Niche Markets

 

The Absolut campaign effectively addresses a range of niche markets by adjusting the referents to suit its particular audiences. Many times one can be looking through a specialty magazine and an Absolut ad that was obviously, specifically created for this magazine, even though the ad never deviates from its original format. "Absolut Fractals" might make little sense to the middle aged house wife, and "Absolut Appeal" might carry minor interest to the computer nerd. However, place those ads in where each person will be searching, the niche market, and instantly, the viewers are hailed. Whether the middle aged house wife is looking through Cosmo, or the computer nerd is looking through Wired, they are simultaneously hailed by the different images.

Goldman and Papson clearly illustrate the phenomenon of niche markets when they say:

Marketers divide consumers into target audiences based on lifestyle or any other psychocultural category that might garner an additional increment of market share. Advertisers today practice the art of appropriation in an ecumenical way: any manner of cultural expression is permissible when it can be turned into an effective method of hailing an audience. (Sign Wars, page 256)

 

Absolut, along with many other advertisements, has been able to turn their campaign from mainstream images, such as Marilyn Monroe (left), Houdini, L.A. and the meaning associated with every other major city in the world, to niche market images, such as homosexual icons, obscure artists, etc. As they appropriate these images, the success of the niche images becomes comparable to the mainstream images, however, they maintain the aura of a niche image. For example, "Absolut Spada"(left) represents an artist popular in the gay world. His art is all encompassing of homosexual images. There are freedom rings flying above him. His feet are "flaming." He is "coming out" of the Absolut bottle. The ad is directly hailing the gay niche market. Here the have taken signs -gay signs- and turned them into commodity signs which sell their product in the same way as the mainstream images which Absolut audiences understand.

 

From here, one might venture to say the through the success and popularity in their pursuit of niche markets, Absolut has captured a sense of authenticity.

Home