An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Know why you’re creating a brand and what impact that will have on others.
As part of our series about how to create a trusted, believable, and beloved brand, I had the pleasure to interview Tina Karras.
Tina Karras, owner and founder of Tina’s Planet Vodka, began her career in the alcohol industry as a musician. After moving to Los Angeles from Charlotte, NC with one guitar and two suitcases to pursue her dream of being a singer-songwriter, Tina paid rent by working in restaurants and eventually the world famous Roxy Theatre. Here she worked her way up the ranks and became the alcohol buyer for the venue, leading her to countless liquor & wine tastings and classes — and a big realization: there wasn’t a vodka on the market that had all of these traits: made from organic corn, non-GMO, American made, fantastically smooth, delicious, and at a good price. She started Tina’s Vodka with her credit cards and an SBA loan after just finishing her album that was also self-funded, and was prepared to release her vodka and her album just as the pandemic lockdown hit. Two years later, Tina and Tina’s Vodka has found immense success with her brand being sold across the country, distributed by Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits, her record out on all digital platforms, and making a major impact on the health of the spirits industry along the way. “I’m excited to finally share my vodka and music with you. It’s never too late to realize your dreams, they can be bigger than you ever thought.”
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I moved to LA as a songwriter and the live music venue, The Roxy Theatre, came into my life through that path. Then I became the Roxy’s special events and beverage director which led to me tasting every spirit brand on the market. It was great fun creating the beverage program there and it’s what helped me realize there was a void in the vodka market. There was no vodka that was non-GMO, used organic corn, was female owned, American made, delicious, very clean, came at a good price, and gave back to planet Earth.
Can you share a story about the funniest marketing mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I wasn’t really that savvy with social media before, but am getting better — I‘m proudly Gen X and don’t share too much of my life online. Sizing the photos, hashtags, the fonts were a mess at first, but I’ve since figured it out.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I really do have the best vodka on the market when it comes to quality, price, and taste. But I also work with a fantastic team of other self-made entrepreneurs where our skills all compliment each other. We buy corn from non-GMO and organic sources so we support conscious farmers which is so much better for our ecosystem. I’m an official impact partner of Kiss the Ground and my dream is to have Tina’s Vodka income help pay for farmers all over the US to shift their farms from GMO/pesticide laden crops to using regenerative agriculture that doesn’t use those harmful pesticides, instead focusing on soil health. Regenerative farming naturally pulls the CO2 back into the soil, whereas traditional farming techniques actually release an immense C02–which we know to negatively impact our environment. Our planet’s ecosystem is so intelligent it knows where to send the nutrients, and regenerative farming works in harmony with this intelligence. This will improve the health of the soil, plants, air, water, wildlife, and us.
Ok let’s now jump to the core part of our interview. In a nutshell, how would you define the difference between brand marketing (branding) and product marketing (advertising)? Can you explain?
Since I’m female owned and non-GMO, organic corn vodka, I specifically chose imagery to evoke harmony with nature and Planet Earth with the green colors, the tree Earth, the grass at the bottom of the label, and of course, the wise owl. My owl is inspired by Bubo, the Greek Goddess Athena’s Owl. Athena is known for handicraft, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, strategic warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, and skill. I come from a long line of proud Greeks and wanted to evoke the intelligence, power, wisdom of our planet, and femininity of my brand through this imagery. I’ve put a lot of energy into this part of my company, the brand marketing. As for product marketing, I do a lot of tastings, events, and outreach. As a newer company, I’ve found that physically getting Tina’s Vodka in front of consumers is the most powerful advertising tool I have.
Can you explain to our readers why it is important to invest resources and energy into building a brand, in addition to the general marketing and advertising efforts?
I say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I consulted with very specialized and expensive attorneys to make sure my contracts were solid, in alignment with the liquor laws, and protected my intellectual property. Spirits are very limited in how they can be marketed. Knowing the laws and the restrictions can save you headaches in the future.
Can you share 5 strategies that a company should be doing to build a trusted and believable brand? Please tell us a story or example for each.
To me the 5 most important things in building a great brand are to.
1: Have integrity and never compromise on your standards of quality. My vodka is non-GMO and organic, and we’re currently going through the certification process.
2: Know why you’re creating a brand and what impact that will have on others.
3: Understand there will be new challenges almost every day and embrace them and rise to the occasion.
4: Communicate to your customers what your brand is about and why it’s important and unique.
5: Align with a cause that is greater than you and your brand. I talk about regenerative agriculture at all my sales meetings and play the trailer to Kiss the Ground on YouTube from my phone to share the new climate story of optimism and solutions and leave that buyer in a better place.
In your opinion, what is an example of a company that has done a fantastic job building a believable and beloved brand. What specifically impresses you? What can one do to replicate that?
Brother’s Bond Bourbon — they, like me, have an authentic story that evolved naturally into the creation of a spirit brand. They are also involved in Regenerative Agriculture and Kiss the Ground. They’re American made, clean spirits that give back to planet Earth in exponential ways which to me is very impressive. For someone to replicate that, search yourself for what makes you and your story authentic and unique, and let that guide you to what you create- follow the inspiration.
In advertising, one generally measures success by the number of sales. How does one measure the success of a brand building campaign? Is it similar, is it different?
It does come down to sales for the most part. If people resonated with my vodka and enjoyed it, then they will purchase it again. I’ve gotten some fantastic feedback online through reviews and tags where real people talk about how much they enjoyed my brand and it’s delicious and clean taste. That word of mouth is priceless and once people start requesting my vodka at their favorite restaurants and bars, that’s the best success, which will lead to more sales.
What role does social media play in your branding efforts?
It’s a huge part! People generally look at a brand’s instagram before they look at their website, that is, if they ever make it to the brand’s website. Having that presence and having people tag my vodka and tell a real story of how they enjoyed it is the best marketing.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I’m a musician and just finished my album right as the lockdowns hit, so I’m just now promoting it with the release of my vodka. My music and the positive self image lyrics are to remind us who we are and to embrace the potential and power that we each have inside of us. On my album there are 3 songs, all connected — Potential Energy — Kinetic Energy — Magnificent Machine that depict the evolution of asking why we’re even on this planet, to finally, by the end of the third song, embracing your unique magnificent self with confidence. I have another song that I added to that album that I wrote during the lockdowns called The Magical Ones that was a reaction to being told how weak and scared we should be of the pandemic. We are powerful beings that have untapped love, energy, and passion that we can access at any time. The lyrics in this song: “I lift up my eyes then it’s easy and light” is how you put your brain into the alpha wave state where you’re more receptive to inspiration and ideas with ease.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
The best life lesson quote for me is you’re not creating a business, you’re creating yourself and the business is the vehicle. And every situation is an opportunity to be a new and better version of yourself.
We are blessed that very prominent leaders in business and entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have a lunch or breakfast with? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Woody Harrelson. I loved his work in Kiss the Ground and was so inspired by that film. It leaves you in an optimistic place about our future instead of the doom and gloom that we’re being pummeled with every day. He’s also got a great southern accent and that reminds me of home back in North Carolina.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
I’m @tinasvodka on all social media sites.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
Tina Karras Of Tina’s Vodka: Five Things You Need To Build A Trusted And Beloved Brand was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
