The document summarizes insights from consumers and sellers about the SKYY vodka brand. The Drinkers see SKYY as dated and feel the new creative is cliched. Servers say SKYY is yesterday's news and not commonly requested anymore. SKYY's challenge is overcoming indifference rather than just building awareness. The document outlines SKYY's brand positioning over three phases and proposes it could be more clearly defined and better executed going forward by focusing on substance, creation, inspiration and purpose over consumption and prestige. It also compares SKYY's positioning to competitors and suggests areas like aspirational, inspirational and accessible that SKYY could own. Finally, it proposes five new positioning ideas for SKYY centered around innovation, partnerships, art

1. Beyond the Blue
An examination of the SKYY Vodka brand
February 9th, 2018.

2. “In order to grow, brands
must be both physically
and mentally available.”
- Byron Sharp, How Brands Grow

3. PART 1: THE INSIGHTS
What do we know about the brand?
Who is the consumer?
What category is SKYY in?
How can SKYY be more relevant in culture?

4. I spoke with…
The Drinkers The Servers The Sellers

5. The Drinkers are collectively nonplussed
for what SKYY has to offer.
“Lower to mid-range
vodka.”
“The color blue, and the
label.”
“Dated, irrelevant,
catering vodka.”
“All caps shouting.”
“When I think of SKYY I
think of 10 years ago. It
feels super dated. Not
sure where they went.”
“Blue Bottle, otherwise
nondescript.”
Source: Google Survey. Bernal Heights/Mission Vodka Tour February 2018.

6. And were particularly unimpressed
with the new creative.
“Tony Kelly is rich and
does stupid things with
his money.”
Source: Google Survey, February 2018.
“Living a big life.
Prestigious and risqué
lifestyle. I don’t really like
it. A bit cliched.”
“If you have a pool of
vodka, you are audacious
and cool.”
“SKYY will make my day
audacious? WTF?”

7. The Servers feel SKYY is yesterday’s news.
“They were going well for a
while. They were quite a
common well, then they got
too pricey so they kind of
got lost a bit.”
- Matt, Evil Eye
“I don’t see it anywhere
but I’m not really looking
for it either. It’s very dated.
They should do away with
the blue I think. It’s very
“early 2000s.””
- Sarah, Virgil’s
“People don’t really ask for
SKYY anymore. You’d think
it’d do better in SF given
where we are.”
- Glenn, El Rio
Source: Bernal Heights/Mission Vodka Tour February 2018.

8. SKYY’S CHALLENGE IS NOT
ABOUT BUILDING
AWARENESS.
IT’S ABOUT OVERCOMING
INDIFFERENCE.

9. “I think all vodka brands are after the same
thing: looking classy. The sex angle is stupid
and overused, in too many brand categories,
and is about as disingenuous as it gets. One
thing that would encourage me to drink vodka
more often is that it's a chameleon type of
alcohol that mixes well with anything. I don't
really care about the prestige factor and don't
think that's going to come from vodka anyway.”
- Haley, 25 San Francisco

10. Vodka’s versatility make it the first
choice in liquor.
#1
in Liquor
29% of people who
prefer liquor, prefer
vodka.
Source: Harris U.S. Alcohol Consumption Poll, 2017.
#1
With women
Women 2X (38% vs.
19%) as likely to prefer
vodka to men.

11. Are the category tropes out of step
with the reality?

12. In a post Weinstein world, is ignoring
the biggest drinkers a smart strategy?

13. Our Audience: The Entrepreneurials
25-35 college-educated, entrepreneurial, creative, passionate and
empowered women.
Leaders within their social circle with the ambition and motivation
both in their personal and professional lives. A strong attraction to
adventure and exploring new places, and experiences. Also,
fashion forward and socially conscious.
Why Them?
• Receptive Audience: Women born between 1991 and 2000 are
now drinking as much as their male cohorts, evening out a gap
that was over two-to-one a century ago.
• Purposeful: 90% want to use their skills for good.
• Creative: 81% of Millennials said they would be interested in
helping a brand design a new product.
• Entrepreneurial: 62% of Millennials have considered starting
their own business.
• Precocious: The average age Millennials start their own
business 27, compared with Baby Boomers 35.
• Socially Minded: 90% of Millennials believe it’s important to
stand up for causes you believe in.
Sources: Columbia University, UNSW 2016. Deloitte, 2015. Y-Pulse, 2014. BNP Paribas, 2016

14. PART 2: POSITIONING
What does SKYY stand for?
Does the current positioning work?
Does this positioning differentiate the brand within the category?
What alternative positioning could/should the brand explore?

15. Three Phases of the SKYY brand

16. Three Phases of the SKYY brand
1.
Sexual
Subservience

17. Three Phases of the SKYY brand
1.
Sexual
Subservience
2.
Nightlife with a
surprising twist

18. Three Phases of the SKYY brand
1.
Sexual
Subservience
2.
Nightlife with a
surprising twist
3.
Maker culture
meets couture

19. THE GOOD NEWS:
The “Make. Every Day.” Platform feels
unique, ownable and distinct in the category.
THE BAD NEWS:
It could be more clearly defined
and better executed.

20. SKYY’S POSITIONING IS A
LITTLE SCHIZOPHRENIC.

21. It’s speaking out of both sides of its mouth.
FORWARD
THINKING
CREATIVE
INNOVATIVE
ORIGINAL
MEMORABLE
AUDACIOUS

22. And there’s a fine line between
audaciousness and dated decadence.
“Are these recent? They
feel like the eighties or
nineties.”
“These ads are corny and
make me roll my eyes. I
wouldn’t buy the vodka
because of them.”
“Retro Campy Glam.”
I
Source: Google Survey February 2018.

23. THE “BADGE” OF ASPIRATION HAS
CHANGED.

24. SUPERFLUOUS
DECADENCE
OSTENTATIOUS
CONSUMPTION
TRUST FUND
PASSIVITY
I
PURPOSEFULLY
BOLD
UNAPOLOGETIC
CREATION
SHARK TANK
CREATIVITY
I
FROM: TO:

25. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR SKYY?
LET’S TAKE A LOOK WHERE SOME OF THE
COMPETITION STANDS.

26. Smirnoff: The Best Vodka for Everyone
• Value Proposition: Making premium accessible to the
everyman/woman.
• Tagline: Only the best for everyone.
• Tone: Accessible, approachable, relatable.

27. Tito’s: The Original Craft Vodka
• Value Proposition: Artisanal yet affordable American
craft vodka.
• Tagline: America’s original craft vodka.
• Tone: Accessible, earthy, artisanal. patriotic.

28. New Amsterdam: Love the Grind
• Value Proposition: Celebrating those who bring hard
work and passion into whatever they do.
• Tagline: Pour Your Soul Out.
• Tone: Hard working, stylish, purposeful, inspiring.

29. Ketel One: The Purposeful Pursuit of Perfection
• Value Proposition: The purposeful pursuit of perfection.
• Tagline: You’re having our life’s work.
• Tone: Bold, masculine, European, strong.

30. Grey Goose: The World’s Best Tasting Vodka
• Value Proposition: The world’s best tasting vodka.
• Tagline: Bring Extraordinary/Fly Beyond.
• Tone: Premium, classic, French, elegant.

31. ABSOLUT: Iconically Whimsical
• Value Proposition: Absolut Everything.
• Tagline: Absolut_______
• Tone: Cheeky, suave, stylish, cosmopolitan.

32. WHAT CAN SKYY OWN?

33. ASPIRATIONAL
INSPIRATIONAL
PREMIUM
ACCESSIBLE

34. ASPIRATIONAL
INSPIRATIONAL
PREMIUM
ACCESSIBLE

35. ASPIRATIONAL
INSPIRATIONAL
PREMIUM
ACCESSIBLE

36. ASPIRATIONAL
INSPIRATIONAL
PREMIUM
ACCESSIBLE

37. ASPIRATIONAL
INSPIRATIONAL
PREMIUM
ACCESSIBLE

38. ASPIRATIONAL
INSPIRATIONAL
PREMIUM
ACCESSIBLE

39. ASPIRATIONAL
INSPIRATIONAL
PREMIUM
ACCESSIBLE

40. What does that mean for SKYY’s current
positioning? (i.e. “Maker culture meets couture)
THINK:
SUBSTANCE
CREATION
INSPIRATION
PURPOSE
SWAGGER
CONSUMPTION
ASPIRATION
PRESTIGE
OVER
OVER
OVER
OVER

41. 5 Ideas

42. BLUE SKYY LABS
An innovation platform where the power of the
collective imagination is mobilized for the power of
making.
An online community where the enterprising and
ambitious can mobilize, synergize and share
opportunities to “Make. Everyday.” Now A BBQ chef
in St. Louis can connect with a creative
technologist from Austin, to come up with new
recipes and remixes. A screenwriter from Delaware
can connect with an animator from Ft. Lauderdale
to ideate and connect around their next project.
Think My Starbucks Idea, meets Patagonia Action
Works, Meets Fiverr.

43. SKYY x LACROIX
Is there a reason you can’t get a vodka soda in a
can?
Rather than create a sub-brand from scratch,
partner with a well-known and loved staple of the
Millennial generation, LaCroix.
2 different approaches:
1. Pre-packaged cocktails sold off the shelf,
released as a new category of mixed drinks,
“SKYYCroix.”
2. Have bottles of SKYY come pre-packaged with a
six pack of different LaCroix flavors, taking the
hassle out of choosing an independent mixer.

44. CHIHULY FOR SKYY
An undeniable brand asset of the SKYY brand is the
blue bottle.
Who better to trust with that equity than acclaimed
“maker,” glass sculptor, Dale Chihuly?
Chihuly could use recycled SKYY bottles and be put
to work to help beautify urban environments in
need of transformation.
It’s “making” in the service of social good. With a
natural and credible tie in with the SKYY brand.

45. COGNITIVE COCKTAILS WITH WATSON
IBM recently released a platform “authored” by
Watson, IBM’s AI program. The premise was to
“amplify creativity in the kitchen,” to discover new
food pairings that humans are likely to overlook.
SKYY could partner with Watson to unlock new
partnerships and combinations to pair with SKYY
vodka, aligning with the brand’s “Future Proof” call
to “make the future.”

46. SKYY MAKER STUDIOS
SKYY will create physical environments where the
entrepreneurials can mobilize, create and “make”
important ideas that shape the future.
The studios will be equipped with recording and
filming equipment, as well as brainstorming
environments.
Think Converse Rubber Tracks meets We Work.

47. Questions? Discussion?
Thanks!