives on different aspects of branding. The first section is the creativity of the brands like Hernö creating and participates
Sweden vs globally. Other sections were if they were happy with their current market position. The last section is if they have made any changes in the branding, like Absolut that is a well-established company that has been around for a long time and lived through many trends in the market like a flavored spirit or the demand for premium products and now the sustainability aspect.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to address gratitude towards the people that have contributed and helped with this thesis.
Firstly, we would like to address our gratitude towards our tutor, MaxMikeal Wilde Björling. He has supported us through the entire process with inspiring ideas and great knowledge. The advice, feedback, and engagement assisted us in the best possible way with this study.
Secondly, we would like to thank all the participants in our seminar group for providing helpful advice and useful feedback, which was valuable during the process of this paper.
Thirdly, we would like to send a big thank you to all of our interviewees, who contributed with valuable insights, expertise, and discussions. They made the study of this research possible. Therefore, sincerely thanks to our participants from Absolut, Hernö, Lisch, Systembolaget, and El Duderino.
Finally, we want to express our appreciation towards the course responsible Anders Melander who has supplied guidelines and materials that assisted us throughout this Bachelor Thesis.
Jönköping, May 18th, 2020
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Table of content: 1. Introduction ... 7 1.1 Background ... 7 1.2 Problem discussion ... 9 1.3 Purpose ... 10 1.4 Research question ... 11 1.5 Delimitations ... 11 2. Frame of reference ... 13 2.1 what is a brand ... 13 2.2 Branding ... 14 2.3 History of branding ... 15 2.4 Strategic branding ... 16 2.5 Brand management ... 17
2.6 Branding on the alcohol market ... 18
2.7 Branding in Sweden ... 19
2.8 Global branding ... 20
2.9 Risks with branding ... 21
2.10 Main takes from frame of reference ... 23
3. Method ... 25
3.1 Research approach ... 25
3.2 Research strategy ... 25
3.3 Interview selection & interview method ... 26
3.4 Interview design ... 26 3.5 Data collection ... 27 3.5.1 Interviews ... 27 3.5.2 Secondary sources ... 27 3.6 Data analysis ... 28 3.7 Analysis procedure ... 29 3.7.1 Transcripts ... 29 3.7.2 Coding ... 29 3.7.3 Identified categories ... 29
3.8 Trustworthiness & quality of research ... 30
3.8.1 Credibility ... 30
3.8.3 Dependability ... 30
3.8.4 Confirmability ... 31
3.9 Ethical issues & considerations ... 31
4. Empirical Findings ... 32
4.1 Creativity of brands ... 32
4.2 Sweden vs Global ... 34
4.3 Market positioning ... 37
4.4 Change of branding ... 39
5. Analysis & Discussion ... 42
5.1 Creativity of branding ... 42 5.2 Sweden vs Global ... 44 5.3 Market positioning ... 46 5.4 Change of branding ... 48 6. Conclusion ... 50 6.1 Theoretical implications ... 52 6.2 Practical implications ... 52 6.3 Limitations ... 53 6.4 Future studies ... 54 7. Reference list: ... 55
Appendix 1. Interviewed companies in the study ... 61
1. Introduction
__________________________________________________________________________
A brief explanation of branding, strategic branding, brand management, branding in Sweden and globally along with the risks within branding is presented. The research problem and the purpose will together with the delimitations and the research question that the study seeks to answer be presented.
1.1 Background
The concept “branding” originates from the Anglo-Saxon term which defines the creation, recreation, designating, collection of symbols, experiences, cultural and personal input, relationship with the consumer. The brand is, therefore, a mix between the above mention factors. The history of the term “brand” originates from when farmers used to mark their animals to display their ownership. Then it is evolved as a type of identity of a product, business, or even a person. This has developed through time, creating a clearer foundation, structure, and discipline. During the 90s online branding became a popular platform for building and develop a brand. Due to the simplicity of reaching out to people (Irimies, 2012). Consuming alcohol is an accepted social activity in society, that in most cases isn’t seen as a negative thing. However, when used in excess it can be harmful (Johnson, 2011). Europe is the heaviest drinking region, overconsumption of alcohol occurs and this becomes a problem not only for the individual itself but also to the people nearby (de Bruijn, Tanghe, de Leeuw, Engels, Anderson, Beccaria, Bujalski, Celata, Gosselt, Schreckenberg, Slodownik, Wothge & van Dalen, 2016).
A brand is a way for companies to reach out to the market and present themselves. This can be done in different ways and is something that changes all the time. Different situations demand different approaches (Rooney, 1995). The brand is representing the company and is therefore important to manage since a brand is a face outward, there are certain things that a company wants to include in the brand, though it differs depending on which company and the market. Common things of importance for most companies though are values such as trustworthiness and customer satisfaction (Knox, 2004).
There are several risks within branding since branding consists of creating and developing an image. Since the market is getting more competitive all the time, new innovative ways of branding are needed. There are different approaches to be unique or gain market shares, one way that has become common is through cooperations with other brands or celebrities. However, it can also make the brand vulnerable, due to if the connected brand or celebrity weakens the image which affects both parts (Chiambaretto, Gurău, & Le Roy, 2016). This is the reason why a thorough analysis is needed (De Coninck, 2019).
Some companies might feel like they have not reached their full potential or there might have occurred scandals or other circumstances affecting the brand negatively. In these situations, different alternatives exist. A common alternative is rebranding, which can be changing their symbols, logotypes, and even name. However, this is a costly method that might not be worth it in all cases (Tsai, Dev, & Chintagunta, 2015).
In order to be a successful company, a strong brand has to be created and there are two
aspects of branding which are strategic branding and brand management. Strategic branding is about creating an image for the company, managing and developing that brand (Kapferer, 2008). Creating a strong brand will make it easier to grow the company and in general,
aspects contribute to larger economic profit (Balakrishnan, 2009). The way a company brands themselves on the market is crucial (Lury, 2009). The government is working against
branding within the alcohol industry due to alcohol being proved as hazardous and therefore regulations against a certain type of branding have been set (Chapman, & Fogarty, 2012). Another aspect of branding is the brand management aspect, which is the ability to manage the created image and develop it. This part of branding is as important as the strategic branding part if not more, since being able to build a strong brand is hard but to be able to maintain the position takes a lot of work (Pamfilie & Croitoru, 2018).
Branding globally is different from domestic branding since it is broader and there are
different customers and regulations in different countries that make the need to customize the branding depending on what country they operate in. (Pecotich, & Ward, 2007). Whilst domestic branding only has to focus on the regulations within that specific country which simplifies the customization due to one less factor needed to focus on. Therefore, more emphasis can be put on factors like the cultural, geographical, or demographical aspects, and optimize those to reach a good result as possible (Khojastehpour, Ferdous, Polonsky, & Khojastehpour, 2015).
1.2 Problem discussion
When it comes to strategic branding and brand management, one of the main issues for the companies is being able to build a strong brand that stands out. The main focus should be to do what the biggest brands on the market has done before, which is to build the brand around “values and beliefs” and not simply make the brand product specific (Moor, 2003). This means that for companies not only in the alcohol industry but generally as well needs to have a brand strategy that emphasizes on making the potential customers feel connected to your brand and not simply buying it once. (Grant,1999), argues that one of the major tasks for a company acting in the 21st century should be to create a community in the market for the
brand of the company. This because when people become part of this community, it will be hard for them to leave and thereby keep buying the new products that the company releases. Though, this is something not many big companies on the market has achieved and those that have are striving from it. Though this is something that is a lot harder for the companies acting on the alcohol industry, since the regulations are limiting those companies to what they are allowed to do. (Jones & Jernigan, 2010), states that since the topic of alcohol consumption in society and how much the advertisements are affecting the people has been debated for a long time, it becomes hard for the companies in the alcohol industry to know what they can do.
The regulations in Sweden makes the way a company can brand themselves very much limited compared to many other countries in the world. This is especially true when it comes to the spirits industry which is even more regulated in Sweden and for the companies that operate in Sweden. In 7 ch. 1 § of the Swedish alcohol law (SFS 2010:1622) it states that when marketing in the alcohol industry, you are not allowed to force your products upon the potential customers in your advertisements and you cannot encourage people to consume your products. Though since the major companies reviewed are acting on a global level, this gives them the possibility to specify their branding towards different markets so that it suits the public in different countries and also follows the regulations there. Also, since how brands are being interpreted and understood changes all the time, the way companies choose to brand themselves constantly changes in order to stay ahead of the trends (Holt, 2002; Lury, 2009). “Branding is crucial in any industry, company or product and its importance is growing” (Vrontis, Thrassou, & Rossi, 2011). Branding in the alcohol industry is something that is ever
changing along with the market, and that is something that was seen in the mid 1900s in the grappa industry, since the products was seen as something of bad quality though the
producers kept producing their products the same way any in time the market changed so they did not have to (Demelstri & Greenwood, 2016). Being able to provide consistency with the products is crucial in order to have the customers remain, though it is as crucial to have a brand that remains consistent. The factor of having a brand that stays on a certain level gives the signal that the quality of the products has not changed, and consumers wants consistency with their products. Companies needs their brand to stand out of the crowd in order to be seen and as argued by (Andrew, 2002) “the wine industry has a myriad of brands, which creates a problem in brand recognition and complicates the sales process”.
By also using social networks, all brands have the possibility to reach out widely with their brand since they can create value by using social connections and attract people (Martens, 2011), though this is on the line of what is approved. For example, “Alcohol companies’ use of Facebook’s participatory and surveillance capacities to create brand value has only recently become a matter of public concern and debate in Australia” (Carah, Brodmerkel, &
Hernandez, 2014), which means that this has been a profitable and strategic way of branding, though the law is not happy about it. The alcohol laws in Sweden are not precise when it comes to what is allowed on social media and for example in 7 ch. 3 § of the Swedish alcohol law (SFS 2010:1622) it states that if you are marketing an alcoholic product to consumers, you are not allowed to do so by using commercial advertisements in radio or tv, though it is not exactly clear how social media is covered by this paragraph, and that is why it is easier for companies to get around the rules. By acting in a market that deals with products that always are up for debate on how you are allowed to produce, distribute and who actually is allowed to purchase, makes it all much more difficult for companies to grow their brands.
1.3 Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine and review branding, with a focus on strategic branding and brand management within the liquor industry in order to find out how branding is used locally as well as globally and has evolved through the years regarding trends.
focus on specific Swedish brands within the alcohol industry and see how branding has been used by them. Several different brands on the Swedish alcohol market will be reviewed how they branded themselves from their beginning and how they are doing it as of today. In order to see different approaches, the brands included in the study will be of various sizes and working in different sectors of the alcohol market. This to see whether different geographical areas and demographic factors affect the conception and also how branding has changed the last decades and the market’s reactions on different approaches.
1.4 Research question
“How is branding being used by Swedish companies in the alcohol industry, both locally as well as globally?”.
The impact of branding has become the main focus within most corporations since it has many possibilities and it evolves parallel with the evolvement of technology. Making it easier to reach out to a larger crowd, allowing using new marketing channels such as social media. The choice of researching branding within the alcohol business which is a very regulated market gives an interesting perspective. By researching how branding works and what it impacts together with the many restrictions the alcohol industry has, it will give an idea of what it takes to achieve success with the brand in the alcohol industry. Through this research, we strive to answer the given research question and contribute to a study that is highly relevant to the market and can be used to keep development within this area.
1.5 Delimitations
Branding is a branch within marketing and this study will be focused on branding since marketing as a whole has a spectre that is too wide. Also, brand management and strategic branding will be of further interest since branding as a whole will also be to wide when the chosen topic is the alcohol market. Although strategic branding and brand management is a global topic that is used everywhere, this study will remain focused on small number of
Swedish companies and how they operate within the field of marketing and more specifically strategic branding and brand management. Though to achieve more validity, the majority of the companies in the study will be operating on a global level but with base of operations in Sweden. The main focus will be on the later part of the 20th century and forward since strategic branding is more relevant as of today since the competition on the market is much larger during this era. The idea is to give a clearer picture of the Swedish market and how the spirits industry has grown here, which will mean that the market of the rest of the world will not be as included, though since global companies are used, the study will not be irrelevant on a global scale.
2. Frame of reference
The frame of reference section consists of the literature review presenting an introduction then branding, strategic branding, brand management and branding in Sweden and globally also presented are the risks within branding. A conclusion of the literature review is also presented in the end of this section.
2.1 what is a brand
A brand is a consistent group of characters, images, or emotions that consumers recall or experience when they think of a specific symbol, product, service, organization or location” (Simeon, 2006, p. 464). The brand could be anything that represents the company, and the way the company decides to use it determines how much it can grow. A brand could be anything and it is first and foremost up to the company to decide what the brand is and since there are no direct rules to this, the knowledge about the market becomes vital. By having the right knowledge, the possibilities of raising the value of the brand and by that, the value of the company itself, become much larger (Salinas & Ambler, 2009). The value of the brand can be a big percentage of the total value of the entire company since in the market of today, the first impression and what the company is associated with are of huge importance.
A brand is part of the core of the company, which is being used to reach out to the potential customers. It is important for companies to use branding in a personal way by including themes to differ from the rest of the market (Rooney, 1995). If a brand is not specific enough, the market is too big, and the brand will disappear with all the others that did not stand out. This can also be seen when looking at the value of the brand because for the potential customers, the brand needs to have value to be more attractive to them. For the company though, this is viewed from the managerial point of view, where the brand is something that can create a monetary value, since the main focus is that the brand creates value for the potential customers (Keller, 2001).
Another important aspect is that the contents of the brand, such as the way information is given and how trustworthy it is, are clear so that the customers are aware of what they are getting (Knox, 2004). For the companies to get as much out of their brand as possible, the understanding that the brand is the company, is crucial. This all links together with market positioning and customer segments, since they way you choose to brand yourself, will help determine where in the market your brand gets positioned and that is not always something that can be chosen if the brand is not constructed correctly. The company is not always the one that creates value and expands the value of the brand, it can be the customers that are doing so when the brand is developing. (Arvidsson, 2005).
2.2 Branding
Branding is something that have become an essential part of a company, and since branding has gone from being only for consumer marketing to being part of management itself, it increases the value of branding. (Arvidsson, 2005). Koehn (2001), Argues that branding itself has a very long history within marketing, which implies that branding has been an essential part of successful businesses during a long period. Since branding also has evolved,
companies must do so to use branding in the most efficient way that will reach out to trending customers. Top management needs to be involved in the branding departments that
corporations use, since the branding needs to be understood from the top down (Arvidsson, 2005).
A lot can be said about the company depending on the brand, and it affects all parts of our life, like for example social, economic and cultural (Kapferer, 2008). “A brand is a name that influences buyers” (Kapferer, 2008, p. 11). Therefore, a brand must have the ability to capture someone’s interest from the start. Influencing buyers can be done through different ways and what different individuals are looking for changes constantly. A few examples of key factors which can be used to influence people could be to act salient or trustworthy, and by using those methods, the possibilities to expand the view of your brand is limitless. The status of the organization and the brand is crucial since it can influence people to choose that company over another (Podolny, 1993).
By increasing the perception of your brand and making sure that people know about it is one of the major keys to success (Kapferer, 2008). “A brand is a hallmark of quality, a promise or assurance to buyers, a set of associations or expectations, a perception or an image that persuades customers to purchase a brand’s products” (Dev & Withiam, 2012). This means that the brand is one of the major foundations for the company and to be able to market your company, the brand has to be developed and made in such a way that will make it stand out from the crowd. Podolny & Phillips (1996), argues that past performances will lay the foundation of how the organization can grow, and this also affects the branding part of the company. The foundation of how the company chose to brand themselves in the beginning will determine the chance to success in the future as well, and it will either make it harder or easier for the company to change direction when needed in the future.
2.3 History of branding
Strategic branding and how companies choose to form their brands has changed during time. Things like market trends, competition and social media are making it more difficult for a brand to stand out today which makes the strategy more crucial today. Hardy, Norman & Sceery (2012) argues that brands has always had a role to play for companies, though it was not until the last 100 years that it started. When more companies started to grow, they had to do something to beat their competition, and when they saw a possibility to overcome the competition simply by showing the customers a more lucrative brand, this was the way to go. Eckhardt & Bengtsson (2010) even argues that brands have been around even before
capitalism. They also add that it is hard to know if the brands were an actual strategy formed by the people behind the products or by the people using the products.
For companies in the alcohol market, the way the world has changed during the last 100 years has made it difficult for them to brand themselves. The way people are more aware of their health and how the governments wants to control certain products makes this harder. Companies acting in the alcohol industry had to become more creative compared to how it was done earlier (Hardy, Norman & Sceery, 2012). These companies had to do other things than simply putting advertisements in magazines like they could do years ago. Alcohol companies started making events and competitions that could make their brand reach out
further and without going against the laws that was becoming stricter (Moor, 2003). Today the world is connected through social media and that is one of the main platforms for companies in the alcohol market. Facebook could provide the companies with ways to monitor behaviours from their consumers and also compare themselves with others in ways that makes it easier for them to brand themselves (Carah, Brodmerkel & Hernandez, 2014).
2.4 Strategic branding
Strategic branding is concerned with creating an image and then managing and developing the created image (Kapferer, 2008). A well worked strategic branding approach can decide how well the company will succeed. Since strategic branding is about creating and managing an image, the companies are dependent on customers to like it, and that is why it needs to be actively worked on. The better understanding on what the customers wants, the better strategy can be created to make a successful image and with that, being able to create the strategic brand of the company. Salinas & Ambler (2009) argues that the knowledge of the company is key to increase value of the company, and when it comes to strategic branding, this is crucial as well since knowledge about the market will be of importance when creating a strategy that will rely on the companies brand. This also relates to the design of the brand since the strategy will be based on the core of the brand and working with design thinking within the brand will help it develop. By creating a brand strategy along with the customers and getting feedback along the way can also be a way to go to create a strategy suited for the market in which the company wants to act within (Dorst, 2011).
When looking at strategic branding, other topics are of importance, like market positioning. The way the company uses the brand to gain market shares or to make sure that a preferred position is achieved. As Knox (2004) argues, the clarity of where the company is on the market and what the company wants to achieve is of importance for customers, since they want to know what type of company they are supporting. By being clear, the company will be more trusted which makes it the most optimal strategy for the branding. Also, the way the company considers customer immersion, and how the knowledge of the potential customers is obtained can become important. Since a simplicity of the understanding of the brand and the way it is directed towards a certain customer group can help when creating a strategy, it could
become vital for the company to know as much as possible about their market (Jones & Jernigan, 2010).
Creating a strong image will help the company to grow and contribute to a larger economic profit (Balakrishnan, 2009). Brands are often viewed upon in different ways and since the way they are interpreted differs for each individual, it becomes even more important for the companies to brand themselves in a way that gives them the appearance they want (Lury, 2009). This is relevant when it comes to strategic branding within the alcohol market since it has been up for debate several times, what should be allowed for the companies to do within the alcohol industry. That makes it more critical for those companies the reach out to the customer with their branding in a way that is as simple as possible to avoid conflict with authorities (Jones & Jernigan, 2010). The creation of the strategic branding for a company will also need to inspire and be visionary. This because people more than often subliminally want to be inspired before doing something and if a company’s strategic branding can help with that, then the brand has the potential to grow (Tuusjärvi & Ryynänen, 2012).
2.5 Brand management
Brand management does not say ‘You Must!’ It says, ‘You May!’ (Barry, 2001; Zizek, 1999), which means that brand management is the ability to manage the brand in whatever way the company wants it to. The meaning of a brand is determined by how the public perceives that brand. As mentioned above in the “what is a brand” section, it can be seen that the value of the brand is directly related to how the brand is perceived and how popular it is among the customers (Salinas & Ambler, 2009). There are no specific rules to exactly how the brand can be managed, there are only limitations to what is allowed to do within specific markets, and other than that, the companies are allowed to whatever they wish with their brand. This is what makes it possible for companies who work well with their brand and have a determined strategy, to achieve more success than others even if their product might not be the best on the market.
One of the most important elements of a company is the brand, and a positive brand image can lead to success by impacting the consumer’s perception of the company. The branding is
much more than the product name and the company’s logo. It is at the branding stage the company can differentiate themselves compared to others and show customers what kind of company they are. This stage is where an enterprise chooses how they want to present themselves (Pamfilie & Croitoru, 2018). Traditionally brand management was based on physical aspects of brands, like the product, functionality, or quality. The view of brand management and what is wished to convey is highly dependent on the media and how they chose to display certain brands (Iglesias & Bonet, 2012). The company has the ability to do whatever they want with the brand and if done correctly, the display of the brand reaches out far.
However, it takes a lot of resources to create a good brand and it is time-consuming (Pamfilie & Croitoru, 2018). Brand management is not something that is easy for the companies, and since everyone wants to be the company that stands out, the limitations to what has already been done do not make it easier. Thomson (2012) argues that the branding must differ
depending on what market and what customer segments are chosen, and when the company is managing the brand in the correct way, it becomes possible to reach out further. It is wise for companies to be rather specific on what market and who is going to buy the products, though if the ability to reach out further is possible to manage than it could be a good idea in the long run. There are many ways to brand one’s company and the different ways can be more
suitable for certain targets (Moor, 2003). Advertisements, events, and social media are all good ways of strategically branding one’s company, though it is up to the management to choose which way is most suitable for the company.
2.6 Branding on the alcohol market
There are always regulations depending on what market a company is acting in and what products or services are dealt with. When looking at the alcohol market, there are more regulations when it comes to branding compared to most other markets. 7 ch. 4 § of the Swedish alcohol law (SFS 2010:1622), states for example that when advertising alcoholic beverages with a percentage of above 15%, commercial advertisements in magazines that are directed towards the general public, are not allowed, which makes it much more difficult for companies in the alcohol industry to reach out further. Laws like these are what makes it
tougher for the branding departments of alcohol producers and sellers compared to other markets even though it differs when looking at different countries. 7 ch. 2 § of the Swedish alcohol law (SFS 2010:1622), also states that alcohol is not allowed to be given as a gift by someone who produces or sells it, which means that it becomes much harder for the producers to spread their products like producers in other markets can.
Jones & Jernigan (2010) shows that these laws are indeed needed for the sake of the
community since people can be affected negatively by advertisements including alcohol. They are focusing on the younger group of society which is more easily influenced by things they see in the media and it is good for the national health that these regulations exist. Nelson (2005) even questions if the producers are trying to target the youth through their
advertisements in order to affect as many young people as possible in order to secure future sales. Questions like these will always be up for debate since it is a question of the public health vs the alcohol companies that are trying to sell their products. Nelson (2005) also argues that even though companies in the alcohol industry are mostly following the laws, it is a question of what is ethical to do when it comes to advertising alcohol.
From to point of view of the alcohol companies, this jungle of laws makes it very hard for the operate in but as stated earlier, they are trying to sell their products just like everyone else and therefore they are in need to market and brand their products in order for that to happen. This is where social media and especially Facebook has become the biggest platform for these companies since the laws here are not as strict and it makes it easier for them to brand their products (Carah, Brodmerkel & Hernandez, 2014). Big companies on the alcohol market like Diageo, for example, are using Facebook extensively and Diageo stated that they have had 20% sales increase due to their activity on Facebook (Carah, Brodmerkel & Hernandez, 2014). All in all, companies acting on the alcohol market need to be creative to overcome these regulations in order to push their products, so the battle is not only against the direct competition but the outside of the actual market as well.
2.7 Branding in Sweden
In Sweden and the alcohol industry it becomes even tougher for the companies to know what they are allowed to do due to the regulations. With the government enforcing many
restrictions for the companies, the aim is to lower the general alcohol consumption (Saffer, 1998), and by doing that making sure that the national health improves. Though this is not something that the companies in the alcohol industry in Sweden are supporting since they have no choice but to find ways to work around this. 7 ch. 6-7 § of the Swedish alcohol law (SFS 2010:1622), states that companies must be very clear with what they are selling, and they must make sure that the consumers are not having trouble identifying if it is an alcoholic beverage. It also states that they must be very clear about the damage it can do the people consuming the beverages and state in the advertisements about all the negative aspects of the products.
Instead of regular advertisements in magazines and television, the main focus for companies operating on the alcohol market in Sweden is to use their brand on platforms that are much less regulated. As mentioned earlier, this is where the platforms of social media like
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, for example, serve as the perfect locations for reaching out to potential customers. With a strong enough brand, the people on the social platforms will “help” with the spread simply by using the products for example and that is why the brand itself is of vital importance (Carah, Brodmerkel & Hernandez, 2014). By using tactics like these in Sweden and countries with hard regulations, the possibilities suddenly become much greater to reach far with the brand. This makes it much more important for the companies to actually work with the brand actively and follow up on ongoing trends. Since social media is constantly changing with popular trends, the people using those platforms want to be
influenced. The managerial responsibility is therefore vital when it comes to creating a brand that fits on social media (Arvidsson, 2005).
2.8 Global branding
The regulations when it comes to branding on the alcohol market are different for each country when looking at it from a global perspective. The Swedish market is highly regulated since the government wants to control the general health level and doing that by controlling the alcohol industry as much as possible, 7 ch. 1-9 § of the Swedish alcohol law (SFS 2010:1622). Though this varies greatly when looking at other countries and how alcohol companies are able to use strategic branding and market their brand. Ellickson, Collins,
are being affected by advertisements including alcohol, and with both negative and positive results, it is up to the US government to make decisions based on this kind of data. The alcohol companies that are operating in the US market are going to keep selling and advertising as long as it is legal.
For companies like Absolut Vodka for example, that are based in Sweden but are acting on a global level, can by that use different methods and push their brand in various ways in different countries. So when the French company Pernod Ricard bought Absolut Vodka in 2008, it was a marketing strategy they used in order to penetrate the US market (Hamilton, 2013). Since Pernod Ricard did not have any entry to the US market, the choice to obtain a producer that already had branded themselves strategically on the US market, was a great marketing strategy. Pernod Ricards biggest competitor on the US market was Diageo, and they had managed to become so huge by branding themselves not only as a drinks company but as an “activity” company as well. They are not only competing with other alcohol sellers but also cinemas, eatings, bowling, etc., which makes it possible for them to reach out far with their brand and this strategy has proven to be successful (Moor, 2003).
In many countries like the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, it has been found that advertisements with alcohol are not only targeting young adults but even younger children as well (Slater, Rouner, Beauvais & Murphy 1996). This is something that is easier to be able to do in certain countries where the regulations are not as strict as in Sweden. By targeting a bigger audience, the ability to reach out further becomes much greater and that is something that companies in other markets are doing, though it might not be as ethically correct to do it in the alcohol industry. Saffer (1998) argues that since it has been proven that banning these types of advertisements can help to reduce alcohol consumption, the companies producing and selling alcohol must do it in order to survive. By branding themselves in smarter ways in different countries and making sure that they stay as close to the line of the law as possible, they are able to push their products further.
There are risks when it comes to how a company chooses to brand itself and what strategy the company executes in order to create its brand. Especially when it comes to the alcohol
industry, where the companies have to be careful when advertising their brand. The targeted group for the advertisements must be very clear (age, gender, etc.), since different groups react differently to various products and brands, so it needs to be very specified in order for it to succeed (Nelson, 2005). This is not only from a selling point of view, since specific
targeting is crucial, but from a legal point of view as well when it comes to the alcohol market. This because the alcohol companies do not want to risk being accused of advertising towards younger people for example (Nelson, 2005), which would put them in a bad spot and give their brand a bad reputation.
Other types of risks when it comes to branding a company could be positioning, recognition, or legacy for example and risk could come up with anything a company decides to do (Fournier & Srinivasan, 2018). A company needs to be active with its brand management since the market is ever-changing, so the brand needs to be able to survive in all climates. When looking at the legacy of a brand, it can either thrive on its long history of having a good reputation, or it can wither down if it has for a long time been associated with not keeping up with trends and making outdated products. Fournier & Srinivasan (2018), also argues that social media will either help or crush the brand of the company, depending on how it is portrayed for the people on those platforms and how they respond to it.
A potential solution for a company when the brand is not well received by the public could be to rebrand itself. Tsai, Dev & Chintagunta (2015) argue that a company that has stagnated could use rebranding as a tool to gain market share and gain more profit. When a brand has reached a point where the reputation has become very bad, the salvation for the company could possibly be to make a change. The bad reputation might not come from the products itself but from something else, so by rebranding the company itself and keeping the same products, the company could gain market share again (Tsai, Dev & Chintagunta, 2015). Though rebranding can be many things for a company since it might not need to actually change the actual brand (Le, Cheng, Kuntjara & Lin, 2014). It could be a possibility to put the company in a different market position that will favour them more in the long run. As a solution for a company that is in a bad position or has a bad reputation due to bad branding strategies, rebranding could be an option and a way out.
2.10 Main takes from frame of reference
The takings here are that the brand is something that the company forms and uses in order to make itself stand out from the crowd, and by doing that also gives itself the possibility to make profits (Keller, 2001). All companies have a chance to make something out of their brand and as discussed, it is most often very important to get it right from the very beginning in order to have success. Otherwise, rebranding is something that could be a solution for a company that fails with its branding strategies from the start (Tsai, Dev & Chintagunta, 2015). Strategic branding and brand management need to go all the way from the top of the companies and down in order to make it as good as it can be. This since top management is usually those with most influence and knowledge of the company and those who have the vision of the company’s future needs to be mostly involved with how the company’s brand is formed and how the brand strategy is executed. As argued by Barry (2001) & Zizek (1999), brand management is not something that is defined by rules and regulations. On the contrary, it gives the company the ability the do what is best suited for the company itself and what will make it grow on the market. By choosing the correct strategy for the brand and by utilizing it in the best possible way, the company will have a chance to succeed in the market where everyone is trying to stand out.
By having knowledge about the laws and regulations in the countries in which the company is operating, it makes it easier to know how the brand can be used. When especially looking at the alcohol industry, the need for the companies to know what they can and cannot do is crucial. Saffer (1998), argues that governments often try to make alcohol consumption go down in their countries and by that making it harder for alcohol producers and sellers to brand and market themselves. This makes it so that those companies need to be well informed as well as creative in order to form their brand strategy and make their brand reach out far. Though companies in all markets need to be updated all the time in order to stay ahead of the competitors, so being informed and creative is something that everyone needs to be in order to succeed though it might be for different reasons (Fournier & Srinivasan, 2018). The producers and sellers of alcohol always have a tough challenge to reach out with their products even though they are simply trying to make a living and succeed on the market just like everyone else. By having a brand that stands out, this can help a lot in the era of today since people are
sharing the things they like on their social media and that can make a brand grow tremendously (Carah, Brodmerkel & Hernandez, 2014).
3. Method
The method section presents and describes the selected method used in the thesis. The method section consists of the research approach and the research strategy, the second part of the method part covers the data collection, analysis and trustworthiness of the thesis.
3.1 Research approach
In this thesis, an inductive approach has been used, according to Collis & Hussey (2014). A theory developed from observations of empirical reality is called inductive research. The inductive approach is used to exploit collected data and determine patterns (Collis & Hussey 2014). The use of the bottom-up approach, which is based on building the data on
fundamental parts in the research and “building” upwards from the fundamentals (Sun, Xie, Wang, Zhang, Li & Jin, 2020). The bottom-up approach fits well due to the fact that we investigate a set research question to, later on, present a “solution”. Background to what is being presented in the literature review, to then thoroughly chosen relevant topics in the literature review presenting new and different views on the research topic “branding within the alcohol industry”, to give as good perspective as possible. The findings from the
interviews together with a brief background about the different companies are presented as well as a discussion and a conclusion are presented after the findings part.
3.2 Research strategy
The strategy is general terms on how to reach the planned goal, so within research strategy, it is how to answer your research question as efficiently as possible (Mainardes, Ferreira & Raposo, 2014). The qualitative research approach was used when researching information, in order to receive a describing perception of the different brands directly from the source. Since the qualitative research method is about describing situations as they are and also to describe why and how a particular phenomenon operates, this will be the best method for this
strategy can be considered as a plan to reach a set goal, or rather how to answer a research question as efficiently as possible. We interviewed a set of different companies to get different views on the question depending on whom we spoke to and get a more in-depth perspective on the matter (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill 2012)
3.3 Interview selection & interview method
We interviewed five companies in different size and companies that work with alcohol in different ways, 3 of the companies are producers in different size, those are Absolut vodka, Hernö and Lisch, one is a store selling alcohol as monopoly on the market named
Systembolaget. The last one is a well-known bar and restaurant in Jönköping called El Duderino. To select the interviews, a plan was constructed by knowing the purpose of the research, which made choosing and conducting interviews much simpler. In this way, we could use interviews that we knew were relevant for our research (Merriam, 2009). What was considered when choosing and setting up interviews was that the companies were Swedish in order to do a fair comparison between the different interviewees. It was also important to get an understanding of the larger compared to the smaller companies to view on branding, as well as from companies that do not produce alcohol. In this way a broad perspective of how different players at the market perceive and work with branding. Both authors have
experience of the bar and restaurant business, and therefore have rather good knowledge of the products on the market, therefore the choice of Absolut and Hernö, Lisch on the other hand which is a small size company we heard about from a friend, then Systembolaget was chosen due to them acting as an objective part serving the customers without act upon profit, El Duderino was chosen because we wanted a bar and restaurants perspective on the issue, and El Duderino which is an award-winning bar was a good fit.
3.4 Interview design
The interviews have been conducted either face-to-face with the company or by skype due to factors like distance. There are different ways interviews can be conducted. The three most common ways are structured, semi-structured, and unstructured. The semi-structured
interview is when the interview consists both of predetermined and unplanned questions. This gives the interviewer a chance to both have questions that are given to all people interviewed, and thus are easily compared. It will also give the interviewer a chance to ask specific
questions to the different people since it is known beforehand what fields the different people are working within and what kind of information, they should be able to give.
A Semi-structured interview is what was chosen in the interviews that were conducted. Due to the need for certain information, the knowledge of what information was needed made it easier to create questions. Since the companies are in the same industry and are Swedish from the beginning, prepared questions were used in the core of the interview in order to get
comparisons, though the companies are in many ways different and are founded in different times and areas. This is why there was a need to also use questions that were not prepared beforehand. This method gave answers that make this study more volatile and gives a major depth to the understanding of branding.
3.5 Data collection 3.5.1 Interviews
The interviews conducted consisted of one representative from each company. The interviews were chosen by knowing the purpose of the study. After the selection of interviews, the participants were contacted directly via phone, explaining our purpose. Obstacles of one interviewee not answering made us contact other responsible people at that company, which solved the problem. Two of the five interviews were conducted face to face and the rest were conducted via skype. The interviews varied from 30 minutes to 70 minutes, the used
languages were Swedish and English, and the interviews were recorded and transcribed.
3.5.2 Secondary sources
The secondary sources have been retrieved from the database primo. The search words that have been used to find the articles used are branding, strategic branding, brand management, alcohol industry, strategy within alcohol, branding within the alcohol industry. The used data are peer-reviewed articles and books, to strengthen the credibility and keep the quality high,
as well as considering similar cases concerning branding and comparing different sources. When it comes to the topic of spirits and alcohol there are a decent number of peer-reviewed articles that have been written. This made it possible to narrow it down to have a single-minded focus on the exact topics in the articles that were needed for the topic of branding which is the main subject of this study. The choice of using peer-reviewed articles was done since this makes it possible to collect data from many different sources around the world and compare how branding has been used in different parts of the market.
Various books were also used though not to the same extent as the articles since books are generally more biased towards a single opinion. Books are a very good compliment to the articles used and gave a specific knowledge about certain topics that were needed to give a better understanding of branding within the alcohol industry. The book “Historien om flaskan” (the history of the bottle), was chosen since this book is specifically about Absolut vodka and their history (Hamilton, 2013). A focus of this study is to look at certain brands and Absolut vodka is one of those brands which makes this book very much fitting for this study. Other books that specify strategic branding and brand management have been used to give a review of how branding is used in the alcohol industry.
3.6 Data analysis
The information gathered has been processed and analysed towards other sources to see the similarities and differences between the data. Within the interviews, we compared several different brands of various sizes to get an understanding of how these companies differ in their branding. When it comes to the processing and analysing part within existing data, some factors are important. Factors like transparency and objectivity are components that are important when analysing gathered data. By finding multiple sources about the presented parts and comparing the information gives a more reliable result.
The analyses within qualitative research are based on observations, language, and image. Other things being analysed are “content analysis”, “thematic analysis” and “discourse analysis”. Content analysis is about discussing and categorizing the meaning of sentences, phrases, and words. Thematic analysis is closely examining the data to identify broad themes and patterns. Discourse analysis is about studying communication and meaning concerning their social context.
Different sentences and choice of words can mean different things depending on context and that is why interviews make a perfect tool to be able to analyse what is being said together
with body language, expression, and pronunciation. This together with transcribing the interviews to not miss anything. This is connected to discourse analysis which is studying communication and the relation to social context. Another good thing with interviews is the fact that if something is unclear, the possibility to ask to follow up questions and receive explanations exists. The thematic analysis is examining data to find themes and patterns and if it is possible to identify, it gets easier to research the identified themes and patterns.
3.7 Analysis procedure 3.7.1 Transcripts
Audio recordings of all interviews were conducted to gather all information that the
participants gave as well as how the tone of their voice sounded and the emotions that were felt when giving answers to different questions that mattered more to them. The next step was to draft the transcripts to words and control them before deleting the transcripts due to respect the interviewees. By conducting the transcripts, it made sure that we did not miss anything important. Lastly, we read the transcripts separately to get a deeper understanding of the content.
3.7.2 Coding
When the transcribing was done, coding of the content was started, and by that making sure that the research question could be verified and strengthened by the coding. Next, the codes were identified and discussed to see if they were relevant or if any improvements could be done. When that was done, the codes were separated into different themes where best suited. The different themes were created in a word file, were the codes were broken down to match into those themes.
3.7.3 Identified categories
As mentioned, the codes were separated into themes that were done to get a clearer and more structured view and allowed us to see which codes belonged together. Then the themes were categorised in order to be analyzed even further, and by that giving the idea of how the structure of the findings section should be. By organizing the codes and making sure that the
themes and relationships were clear, it was possible to make it as easy as possible for the reader to follow.
3.8 Trustworthiness & quality of research
For research to be taken seriously and considered to be trustworthy, some criteria have to be met. Those criteria are credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability. These criteria are important to fulfil to be able to argue for the paper (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2012).
3.8.1 Credibility
By creating a relationship with the subject, in this case, branding and the alcohol industry as well as getting to know the companies that are interviewed, which makes the company feels more trust. It is also important to inform of the rights of confidentiality and anonymity, and in this way trust between both parts increases and will lead to a more comfortable interview which will be shown in the result (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2012).
3.8.2 Transferability
Transferability is whether the research applies to other areas and situations (Shenton, 2004). Therefore, we have a section explaining what a brand and branding is, then what strategic branding and brand management is. We apply it to our research question, however, the foundation of branding remains the same in all situations. It differs, later on, depending on factors like regulations, trends, geography, and demographics. Therefore, the research is transferable to other topics and situations.
3.8.3 Dependability
Dependability is about how the research process is outlined in it is systematic and accurate (Collis & Hussey, 2014). The interviews were transcribed directly to get the correct
information that was presented. In this way, guarantee the dependability of the interviews, and the right information is presented.
3.8.4 Confirmability
When conducting qualitative research with interviews, factors like objectivity is important, so the information is not presented in the purpose of someone’s benefit (Shenton, 2004).
Therefore, both parts need to listen and answer the questions objectively. To transcribe and write the presented information after the interview is a good way to avoid subjectivity.
3.9 Ethical issues & considerations
When conducting research, ethical considerations have great importance when handling data. Therefore, it is of crucial to let the interviewees know what is requested from them and what the data will be used for (Collis & Hussey, 2014) (Collis, J., & Hussey, R. (2014). Business research: A practical guide for undergraduate & postgraduate students (4th ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.) All the interviewees' participation is voluntary information on what purpose the thesis has and how the information will be handled are explained before conducting the interviews. The possibility to be anonymous was presented, one of the five interviewees wanted to be anonymous. Therefore, this person is just referred to the company Absolut throughout the research, to guarantee anonymously. Also explained was the
recording of what was being said to get the right information after the information was transcribed the recording was deleted.
4. Empirical Findings
The empirical findings section presents the data received from the conducted interviews from the different companies included in the study.
4.1 Creativity of brands
The different companies that were interviewed all had things that made them stand out in a creative way. Hernö Gin described that since they are still a young company on the market, they need to do things differently to reach out on especially the global market. They are using competitions as a tool for branding themselves since they get awards for their products as well as host their own cocktail competition in order for professionals in the industry to discover and use the brand. Hernö Gin is also trying to cooperate with other companies to reach out to the brand. For example, they have produced a product together with the Australian brand Four Pillars in order to get Hernö Gin into the Australian market and to get Four Pillars into the Swedish market, which is a win-win situation. Hernö Gin describes its branding as followed:
“We have been awarded over 200 times and that is something that has helped us to achieve a market status that we want. Co-operations with others, staying ahead of trends, and utilizing social media are things that are helping us to gain market share.” – Hernö Gin
Absolut has been around on the market for many years has a way of doing things that work for them. Since they became a big player on the market when the competitors were few, it gave them the possibility to create a brand that everyone knows about and that is associated with quality all over the world. Nowadays, Absolut is doing small changes in order to follow trends and they have recently launched the product Absolut recycled, which is the same vodka but, in a bottle, made from recycled glass. Absolut was also one of the first on the alcohol market to have flavoured products with many different flavours which were very popular
“We want to put our focus on producing our product that is made with the same quality as always. We can update some things and be creative with the brand, but the main value lies in creating our vodka like we always have and selling a product that the customers know.” – The Absolut Company
Lisch Vodka, that is very new in the industry has to think very creatively when branding themselves. Since they are small and new, they are trying to put that to their advantage and emphasize the locality of the products. The main focus for Lisch is to utilize the social media for branding, due to this being the cheapest and easiest way to brand themselves and the regulations are not as strict. Another focus is on the ongoing trends such as sustainability, and that is also why they are doing other things that stand out like using the Swedish “pant” system which means that they collect bottles after they have been used and reuse them as much as possible. They are also having their own award that they give to the best young sommelier at a famous culinary school in Sweden, which can help to make their brand more known with young adults.
“It is important for us to show ourselves to our potential customers and that is why we always want to meet face to face. We have to use what we can in order to push our brand since we cannot do what the big players on the market can.” – Lisch
Vodka
The terms for Systembolaget in Sweden, are very different since they are not allowed to market any brands. The point of view that Systembolaget has is that if a brand shall have any chance of succeeding in the Swedish market, it needs to already be established as a brand. Since Systembolaget cannot help any producer to reach out to the customers, the brand must have done the marketing job beforehand on their own and made sure that they have a
customer base in Sweden. Systembolaget listens to the customers and they know that larger brands are popular, and they will most likely put those brands on the shelves. A newly released product from a known brand is more attractive than a whole new brand. They also add that:
“The consumers generally want to show that they know what they are buying, and they want to be associated with some certain brands and that is the reason why a lot of different types of branding works.” – Systembolaget
Looking at the creativity of branding from a restaurant’s point of view, this depends on what kind of restaurant is reviewed. El Duderino in Jönköping is one of the best cocktail bars in Sweden and their view on branding and how they have branded themselves on the market differs a lot. El Duderino has a relaxed environment which makes the customers feel like home, and this combined with an extremely high level of knowledge of the people that work there makes them stand out from other bars in Sweden. El Duderino also does things like cooperation’s with many producers to make their own spirits, make sure to always have the owners in service, and to create an atmosphere that is rather unique. Being ahead of trends and doing things that no one else is doing are major foundations to how El Duderino has made their brand one of the most known in the restaurant scene not only in Sweden but globally as well. Stefan Skotte, who is one of the owners at El Duderino puts it like this:
“Our aim from the beginning was to do something different and become one of the best in the industry, and we would keep doing it as long as we had fun while doing it. Our brand has grown a lot thanks to our engagement from the start and the fact that we gave the people something different.” – El Duderino
4.2 Sweden vs Global
When it comes to the way a company can brand themselves on the alcohol market in Sweden compared to globally it differs greatly. Hernö Gin describes how they can act globally as a "kom och köp" tactic, which means that they encourage potential customers to buy their products by promoting it in ways they are not allowed to do in Sweden. Hernö Gin describes the limitations of branding in Sweden are due to the laws. Globally they are pushing on the fact that the brand is Swedish which in many countries is a quality stamp according to Hernö Gin. In Sweden, it is more about selling it as a local product that is from the north of Sweden
since that is something that the Swedish customer appreciates. The Founder of Hernö Gin, Jon Hillgren says that:
"It was all about doing something that we love doing, caring about the brand and the products, otherwise it would not have been possible to succeed in Sweden. When we started having success and pursued the global markets, we knew that the brand was already strong internationally thanks to all the awards we had won." - Hernö Gin
Absolut vodka is owned by Pernod Ricard and therefore a global company, however, the production facilities are still in Sweden. As mentioned earlier, Pernod Ricard bought Absolut Vodka in order to gain entrance to the American market where Absolut vodka was already established. Absolut Vodka faces the same difficulties when selling and branding in Sweden because of the regulations. Though this is not really a problem for them since they are so famous that they do not need to market themselves on the Swedish market. The focus rather lies in marketing their new products in other countries and by that the whole world will soon know about it since they are such a big player on the market.
"We are more of a global company than Swedish today and that is something that we could achieve from the very beginning when the market was more open, and after Pernod Ricard came into the picture, it was clear that the world was open." - The
Absolut Company
Lisch Vodka is still small and has not reached the global market yet but are working towards going global. Lisch Vodka knows that the customers on the Swedish market prefer small scale brands and that is what they are emphasizing when promoting the brand, also emphasizing storytelling about the brand when selling benefits them. Like Hernö Gin, Lisch Vodka believes that having a Swedish brand when entering the global market will benefit them because of the quality stamp that a Swedish brand has.
"We always try to share our story when we talk about our brand. As long as we are small scale, we will use that to our
advantage and do what the big brands cannot do. Before trying to go global, we want to establish ourselves on the Swedish market." - Lisch Vodka
For Systembolaget, they only act on the Swedish market. However, they have brands from all over the world on their shelves, and it is up to the producers if they want to be part of
Systembolagets product line. Systembolaget is not allowed to do any type of marketing and that is something that they must inform the companies that want their products at
Systembolaget. The Swedish producers are in general more aware of these rules and know-how Systembolaget works, and that is why it is easier for Systembolaget to deal with Swedish producers. Systembolaget is owned by the Swedish state and they work more for the
customers than for themselves and that is why the products are chosen for what the customers want, and not the other way around.
"No product have a better shelf spot that the other. We try to have products that are trendy and sustainable, though what makes it hard is that we are not allowed to tell the customers about this or promote these products even though we might think that they are good."- Systembolaget
For a bar like El Duderino that primarily works with premium products that not many bars have, they look both on the Swedish but especially on the global market when choosing products. The limitations in Sweden make it hard to bring in products due to the producers want a certain type of presentation of their products which is not allowed in all cases due to regulations. El Duderino has, for example, won awards for being the best spirits bar in Sweden 2017, this is something they want people to know, and this is done by cooperating with producers and sellers that travel all over the world and promote the bars they prefer. The best and most legal way a bar can promote themselves in Sweden is mouth to mouth and that is something that El Duderino tries to do to every single customer.
"We believe that the regulations in Sweden are holding the industry back. Many other countries in the world are leading in this industry and that is not because they are better than us, but
possible and since we have grown to be one of the best bars in Sweden, more people listen to us, which helps us grow even further." - El Duderino
4.3 Market positioning
When it comes to market positioning, Hernö Gin are satisfied with their position on the Swedish market. They are associated with premium products and northern quality, which is what they aimed for and that is also something that they are working on globally. Hernö Gin also tries to position themselves as a company that is aware of global trends but wants to do their own thing with the trends in order to stand out. Their newly released pink gin, for example, is only to be sold during the summer months and it is not coloured pink like many other, but it is made with natural ingredients like rhubarb and strawberries that usually are associated with pink gin. This makes it so that they are following the summer trends in the world while still making a premium product that makes it possible for them to remain at their preferred market position.
“We do not have a specific department at Hernö Gin that works actively with branding, because we feel that it becomes more personal to have just a few people focusing on that area. We would rather do other things to help us to reach the market position that we want.” – Hernö Gin
When looking at Absolut Vodka, their market position has changed a little during the years, and this mostly because of trends changing the market. Absolut vodka has been seen as a quality product in one era, and as a cheap style of vodka in another. The spirit itself has not changed during these years, but the market has, and that has made small differences for Absolut Vodka. They have sold their products to fancy cocktail bars in some periods and to high volume nightclubs in others. For Absolut Vodka it has not really mattered since the products have always been popular by some and it has kept selling through different eras.
