A Look into Tito’s Marketing

     Hello all, and welcome back to another post on my marketing blog! Today I want to do a deep dive into the brand “Tito’s Vodka”. Tito’s has been a brand I’ve seen everywhere, in grocery stores, liquor stores, friends and families pantries, bars, restaurants, ect… So my question is where does their marketing issue come from, if they are such a popular brand?  I initially started by going straight to the source, I pulled out my computer and did a quick google search bringing up Tito’s website. On their website everything looked great! The home page gave me history on the brand, and what makes them unique, another click on their page bringing me to find out “What’s in the Bottle”, Recipes, an option to buy the drink, as well as a tab for merch. Their website is easy to navigate, laid out very simplistic, yet informative, and they even cover the “Why, How, and What” factor of marketing.

    A bit about Tito’s; Tito’s is a Vodka brand that was first crafted in Austin, Texas in 1995. This was the first legal distillery in the state of Texas. They distill their corn-based vodka using old-fashioned pot stills, and because of the corn they use instead or potatoes like most vodka brand’s theirs is naturally Gluten-Free! Before Tito’s business had even began selling his vodka he would donate it to fundraising events, and tell people “if you like it, tell 20 of your closest friends” Tito was passionate and would empower his employees to support causes they were passionate about in their local communities. As members of the Tito's team reached out to make changes in their communities and support causes they would sign off “Thank you for inviting us to help this cause, Love Tito’s.” Overtime ‘Love Tito’s' became their mantra, and then became a movement. They now use this as a way to donate to nonprofits and charities, in an attempt to make the world a better place.

 Now that you know a bit about Tito’s let’s get in to some of their previous marketing. Last year (January 2023) Tito’s did a celebrity partnership with Martha Stewart. January being the first month of the new year, a fresh start where typically people set New Year’s resolution, and after a long holiday season, this is often a time where a lot of people set a goal to be sober. This brought up the concept of ‘Dry January’, a month of no drinking. This can be especially hard on the alcohol industry where sales can crash significantly. Instead of Tito’s letting this be a month of dried up sales for them, they partnered with Martha Stewart in ‘DIY January”. They decided to put out a twist challenging people to see what else they can do with their products other than drink it. The campaign focused on how to put vodka to good use during Dry January, attached with videos and photos of Martha Stewart showing how she uses their vodka around the house.They challenged the people to try cooking, cleaning, and anything else they could come up with.

This January (2024) Tito’s has rolled out their newest marketing campaign. This year instead of focusing on a celebrity to advertise they created a video showing a man and a woman in a pool when suddenly a bar cart appears, and makes them a drink. This campaign is focusing on a “With Tito’s” brand platform, inviting fans of Tito’s to enjoy it however it fits in to their lives, and uses the spokescart to show that Tito’s can make even the best moments in life a little better. “The campaign responds to a perceived overabundance of splashy, celebrity-owned competitors, instead focusing on a simple though “slightly cheeky” bar cart character that delivers Tito’s to those in need of refreshment without uttering a peep. Some noteworthy A-list backed spirits include Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation Gin, Dwayne Johnson’s Teremana Tequila and George Clooney’s Casamigos.” 

While Tito’s has been a very successful company and has pretty solid marketing, influencers and celebrities creating their own alcohol brands, as well as trends such as ‘Dry January’ can have large effects on other alcohol companies. Tito’s is creative with their marketing, the ‘DIY January’ campaign last 2023 is a creative and engaging way to get consumers to think outside of the box, and even increase sales in the future. As for the Spokescart. I think the Spokescart is original and unlike what their competitors are promoting and advertising, but as a consumer, watching the advertisements it did not speak to me. If I wouldn’t have done my research on this particular topic I would have not understood the “With Tito’s” statement. 

Marketing is heavily influenced by social media, and celebrities at the moment. If I was in charge of an ad campaign like this I would focus around whats popular right now, or the next upcoming trend, to draw people in. I feel that having a Spokescart role out does not speak the volume I look for in advertising. I would have liked to see something more similar and creative to what they did in January 2023, challenging your customers to do something unique with your product creates a fun and engaging way to have customers involved, all while opening it up to consumers that may not drink, but see it being used over social media in a new way and decide to try it.

https://www.marketingdive.com/news/titos-vodka-spokescart-spirits-marketing-brand-platform/704438/

https://www.titosvodka.com/