 So most people recall getting, shall we say, two experience with Vodka in college, maybe even high school. Too much of an experience. Yeah, too much of an experience. Hi, I'm Stephanie Patterick. I'm executive editor at Adweek. And I'm here today with Rodney Williams, who is the global president and CEO of Belvedere Vodka. And we're at Brandweek in Palm Springs where Rodney actually just spoke today. So thank you for taking a stop here and speaking with us. Happy to be here with you. It's great to have you. What are you most excited about right now? What's happening at Belvedere? We are in the process of really an innovation revolution. This past year, we launched two single estate vodka's. So we took rye, same grade of Dan Kowski rye, best top grade rye, planted one set in an estate in the north of Poland near the Baltic where the winches are severe and cold, and planted the same rye in the west of Poland where the weather front is more continental and temperate. And if you've never had vodka before in your life, you can taste the difference between the two. And we know that wine is a great demonstration of terroir, but we're now able to really demonstrate that. Is there a change in the way people are drinking vodka? Is it less of a mixer? You know, that's a great question. And what we're finding is it's not so much about the consumption, but more about the type of experience people are interested in. So most people recall getting, shall we say, too experienced with vodka in college, maybe even high school. Too much of an experience. Too much of an experience. And it was pretty low grade vodka mixed with orange juice or coke. And it's not an experience once you get to your mid-20s and beyond that you really want to revisit. To put it mildly. To put it mildly. But what's so interesting, especially about the millennial generation, is there's a big interest in artisanal quality spirits and really matching things with food, being foodies. And so to the degree to which vodka can afford the same level of experience that people have come to expect from whiskeys and gins and tequilas, people are quite excited about it. What innovation do you see on the horizon that has the potential to change the way you're doing business? On the product side, we're very excited about things that allow us to deliver more flavor and still be unnatural. So a lot of people often thought of vodka as a neutral spirit. It has no taste or character. And because we're made with rye, we've always parted ourselves in having flavor, in having taste, and having lots of character. And then I think in terms of the communication side, because there's just been such an explosion in social media, different vehicles through which to reach consumers, we're excited to really rely much more on user-generated content and experiences for helping consumers understand the velvety of store versus being so reliant on us. It's great. And so what's the thing keeping you up at night? What are your challenges? Well, the thing that keeps us up at night is really connectivity and finding meaningful ways to connect with the consumer. You know, there's this explosion of information now and the average consumer spends about five hours. And here's her phone, the flip side of that is we're also reading that there's a high degree of loneliness and a real desire to feel connected with brands that reflect their values, consumer values, but also with other consumers who share those values. So the degree to which we can figure out how to facilitate that, we're quite intrigued about. One of the challenges that we have is that as a spirits producer in the United States, we can't actually own retail. We have to be sold through distributors, so. Meaning it's hard to go direct to consumer because of laws. Right, so we need to be really creative in terms of the way in which we engage consumers with experiences. And last question for you, what is the best piece of advice that you've ever received or given to somebody? You always remember there's room at the top. So this is your passion and this is what you believe in. You work hard at it and you go do it without apology. And I think that's great. And I think a lot of people say to me, well, how did you end up working on a Polish vodka brand of all things? And I think it's because I was fortunate enough to work on very strong teams, building other brands within Mohan Hennessey and previously another work experience that really helped prepare me for this challenge. But the key thing is to follow your passion. Even if it's a little off the beaten trail, you don't necessarily see other people doing the same things. Right, or even if you're passionate about something that's really competitive. I love that. There's room at the top. There's room at the top. Rodney, thank you so much for joining me today. Oh, my pleasure. Thank you all for joining us for Top of Mind.