Launching A Liquor Without Advertising -- But With PR And Everything Else

One of the best pitches I've ever been part of was for a new light beer, brewed by a Texas brewery that is best known for its darker beers.

We worked for weeks to develop a fully integrated rollout plan -- all on a tiny budget for a regional brand. Our pitch included public relations, point-of-purchase, event marketing, an extensive Internet effort and lots of cool viral activities.

Oh, and it also had traditional advertising. Outdoor and radio, with a tiny bit of print.

We didn't get the business.

I'm not bitter ... I still like the beer.

But the agency that did win seemed to go to market with only advertising, which was surprising, considering the budget.


Cut the ad buys for this vodka.


Today, I read about Absolut's new vodka, called Cut. The blog AdPulp reports here that Absolut launched Cut with "every element of the marketing mix" except traditional advertising.

"The only thing missing was the one element that has been present for the launch of a major spirits brands since marketing was invented. Last week, Absolut made marketing history when it launched without a cent being spent on traditional advertising."

Absolut even went so far as to lease a bar for its rollout.

Pretty cool. We didn't think of that.

Is Absolut's approach yet another sign of how marketers are rethinking the role of advertising? AdPulp says that new liquor launches are typically backed by an average of $3 million in paid media.

But not Cut. We'll see how it turns out.

Technorati Tags: PR, Public Relations, Marketing, Advertising, Absolut