Summary

This study analyzes consumer preferences for three brands of vodka and also looks at how print advertisements for these particular brands impacts the perception of the brand. A total of 59 people participated in the study.  The data collected was analyzed using various statistical methods.  These analyses included: paired sample t-tests, between-groups t-tests, chi-squared significance tests, regression analysis, discriminant analysis, ANOVA/MANOVA, factor analysis and cluster analysis. Statistical significance was set at p≤.15, indicating that in 85 or more samples, out of 100, drawn from the same population as this sample, the expected values would be about the same as those reported here.

The three vodka brands used in this study were Skyy, Ketel One and Level. Overall, the brands were liked almost equally, however Skyy had the highest mean Brand Index Score and proved to be the most preferred brand both before and after ad exposure.

The Skyy and Level advertisement had the greatest positive influence; followed by Ketel One. For Skyy and Level, 26 people had positive change scores after viewing their advertisements.  This means that 44.0% of total respondents felt more favorable towards the brand after seeing the advertisement. However, after viewing the advertisement for Ketel One, only 15 people had positive change scores which is about 25.4% of respondents.

When comparing the Brand Index Scores for Skyy and Ketel One, over half of the respondents (59.3%) favored Skyy over Ketel One. There is a low positive correlation for the relationship between Skyy and Ketel One.  However, this only concentrated on those respondents whose first liquor of choice is vodka.  This correlation, although positive, is also not significant.

The survey results indicate a weak relationship between how respondents rated brand attributes and how they responded to the advertising so we cannot accurately predict Up-Movers and Down-Movers based on the Likert item responses. For Skyy, only 9.7% of how much respondents liked the Skyy ad is explained by how much they like the brand. Ketel One exhibited a stronger relationship than that found for Skyy; 27.9% of how much respondents liked the Ketel One ad is explained by how much they like the brand. However, this still indicates a weak relationship. In addition, two of the 10 Likert items are significant in this analysis.  They are “Ketel One is an upscale vodka” and “Ketel One is a strong vodka.” Finally, Level showed weak relationship as well with only 21.5% of how much respondents liked Level being explained by how much they liked the brand. In addition, two of the 10 Likert items are significant in this analysis.  They are “I like the taste of Level” and “I would order Level at a bar.”

As with most research studies, there were limitations. The sample size for this study was 59 people.  Although this is a modest number of respondents, it is a small sample size. Also, due to time constraints, a convenience sample was used instead of a preferred random sample and control group. Regardless, some of these findings were found to be significant and there is potential for further research here.

 

Back to Table of Contents