Lee Applbaum wants Grey Goose to be treated as a luxury vodka and says that image has been hurt by “price compression and clever, but misleading marketing. To fix that, he’s launching “Live Victoriously,” the brand’s first new integrated platform in more than a decade.
“At its core, Live Victoriously recognizes that you are the special occasion and that every moment—big and small—is an opportunity to create a lifelong memory. It’s ironic that today’s consumer values product quality and brand transparency more than ever, but their purchase behavior suggests a willingness to compromise on both,” said Applbaum, Global Chief Marketing Officer of Grey Goose.
“‘Good enough’ has become a norm in the category,” he says, adding the category “has been dumbed down through price compression and clever, but often misleading marketing. Grey Goose is a luxury product, but this positioning has also impaired our ability to fully connect with consumers; more often, they reserve Grey Goose for very special occasions.
Live Victoriously seeks to change this perception and encourage consumers to recognize that they are the special occasion and that every moment is an opportunity to create a lifelong memory.
The new global brand platform will be supported by a suite of integrated creative assets, designed to forge emotional connections with consumers in a way that makes Grey Goose more accessible, relatable and the right choice for even the most ephemeral of moments – as they, too, have the potential to become lifelong memories.
The Live Victoriously TV spots reinforce this emotional connectivity by showcasing either a lead character or group of characters fully committing to unexpected moments of celebration with the utmost swagger. The 15 and 30 second TVC spots, directed by Fredrik Bond and overlaid with emboldening taglines including “Live like you’re the special occasion,” “Live like every day is your birthday” and “Live like your phone doesn’t exist,” will be airing through June across Cable Entertainment Networks, Primetime TV and Sports Programming.
Iconic out-of-home boards will also feature the campaign creative within major markets like New York, Chicago, LA, Miami, Washington DC, Las Vegas and Atlanta, along with national print media outlets – from Esquire to Rolling Stone to Food & Wine Magazine.
Grey Goose is also relaunching its digital and social ecosystem globally by transforming www.GreyGoose.com into an immersive, interactive website, enriched with custom content. Additionally, introduction of the Live Victoriously platform will be supported by exclusive media partnerships with top content hubs like Hulu, Spotify, The Skimm and HypeBeast.
MullenLowe U.S. was recently brought on as the new creative Agency of Record and executed the Live Victoriously platform launch. In addition to MullenLowe, Grey Goose appointed Publicis Sapient for global digital and social strategy to drive the digital transformation of the business. These two partnerships have solidified Applbaum’s commitment to holistically overhaul and reposition the Grey Goose brand identity.