Client Case Studies

Although Uluvka Vodka is the most award-winning vodka in the world, consumer awareness needed a jumpstart. And so the team based in London and New York, brought in LSZ Communications to boost awareness and spur trial of this small-batch, triple-distilled spirit, a blend of rye, wheat and barley with deep well water made in Poland.

Working closely with brand ambassador Colin Asare-Appiah, UK TV star of the popular show, The Cocktail Kings, Lori Zelenko developed a program involving multiple opportunities for experiential events, notably including the roast of Quentin Tarantino, as well as print and digital exposure.

To engage media and consumers at relevant events with this sleek, minimalist vodka brand, it was vital to share its royal heritage: U’Luvka conjures the spirit of a legendary vodka created by a famous alchemist at the court of King Sigismund III of Poland in the late 16th century. Finding his courtiers continuously hungover after too many toasts to the King's health, the King and Queen commissioned their court alchemist Sendivogius to create a spirit of such exceptional balance and purity that the court might continue to make their traditional toasts by night and run the country effectively by day.  The essence of U’Luvka thus is Alchemy, achieving transformation through an appreciation of essential principles. Working with Poland’s finest modern alchemists, the brand recreated Sendivogius’ “unfathomable spell." Spellbinding though the vodka may be, it needed to bewitch consumers and that is what LSZ Communications set out to accomplish.

LSZ Communications’ focus was on spurring trial through pours at upscale events in New York City and the Hamptons. The buzz from the Quentin Tarantino Roast created an exceptional new level of excitement for U'LUVKA which was sustained by celebrity relationships formed that evening by Colin Asare-Appiah. Post-Roast Colin was invited to pour privately for a select few of the Hollywood A-listers among Tarantino's favorite stars. Other Manhattan and Brooklyn pours filled the calendar, from glamourous penthouse fundraisers for African artisans to a female-focused opening of a Brooklyn luxury auto showroom, the collector's opening for ArtExpo in NYC and ArtHamptons as well.

A Hamptons initiative was undertaken with Colin behind the bar out East at Ruschmeyer's, Montauk's rustic- chic "summer camp for hip New Yorkers" as the Financial Times described the vibe attracting those who crave the allure of the surfer lifestyle. The U'luvka cocktail created for this initiative, the Electric Eel, trended and became the must-imbibe drink of the summer in the Hamptons with East End media and influentials tasting, enjoying and covering.

• U'luvka increased market share by 20%

• Celebrity connections helped drive a fresh level of awareness and excitement i.e. The Tarantino Roast

• New audiences were engaged discovering the purity and elan of U'luvka cocktails through ongoing experiential marketing opportunities initiated by LSZ Communications

• Colin Asare-Appiah earned a cult following not only with A-list celebs desiring his presence at their personal events but with new audiences of vodka-drinking consumers converted to U'luvka drinkers gravitating to his warmth, vitality, charm and cocktail knowledge

• The Hamptons buzz for Colin and the Electric Eel U'luvka cocktail drew exceptional crowds to hotspot Ruschmeyer's doubly-packed on the nights Colin poured

• U'luvka became a sleeper hit, under-recognized at first it was newly discovered and earned its own stardom.