ABSOLUT and Emerge Partners have created a members-only community to boost the vodka company's CRM efforts.

In the 25 years since it launched in the United States, ABSOLUT has become the leading imported premium vodka in this country, where vodka -- with over 25 percent of industry sales -- is the best selling spirit. Not coincidentally, ABSOLUT also became a megabrand in that time, and has long been instantly recognizable worldwide.

In recent years, though, a seemingly endless supply of new competitors and flavors, plus novel product categories such as super-premium and ultra-premium have combined to slow the rapid growth of ABSOLUT.

That’s why in 2002, ABSOLUT tapped Emerge Partners, Inc., a CRM/Relationship Marketing company, to begin planning a groundbreaking Customer Relationship Marketing program.

Its purpose: to reconnect the brand with its core consumers in the United States, which represent 60 percent of total worldwide sales for ABSOLUT. The bond would be based not only on the core product attributes of clarity, simplicity and perfection, but also on the creativity and lifestyle ABSOLUT represents, and which sophisticated, urban consumers share with the brand.

“Working with an iconic brand like ABSOLUT was an incredibly exciting, yet daunting, challenge,” says Parnell Woodard, founder and CEO of Emerge. “We had created significant programs and platforms before -- but none with the brand stature of ABSOLUT.”

The situation was complicated by the fact that ABSOLUT never had a CRM program before, and didn’t even have a database of names, according to Woodard, “ABSOLUT and Emerge had to build the program from the ground up.” One of their first steps was to break the program down into four distinct goals:

• Identify vodka drinkers
• Retard defections to competitors
• Build loyalty among current ABSOLUT drinkers
• Increase ABSOLUT consumption within the vodka category

Other vodka brands, of course, had similar goals. They had even instituted rudimentary CRM programs, which consisted primarily of simple websites, small giveaways and occasional email greetings. But the unique brand identity ABSOLUT established through decades of artistic, witty advertising and creative sponsorship of fashion, film and music, provided an ideal platform from which to launch a more engaging multimedia and multidimensional CRM program. The program itself could embody the very values of ABSOLUT.

After all, ABSOLUT drinkers identify not only with the quality of the product, but with the creative spirit it represents. No other vodka, no other liquor -- and perhaps no other brand in the world --could invite its consumers to get behind the scenes and live the brand experience in quite the same way.

For this reason, the program was named ABSOLUT ACCESS. The name emphasizes that members can literally enter the creative, dynamic world of ABSOLUT.

ABSOLUT ACCESS connects consumers to the core brand

The program’s primary access point, so to speak, is a custom-designed website that launched in March, 2004. It is updated in quarterly “issues,” each with a unique theme tied to current ABSOLUT campaigns and events. The website embodies the voice, look and creative identity of ABSOLUT and functions as a hub where members can find the three main components of the program: inside information about the world of ABSOLUT; invitations to events; and ABSOLUT gifts.

Each issue features details of ABSOLUT products and campaigns that were never before available to the public. While the issues vary in content, they generally include:

• Stories about the world-famous ads
• In-depth product features, especially about new flavors
• News about ABSOLUT events outside the U.S.
• An ever-expanding collection of recipes
• Interactive features to engage with ABSOLUT in new ways

Absolut.com/access has also become the place to learn about and get invited to ABSOLUT events all over the country, including:

• Tasting and sampling events
• Parties presented by ABSOLUT
• Concerts, films and other performances presented by ABSOLUT

Each issue comes with new examples of free gifts and ABSOLUT memorabilia, called SWAG. Among the items offered to members so far are:

• Reproductions of noteworthy ads
• Coffee-table style drinks book personalized with ABSOLUT <YOUR NAME> on the cover
• The ABSOLUT DECK playing cards

Emails notify ABSOLUT ACCESS members of the launch of each issue and direct mail pieces reinforce both the website and ongoing advertising campaigns. Members can also text message recipes from the site to themselves or a friend. And the program sponsors events in the real world, such as film festivals and ski resorts, with featured drinks, discounts and contests for members and the general public.

Making the ABSOLUT experience a reality

Leveraging all the resources available to a global company in support of a new initiative is never easy. It was particularly challenging in this case because ABSOLUT ACCESS had to encourage various stakeholders within the company to commit and contribute to the program, obtain internal approvals from both the U.S. and Sweden and ensure agreement from external partners as well.

To wit: the website was developed and is run by teams working in New York and Stockholm, and overseen by ABSOLUT representatives in both cities. Informing members about upcoming events and promotional activities requires input not only from the ABSOLUT headquarters in Stockholm, but also from the New York national office along with Sales Managers across the country. ABSOLUT advertising agencies in the U.S. and Europe contribute information about the development of ABSOLUT ad campaigns and provide real-time information on ongoing initiatives. Public relations agencies and internal teams provide content and product news. And independent partners help develop and promote program events.

From the very beginning, rigorous measurement has been -- and continues to be -- essential to determining the value of the program and its progress towards its established goals. Many behavioral factors that indicate the impact of the program can be collected and analyzed through the website. They include:

• Total registrations
• Percentage of active members who visit the site
• Referral factor (based on a “Tell a Friend” feature on the site)
• Time spent on site
• Open and click-through rates of emails

ABSOLUT and Emerge currently are developing focus groups to quantify the attitudinal impact of the program, specifically its:

• Ability to increase consumption
• Impact on consumers’ relationship with ABSOLUT
• Contribution to brand image
• Influence on the perception of the quality of ABSOLUT

Of course, influencing consumption is the most important goal. And while that can’t be measured directly, initial feedback from consumers shows that ABSOLUT ACCESS is succeeding in bringing ABSOLUT drinkers closer to the brand and deepening their affinity for it.

As the program evolves, ABSOLUT and Emerge continue to work together, seeking out new ways to enrich ABSOLUT ACCESS. For now, that includes planning more events in the real world, developing new online features and creating opportunities for contact between ABSOLUT and its consumers (such as downloading recipes to cell phones). While the core values of ABSOLUT -- clarity, simplicity and perfection -- remain the same, ABSOLUT ACCESS is the perfect, adaptable mechanism to keep expressing them in fresh ways to new audiences.

Emerge Partners, Inc. is an interactive marketing and consultancy company.