Both charge and discharge

Photo: SERGEY MIKHEEV, Kommersant

Among the contenders for participation in the Brand of the Year/EFFIE-2004 competition, the media sponsor of which is Dengi magazine, are the Trax and Bogorodskaya Vodka trademarks. Representatives of these companies tell Denga correspondent Marina Tager about them .

“There is nothing criminal in this Russian word”
Alexey Semin, General Director of the Orisfey company, talks about alcoholic cocktails and energy drinks under the Trax brand .

— The Lebedyansky experimental canning plant announced the launch of the Trax brand in February of this year. And what does the Orispheus company have to do with it?
— EKZ “Lebedyansky”, which today is one of the largest producers of natural juices, is the founder of the “Orisfey” company. At some point, Lebedyansky decided that it was time to develop a new direction. After a thorough study of the market, we settled on the production of energy and low-alcohol drinks, for which we created a separate structure, which has a different strategy from the parent company. This happened in February of this year, although we started preparing a new project earlier. Our own distribution system was set up especially for this new line of business.
— Why cocktails?
— The market for low-alcohol drinks in Russia is relatively young. The first imported alcoholic cocktails appeared in 1993. The market began to develop most actively in 2001-2003, but it cannot be said that it has already formed, as happened, for example, with juices. Naturally, people consume several times less of such drinks than juices - only 3-4 liters per year per person, and therefore the importance of a well-built brand increases many times over.
— It turns out that the percentage of potential consumers of your products will always be low...
- We understand this very well. The company did not set itself the goal of releasing a brand “for everyone.” The time when universal brands were produced has already passed. We want to make products that will be aimed strictly at a specific audience. In our case - for youth. Another product is currently being prepared for launch. It will be released early next year and will be aimed at a different segment of consumers.
— How will you determine the circle of consumers of Trax cocktails?
— These are energetic young men and women from 18 to 25 years old with average incomes, mostly students. They want to achieve more in life than the generation of those now over 30 could once afford, but at the same time they know the limits of pleasure. After drinking Trax, a person may feel more relaxed and cheerful. This is the concept of the brand. We created a brand specifically for young people, and, apparently, we succeeded.
— You are probably often asked about the name of the brand? It sounds too provocative...
— The name was chosen from more than a hundred proposals. Research has shown that consumers actually read it as if it had Russian letters. And there is nothing criminal in the Russian word “fuck”: explanatory dictionaries interpret it as “a sharp crack, noise, blow.” Under the Latin name on the can we even placed the transcription - “tracks”.
— What advertising media were used by Orystheus to quickly establish the brand on the market?
- Almost everything. On television, however, we could only advertise the Trax energy drink. The “Disco” video was shown on all central channels and, first of all, on music channels. Since our capabilities on television are very limited, we used outdoor advertising - in the subway, trains, at public transport stops in Moscow and St. Petersburg...
— The first wave of the Trax brand advertising campaign has passed. What results can we already talk about?
— Today Trax represents 3% of the Russian market of low-alcohol cocktails. By the end of the year we are going to reach 4%. And although most of our competitors have been operating on the market for many years and are actively promoting their products, in less than six months we managed to take third place in terms of brand knowledge.
— What do you plan to do next?
— In September, a large-scale event will be held in clubs in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Radio Maximum will announce its start. The promotion will last for two months. Prize draws, grand gala discos, and “Trax-mission” parties are expected. We chose the capital's clubs, where our audience comes to have fun and relax. All of them will be decorated in Trax style at this time.

"Advertising is a factor that cannot be weighed in grams and cannot be measured in meters"

Photo: DMITRY LEBEDEV, Kommersant

Commercial Director of ChZAP "Ost-Alko" Andrey Sergeenkov talks about the historical features of the Bogorodskaya Vodka brand.

— How was the name chosen for your vodka?
--In 1781, the Great Empress Catherine II, returning from a trip, stopped for the night in the village of Rogozhi (now the city of Noginsk). The Empress became thirsty, and they brought her water from a local holy spring. After drinking the water, the queen exclaimed: “Pure water, such vodka would make excellent!” Soon, by the personal decree of the queen, the village was renamed the city of Bogorodsk. Who knows, maybe that spring water played an important role in the name of the city. That's why our vodka is called "Bogorodskaya".
— How was the brand launched?
— The brand was launched on the market about five years ago. Massive advertising support was not required then, since the product positioning strategy was correctly developed. Today we can say with confidence that the Bogorodskaya trademark is one of the main brands of the Chernogolovsky Alcohol Plant.
— How many products are currently produced under this brand and do they all belong to the same price category?
— Just five: “Ost-Alko Bogorodskaya” with the addition of coriander and natural essential lemon oil, “Bogorodskaya soft” with vanilla, “Bogorodskaya classic” vodka and a special “Bogorodskaya strong” - both with walnut infusion, honey and oatmeal infusion. Finally, Bogorodskaya Lux vodka with oatmeal infusion. The latter is intended for consumers in the “upper economy” price segment: in retail it costs from 100 to 160 rubles per half-liter bottle. The remaining four products belong to the “economy” price segment - that’s 80-100 rubles per bottle.
— It can be assumed that the consumers of vodka are different.
— Under the Bogorodskaya brand, products of different price positioning are produced - “economy” and “upper economy”. In this regard, the consumer portrait has some differences, primarily related to the level of financial capabilities. The main consumers of the first segment are men aged 18-55 years. They have a secondary or specialized secondary education and are engaged in manual labor for hire. They spend 50% to 70% of their monthly budget on food. The “upper economy” audience can be characterized as follows: men 25-55 years old with higher or higher specialized education, office workers or small entrepreneurs whose monthly income is enough for food and clothing.
— At the beginning of June this year, the plant began production and sale of Bogorodskaya Lux vodka. What is the advertising campaign aimed at today - to promote the brand as a whole or its latest innovation?
— The Bogorodskaya trademark is not a new product. The peak of its promotion to the market was in 2001. Another thing is “Bogorodskaya Lux”. This is a new product for a new target audience of consumers. After all, those who once fell in love with “Bogorodskaya Soft” have now grown up and achieved some success. On the one hand, they don’t want to part with their favorite brand of vodka. On the other hand, their financial capabilities and their very sense of self in life require a higher-class product. That's why "Bogorodskaya Lux" appeared. Our current advertising campaign is based on the psychographics of the consumer, his social status.
The development of advertising strategies is based on the factor of continuity. The goal, in essence, is the same - those who know and love Bogorodskaya should make a discovery for themselves: there is a new addition to the family of their favorite drink.
— Advertising of strong alcoholic drinks has its limitations...
— Neither outdoor advertising nor socio-political publications can promote our product. In our opinion, the most effective means of promotion were advertising events at points of sale. In addition, professional publications were used.
— Which regions does the advertising campaign cover?
— Advertising media arrive in the regions along with the products themselves. And our distributors work with promotional materials, taking into account local conditions. This concerns direct “vodka” advertising. And image materials are published in periodicals. In the summer, special work is done with passenger flows through publications, which are displayed free of charge in all compartments of railway transport. Passengers first read the publication, and then put it in their bag and bring it home. There the magazine gets to the household. Thus, one publication gives 3-4 advertising exposures. A similar scheme applies to air transport.
— How has the situation changed since the launch of the advertising campaign?
— Advertising is a factor that cannot be weighed in grams or measured in meters. It is just an integral part of the entire marketing mix. If marketers are wrong, then the most that advertising can do is generate the first wave of purchases among “experimenters.” Will there be second or third purchases? True, we are calm regarding Bogorodskaya. It has become a favorite drink, and the task of advertising is only to maintain the brand image and expand the consumer segment. The brand development plans include work to expand sales regions and increase sales volumes. Promotion will be aimed at attracting new consumers and better satisfying existing ones.

Magazine "Kommersant Money" No. 37 dated September 20, 2004, p. 54