Stoli Surveys Juke Joints

Stolichnaya Vodka is working like mad on its image, on several fronts.

First, it recently unveiled Stoli elit (small "e," please), a new super-premium triple-distilled vodka sold mostly in California but set to hit higher-end clubs, restaurants and stores on the East Coast and elsewhere during the holidays.

Next, it has put a new polling gimmick into place at selected spots around the country to get consumer input in a very direct way.

The polling campaign uses Web-based jukeboxes to survey patrons in clubs and bars. Through touch-screen technology, they can select from among 200,000 songs, then input opinions on what the next flavord Stoli should be -- passion fruit, caramel, blueberry or pomegranate.

The jukebox service, incidentally, comes from a San Francisco company called Ecast. Stoli isn't its first try working with an alcoholic beverage company. Ecast partnered with Heineken brewers for its "Music for Life" promotion by using a Web interactive music-trivia campaign run via Ecast's broadband media network during the summer.

Ecast, founded in 1999, says its jukebox network is growing at the rate of 150 venues per month, currently hitting 4,200 locations, mostly bars and restaurants.

To Dowd's Spirits Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Wine Notebook latest entry.
To Dowd's Brews Notebook latest entry.
Back to Dowd's Bar Blog home page.