Vodka Launches Have Same Fruit, Different Flavors

We suppose some planners are lucky enough to help herald the launch of a product that is truly unique. At the opposite end of the spectrum, others are challenged with promoting a brand that faces competition that some consumers might view as identical. Such was the case with the dueling pear-flavored vodkas recently launched by spirit companies Absolut and Grey Goose. Absolut’s take on the fruit-infused liquor, introduced on January 5, is Absolut Pears; Grey Goose rolled out La Poire on February 1.

Curious to see how the companies presented similar products to the market, we took at look at two events promoting each brand’s new spirit in New York.

—Mimi O’ConnorPosted 03.08.07

Photos: WireImage (Absolut), Sara Jaye Weiss (La Poire)

Absolut staged its New York event at the downtown venue the Box, which features a decadent Baroque decor, an appropriate setting for the night’s “Bordello of Eden” theme. Adding to the allure of the event was the fact that the venue was not yet open to the public.

Carmen Electra hosted Absolut’s New York party; the affair’s invite offered guests “A Taste of Temptation.” While the New York event served as the official launch for the product, Absolut also hosted an “Isla de Peras” event in Miami, with tropical music star Fonseca.

Sarah Bessette, public relations manager of the Absolut Spirits Company, described the event’s concept as “a new spin on the traditional Garden of Eden theme, making it unconventional and creative, in line with the Absolut brand.” The goal of the promotion was to bring to life the “tempting and seductive nature of the new flavor.”

Absolut capitalized on the theaterlike setting of the Box by hiring models to enact a live vignette of seduction. Other characters populating the brand’s fantasy world included snake charmers and nymphs.

Signature drinks at the Absolut event included Absolut Pearfection (with cranberry and lime juice), Pears Temptation (with cranberry and apple juice), and Truth or Pears (Pears vodka with lime soda). Much of the food served incorporated the signature fruit as an ingredient. Offerings included caramelized pear and fontina tartlets, skewered shiitake mushrooms and maple-glazed Bosc pears, and miniature panini with pear, brie, honey-baked turkey, proscuitto, mozzarella, and fresh basil.

Grey Goose marketing manager Brandon Lieb attributed the decor of the La Poire event, inspired by Parisian subway entrances, to the French heritage of the brand and the French pears used to make the vodka.

Not surprisingly, both events prominently featured pears. At La Poire's event, the fruit was everywhere-incorporated into small tables, serving trays, and this freestanding wall.

Serving trays at the La Poire event also incorporated pears. La Poire planners sought out new and unusual venues for its multi-city campaign.The brand held its New York event at the Daryl Roth Theatre; other spaces included a renovated synagogue (now a private home) in Miami, an old bank in San Francisco, and a house featured in the HBO series Entourage in Los Angeles. Jenny McCarthy hosted the La Poire stop in Boston.

Staged to introduce bar and restaurant owners, bartenders, and other spirit-industry professionals to La Poire, the Grey Goose event offered a variety of cocktails showcasing ways to mix the vodka. Drinks included the Pear-n-Berry Frappe, the Fall Classic (which incorporated beer), and the Peartini.

La Poire outfitted cocktail servers in the color of the night (green) and accented their frocks with small silver pins in the shape of the company’s signature animal, a goose. The event promised attendees “A Taste of Pear Perfection.”