Product Differentiation – VodkaIn 2005 I traveled to Russia. I went with a Russian friend who was excited to show me his home country. Before going to Russia, I didn't drink a lot of vodka. In fact, on my trip to Russia, I drank more vodka than I've probably drank in my entire life. No meal was complete without a toast (or two) with cold vodka. Vodka is defined as “an alcoholic liquor originally distilled from fermented wheat mash, but now also made from rye, corn, or potato mash (Free Dictionary, 2013). Some people translate Vodka as water or brandy. Brands can differentiate their products based on size, shape, performance, features, durability, reliability, ease of repair, design and style (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Three popular vodka brands consumed in the United States include Absolut, Gray Goose, and Skyy. Each brand uses different tactics to differentiate itself from its competitors. ABSOLUTAbsolut, founded in 1879 by Lars Olsson Smith, is manufactured solely in Åhus, Sweden, a small town of 10,000 inhabitants. According to Absolut (2013), this brand is differentiated as follows:PRODUCT DIFFERENTIATION:1. Form – Absolut Vodka comes in 1 liter glass bottles. The Swedish vodka brand has fashioned all its bottles in the image of an old Swedish medicine bottle (AbsolutAd, 1997). No label is affixed to the bottle, to avoid covering the product. Each bottle features a medallion representing the face of creator Lars Olsson Smith.2. Features: Absolut offers seventeen different flavors of vodka, including Absolut Mandarin, Absolut Raspberri, and Absolut Citron (Liquor.Com, 2013). The brand's website offers customers numerous recipes for preparing a variety of cocktails, including free apps for iPhone...... middle of paper ......ng-hip-hop-visionnaires- to-launch-skyy-infusions- moscato-grape.shtmlFree dictionary. (2013). Definition of vodka. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/vodkaGrey Goose. (2013). Our job. Retrieved from http://www.greygoose.com/en/us/our-craftGrey Goose. (2013). Our vodkas. Retrieved from http://www.greygoose.com/en/us/our-craftKotler, P. and Keller, K. (2012). Marketing Management (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice HallLiquor.Com. (2013). Absolute Vodka. Retrieved from http://liquor.com/brands/absolut/Liquor.Com. (2013). Gray Goose Vodka. Retrieved from http://liquor.com/brands/absolut/Skyy. (2013). Skyy Vodka. Retrieved from http://www.skyy.com/Washington Times. (2012). Gray Goose: The proof of social networks. Retrieved from http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/status-update/2012/may/31/grey-goose-proof-social-media/