Relive Good Times with Mixhibit, the First Collaborative Video Storytelling App

Today The Smirnoff Co., maker of the world's number one vodka, announces the global launch of the Mixhibit app, the groundbreaking new tool that blends users' best moments captured on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter into a one-of-a-kind video. Available now at the iTunes Store and Google Play and rolling out to more than 25 markets this fall, the Mixhibit app is the first app to enable collaborative storytelling by pulling content from both users and their friends' social networks, creating an easy way for people to relive shared experiences.

"We understand the importance of connecting physical experiences to the digital realm," said Michelle Klein, Vice President of Smirnoff global marketing. "Mixhibit is a tool enabling people to relive their experiences on social media, in a real time, unique and simple way."

Mixhibit was created in partnership with digital agency Profero. The development team turned to Smirnoff's community, including 10 million Facebook fans, to beta test Mixhibit starting in March 2013. Over the past several months, the company brought the app to various events and elicited feedback online and through partnering music artists to gain insight into what people wanted from the Mixhibit experience. The end result is an easy to use and innovative new app co-created with the Smirnoff community.

"Mixhibit is a fantastic way to connect with my fans," said Paul van Dyk, renowned global DJ and Mixhibit App beta tester. "It's no longer just a picture or a post – I'm telling a story through these videos in a cool, easy way; one that my friends and fans are interested in watching."

In a digital age where good times rarely happen without a phone in hand, the Mixhibit app provides a seamless way for people to "show and tell." The creation process is put into the hands of users of legal drinking age, as they select photos and status updates and choose, based on mood or genre, a track from the app's library, which will include more than 10,000 songs, to create their video. Given the option to pull from their friends' social streams, for the first time users can incorporate different perspectives into their Mixhibit videos to tell a collective group story.

Whether connecting with friends or their favorite artists, the Mixhibit app is a platform to tell and share stories, supporting the brand's mission to bridge offline and online spaces. Following the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project and Smirnoff Midnight Circus, the Mixhibit app is the brand's newest way to bring people together to responsibly celebrate good times with friends.

The Smirnoff Co. will continue turning to fans for feedback to inform future updates, ensuring the Mixhibit app continues to deliver an experience people are involved in creating and excited to participate in.

The Mixhibit app can be downloaded at the iTunes Store and Google Play.

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Jeffrey Dale Starr is a vodka enthusiast, oil painter, and owner of mobile software company Purple Falcon.

Affinnova Reveals Bottle Design Trumps Taste in Vodka Brand War

Study Shows Package Design Plays Vital Role in Consumer Perception and Shelf Impact

Affinnova, Inc., a global marketing technology company that dramatically improves innovation and marketing success rates, today released its first Package Design Audit, illustrating the importance of package design, specifically in the vodka industry. Results showed that up and coming brands Belvedere and Pinnacle are leveraging bold and unique package designs to gain market share, while attracting more consumer attention than older brands Smirnoff and Stolichnaya.

“Design remains one of the most underleveraged assets a company has in launching and maintaining a successful brand,” said Waleed Al-Atraqchi, President and CEO of Affinnova. “As advertising becomes increasingly fragmented and has less impact on consumers, packaging must work harder to build brand equity and drive purchases. Advanced marketers need to monitor how package design is impacting shelf presence and consumer perception and respond accordingly, much in the same way they actively measure and adjust other aspects of their marketing performance.”

Affinnova obtained the results through its unique Design Audit technology, which measures package design impact on consumer perception across a wide range of product categories. For the vodka industry, the audit found that:

Newer brands are winning on shelf: With unique bottle designs, including bold elements and colors, younger brands like Svedka and Pinnacle are most effective at grabbing and holding consumer attention on shelf, dramatically outperforming the industry average. By contrast Smirnoff and Stolichnaya – brands with decades of brand equity – are more likely to be overlooked by consumers on shelf.

Stale packaging can lead to brand erosion: A poorly perceived package can quickly undermine the millions spent on advertising to build a unique brand personality. While consumers perceive Absolut’s brand as “sexy, sophisticated and modern,” the current bottle design actually erodes its brand equity in these areas. By contrast, Belvedere’s bottle design elevates its brand equity significantly in all but one of 11 key vodka personality traits.

Gen X’ers and Boomers don’t see eye-to-eye with Millennials: To maintain competitive share, vodka brands must consider changing demographics and adjust accordingly. As an example, Absolut’s bottle design is succeeding in positioning the brand as “fun, friendly and approachable” among consumers 35 and older. However, it’s less effective with 21-34 millennial drinkers, who perceive Smirnoff as leading in those categories. It appears Absolut is well positioned for growth with older drinkers, while Smirnoff is attracting a younger base.

“While established brands are spending millions on marketing and advertising, more nimble competitors are using innovative packaging to quickly grab market share,” said Blake Howard, Vice President of Design Solutions at Affinnova. “Our audit shows that established vodka brands should seize the opportunity to refine their packaging to counter new competitors in this high-growth, competitive category. They can no longer rely solely on their marketing mix or even existing brand equity to do all the heavy lifting.”

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Jeffrey Dale Starr is a vodka enthusiast, oil painter, and owner of mobile software company Purple Falcon.