The Boycott of Stoli Vodka

The incoming President of Stoli Group USA, John Esposito, was alarmed to learn that one of his company's most popular products was being bombarded by heavy criticism from social media. The hashtag, #DUMPSTOLI, coined by Dan Savage, a prominent gay rights blogger, had gone viral overnight. Savage claimed that Stoli Vodka, because of its Russian heritage, should be subjected to an outright boycott, along with all other Russian-made products. In Savage's view, it was important to launch a vocal protest and to show solidarity with the gay community in the aftermath of a series of discriminatory laws that were passed by the Russian government. Esposito hurried over to the office of Lori Tieszen, Stoli's Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. He put her in charge of a team effort responsible for coming up with a response and protecting their iconic brand from the boycott.

Following the events described above, the organization pivoted its messaging from "we are not a Russian brand" to "we support LGBT rights." So, the company switched its focus to a different messageits opposition to Russian policy and its support for LGBT rights. The alphabetical letters in the message and on the Stoli website were changed to rainbow colors, symbolizing the firm's support of the LGBT community.

Executives were advised to initiate meaningful stakeholder dialogue with influential LGBT groups and activists. John Esposito (President), Lori Tieszen (VP of Marketing), and Mike Oringer (VP of Innovation) all became personally involved by attending rallies and events, even when they were not well received.

At the height of the crisis, Stoli Group USA lost 225 out of 800 LGBT accounts, which were held primarily by owners of bars and restaurants. Stoli bottles were poured out, removed from back bars, or put into inventory in basements.

Questions

1. In what ways did the nature of social media pose specific challenges to the company?

2. What would you recommend the management do nest to win back the loss of LGBT accounts ?

3. What would you recommend the management do nest to win back the trust of LGBT customers