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  • The Art of Vodka

    • 10/07/2016
    • ADB
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    When most people think of Absolut, they think of vodka. However, the Pernod Ricard-owned brand now wants people to associate its name with fine art.

    They call it Absolut Art. It is an online retailer with a mission to make art mainstream enough that everyone can hang a piece on their walls. The business sells curated prints for $250 to $6,000, with a sweet spot of $250 to $500.

    Absolut wanted to see if there was a possibility to create brand equity outside of spirits. They saw there was a huge opportunity when it comes to future revenue in the art industry. 

    Absolut decided to branch out about 2 ½ years ago, and considered 40 different ventures to dive into. After talking to consumers, gallery owners and artists, the company felt it would still be considered credible even in the elitist art community. Interestingly, Absolut Art is not tied to any overt marketing initiatives.

    They are acting as a start-up and expanding the Absolut brand into another category that is independent from the vodka. 

    It may seem strange for the vodka brand to veer off in a new direction, but it's something that many organizations are attempting in order to expand their brand into a lifestyle. Clothing companies Armani and Bulgari own several hotels across the world. Red Bull is almost as known for its caffeinated beverages as much as its action sports media content. Virgin Group operates everything from spacecraft to films to banking. Converse offers Converse Rubber Tracks, a way for up-and-coming bands to record music for free.

    "This is a classic brand expansion play, but with any brand extension you have to ask does the extension fit the customer's expectations? It's all about authenticity — and millennials care about authenticity.

    Absolut's Mehta was formerly the founder of Art Remba, an art sales and subscription service that allows people to rent-to-own pieces. When she was approached by the vodka company, Mehta admitted she was a bit skeptical and worried this would be an advertising ploy.

    Artists are invited by curators to work with Absolut Art with no preset requirements. Prints range from actual photography to images of sculpted works. The pieces are not used in any advertising, nor is there any connection to alcohol. According to Absolut Art Berlin curator Francesca Gavin, production costs for the prints are covered by Absolut, and artists get to take home 50 percent of the profits. Consumers simply head to the website, click on the works they want to buy and purchase them online.

    "You have an opportunity to see work (online) without any of the trepidation or intimidation that you would feel in a gallery if you're not from that background," Gavin explained. "It's an amazing medium for (art) education."

    What also works in Absolut's favor is that the people who are most likely to be its art customers grew up cutting out its ads and putting them up on their walls, DDG's Gaspar said. It cemented itself as a tastemaker back then, and millennials may still trust their opinion now.

    Absolut is restarting the conversation about its brand, and because the company has always aligned itself with art, it doesn't seem like a foreign concept. Absolut has deep ties to the art world, as it's collaborated with Andy Warhol, Annie Leibovitz, Helmut Newton, Damien Hirst and more than 600 other artists to design ad campaigns for its iconic bottle throughout its history. Now, the vodka brand will sell works of art, as well, through its for-profit ecommerce subsidiary, Absolut Art,

    Absolut Art sends a team of curators to cities around the world to check out the art scene and find influential artists in each city. They then recruit those artists to sell their pieces on AbsolutArt.com at accessible price points, from $100 to $3,000. There's a 50/50 revenue split between the artists and Absolut, the standard revenue share when selling art in a gallery. The brand also will host collector events and art studio visits around the country.

    The effort is designed to streamline and help more artists showcase their work on a larger stage while exposing more people to fine art.

     

     

     

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The Art of Vodka

 

When most people think of Absolut, they think of vodka. However, the Pernod Ricard-owned brand now wants people to associate its name with fine art.

They call it Absolut Art. It is an online retailer with a mission to make art mainstream enough that everyone can hang a piece on their walls. The business sells curated prints for $250 to $6,000, with a sweet spot of $250 to $500.

Absolut wanted to see if there was a possibility to create brand equity outside of spirits. They saw there was a huge opportunity when it comes to future revenue in the art industry. 

Absolut decided to branch out about 2 ½ years ago, and considered 40 different ventures to dive into. After talking to consumers, gallery owners and artists, the company felt it would still be considered credible even in the elitist art community. Interestingly, Absolut Art is not tied to any overt marketing initiatives.

They are acting as a start-up and expanding the Absolut brand into another category that is independent from the vodka. 

It may seem strange for the vodka brand to veer off in a new direction, but it's something that many organizations are attempting in order to expand their brand into a lifestyle. Clothing companies Armani and Bulgari own several hotels across the world. Red Bull is almost as known for its caffeinated beverages as much as its action sports media content. Virgin Group operates everything from spacecraft to films to banking. Converse offers Converse Rubber Tracks, a way for up-and-coming bands to record music for free.

"This is a classic brand expansion play, but with any brand extension you have to ask does the extension fit the customer's expectations? It's all about authenticity — and millennials care about authenticity.

Absolut's Mehta was formerly the founder of Art Remba, an art sales and subscription service that allows people to rent-to-own pieces. When she was approached by the vodka company, Mehta admitted she was a bit skeptical and worried this would be an advertising ploy.

Artists are invited by curators to work with Absolut Art with no preset requirements. Prints range from actual photography to images of sculpted works. The pieces are not used in any advertising, nor is there any connection to alcohol. According to Absolut Art Berlin curator Francesca Gavin, production costs for the prints are covered by Absolut, and artists get to take home 50 percent of the profits. Consumers simply head to the website, click on the works they want to buy and purchase them online.

"You have an opportunity to see work (online) without any of the trepidation or intimidation that you would feel in a gallery if you're not from that background," Gavin explained. "It's an amazing medium for (art) education."

What also works in Absolut's favor is that the people who are most likely to be its art customers grew up cutting out its ads and putting them up on their walls, DDG's Gaspar said. It cemented itself as a tastemaker back then, and millennials may still trust their opinion now.

Absolut is restarting the conversation about its brand, and because the company has always aligned itself with art, it doesn't seem like a foreign concept. Absolut has deep ties to the art world, as it's collaborated with Andy Warhol, Annie Leibovitz, Helmut Newton, Damien Hirst and more than 600 other artists to design ad campaigns for its iconic bottle throughout its history. Now, the vodka brand will sell works of art, as well, through its for-profit ecommerce subsidiary, Absolut Art,

Absolut Art sends a team of curators to cities around the world to check out the art scene and find influential artists in each city. They then recruit those artists to sell their pieces on AbsolutArt.com at accessible price points, from $100 to $3,000. There's a 50/50 revenue split between the artists and Absolut, the standard revenue share when selling art in a gallery. The brand also will host collector events and art studio visits around the country.

The effort is designed to streamline and help more artists showcase their work on a larger stage while exposing more people to fine art.

 

 

 

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