Emory Vodka, an Artist-Inspired Spirit, Launches

06 May 2015---Massachusetts-based Blue Vase Marketing, a full service agency specializing in direct response, talent acquisition and strategic brand development, has announced the Spring 2015 launch of EMORY Vodka – the country’s first ultra-premium product to be conceptually inspired by one of leading artists and the only vodka to originate from the art world since Romero Britto aligned with Absolut.

EMORY Vodka is one of the few to enter the ultra-premium beverage market as a one hundred percent corn based product that is naturally gluten free while being six times distilled during the fermentation process. EMORY Vodka has been positioned as one of the first artist-inspired premium vodka lines introduced to the beverage industry during this year’s Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America Annual Convention in Orlando in April.

New York based artist Blake Emory, one of most innovative pioneers in the Optic Modernism movement, has developed a unique extension of his existing Zebra Love oil on canvas signature collection for the brand design of EMORY Vodka. Michael Alden, CEO and President of Blue Vase Marketing, in partnership with Emory, has translated the Zebra Love concept on to frosted glass and will be releasing the limited edition premium vodka supported by one of the country’s leading strategic marketing firms for the beverage industry, Pearson & Pearson. Imported and bottled by the newly formed Zebra Love, LLC parent company, Emory’s Zebra Love design is embossed on to a signature artisan bottle, complete with Emory’s trademark red stiletto. Emory Vodka marks the first brand extension in the Zebra Love series and features Emory’s “Shauna1” design for the inaugural product adaptation. A portion of proceeds from the sales of Emory Vodka will be donated to the ASPCA to help prevent cruelty to animals.

“We are pleased to announce the strategic roll-out of EMORY Vodka in spring of this year,” says Michael Alden, CEO and President of Blue Vase Marketing. “We understand the premium spirits business and know how important it is to develop something marketable and unique for the consumer in an over saturated marketplace. The exceptional design portrayed in Zebra Love by Blake Emory creates a strong artistic impression and will form tremendous brand recognition for the product. This unique design element also allows us to develop alternate configurations for the new line while remaining creative and diverse. Launching a one hundred percent corn based vodka that is naturally gluten free while being six times distilled will also deliver the ultra-premium taste that vodka lovers will expect.”

Priced at $29-99 for 750ml, EMORY Vodka will commence its off premise campaign in late spring, targeting high volume cities around the country known for their trendsetting consumer audience, including Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Miami. The brand is anticipated to be on-shelf by the summer within established retailers such as Total Wine & More and Binny’s, while targeting additional major retailers throughout the year.

Zebra Love is the latest anthology by the New York artist Blake Emory, whose collective series of theoretical works is capturing the attention of not only the fine art world, but also the country’s leading brand visionaries within the marketing community.

Emory’s Zebra Love series represents the artist’s inspired discovery of what he refers to as “nature’s grand design” that encapsulates an artistic expression of retro fashion with love, passion and “divine geometry” from the animal kingdom. Zebra Love portrays an underlying theme based on a fluid visual depiction of Zebra stripes that are carved to form the foundation of a multi-dimensional approach to acrylic on canvas. Using an individual female model and form as the muse for every piece of work, the curvaceous and nude silhouette of each chosen woman is juxtaposed against the Zebra design and blended within the center of the frame to convey a layered optical illusion at first glance. Emory describes his final touch as a “passionate step in to the world of love needed to liberate us from the human construct,” illustrated by a retro-style red stiletto worn on one foot – giving the black and white design its signature dash of vibrant color, fashionable overture and overtly sexual connotation.

“I like to think of my work as representing the unity of mankind,” says Blake Emory. “The Zebra is one of nature’s grandest designs and I fell in love with this beautiful formation and found that its geometry gave me a new form of expression in Optic Modernism. The female figure represents the world of love and what I believe is a type of ‘social silhouette.’ Sharing my vision and inspiration through EMORY Vodka is an exciting new step in my career as an artist and I hope the impressionable brand design resonates with people everywhere.”

Each piece from Emory’s collection is entitled after the women whose voluntary participation is part of the creative process. “Josephine” is Emory’s most beloved and original work of art, with “Flove” cited by Emory as the most “sexual” and “controversial’ from his collection. Other example names of his artwork include “Shauna,” “Billy Leigh” and “Levon.”

Joint marketing efforts for the new line of EMORY Vodka by Blue Vase and Pearson & Pearson will be supported by a national PR campaign, social media and traditional advertising throughout 2015.