Marketing Plan For The V Fusion + Energy Product Line

A brand is what can either attract people to you or make people avoid you; people would identify you by the brand you portray. One can communicate their brand through actions and words. “It is essential to understand that wherever we are, in whatever we do, we are all building our brand”.

The characterization of the firm’s products and the brand is important for the firm to have a clear brands-product matrix. This is a graphical representation of the product and the brand of the firm. Such a matrix is very useful in assisting in marketing as it helps in the understanding of the brand lines as well as help in

Text shows that nearly 2 in 3 people wish they had more energy, but 40% of consumers do not believe energy drinks are healthy for them (South University Online. 2015). The Campbell Soup Company is expanding into the energy category through the V8 brand with the introduction of V8 V-Fusion + Energy drinks. V-Fusion + Energy are refreshing and energizing beverages made with a blend of vegetable and fruit juices and powered naturally by green tea. This product would be the first of its kind in the market, one of the major advantages of the drink is user get energy without the harsh effects of caffeine. V8 V-Fusion + Energy drinks provide people with a healthier alternative to most energy drinks on the market today. Each single-serving can contains one combined serving of vegetables and fruit (1 serving = 1/4 cup of vegetables and 1/4 cup of fruit), and provides an "excellent source" of B vitamins.

The V Fusion + energy drink has potential for growth. In this multi-billion dollar industry, there is room for advancement. Campbell’s has implemented many programs to outperform their competition (Vfusionplusenergy.com). The PESTAL analysis factors are the political, economic, social, technological, ecological and legal influences.

This report was written to assess the company Red Bull and their energy drink Red Bull Energy Drink, in a manner in which the market/industry, environment, competitors, customers, and the brand were all analysed by using secondary research. A SWOT analysis was also conducted. Through this research and analysing, it was found that Red Bull is the dominating leader in the energy drink market and sells the most units of its product worldwide. However the company does have close competitors in Monster Energy Drink and Rock star Energy Drink. Although Red Bull has massive internal strengths in being leader in the market share and sponsorship of events, it also has weaknesses in lack of innovation and diversity. Their

Brand competitors and the diversity of choice that is available to consumers, puts brands under pressure to offer high quality products and service, excellent value and a wide availability (Clifton et al., 2009). Brands must differentiate themselves from the competition and create an unforgettable impression.

If one has to analyze the profitability scheme of Red Bull Energy Drink, perhaps it can be safely said that it is in a very uncompromising situation. First and foremost, the stiff competition have paved the way for the emergence of many small time players (Helm 2005). With every bottled drink that aims to steal the limelight nowadays, Red Bull should capitalize more on its creativity and ingenuity—this is of course, in relation to advertising and marketing. The company should never disregard that Coca Cola and Pepsi are still top competitors (Helm 2005). More so, even if the two share equally different components as with Red Bull, still, it is evident that the two continue to partake into the market share. Meanwhile, the notion that energy drinks offers no variety in taste is an important marketing aspect that the company should take into full consideration (Laing 2005). In 2001, Pepsi had already released AMP Energy Drink (“Amp Energy Drink” n.d). It is the company’s maidens venture into the energy drink arena. Evidently, AMP’s raison d’ etre is to capitalize on Mountain Dew’s established image. The concept would be to introduce something new, yet very familiar (“Amp Energy Drink” n.d).

The brand seeks great opportunity to further develop the business, enhance product design as well as company’s brand image.

| Weaknesses: * Pays extra payment for new flavor. * More expensive to produce than other sports drinks. * Deciding the segment to target. * How to position the product in the mind of its potential consumers

Both competition and market size are of major importance when one explores the positioning of a product. In the case of Crescent Pure, this is vital as Ryan must determine the level of competition that will be faced if the product is marketed as either an energy or sport drink. In the case of an energy product, it should be noticed that there is heavy market dominance by Together, Freight, Razor, Torque and Steller, as they account for roughly 85% of the market. Despite this, it should be seen that the average price point for a 5oz can is $2.99 which is notably higher than Crescent’s $2.75 pricing. Additionally, the market size for sport drinks is of particular interest as it is estimated to grow to $8.5 billion by the year 2013. This, coupled with the fact that the market had grown 40% between the period 2010 – 2012, makes this sector of particular interest to PDB.

According to the American Marketing Association (AMA), a brand is a “name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition”. However, as Keller highlights, a brand is also “something that has actually created a certain amount of awareness, reputation, prominence, and so on in the marketplace”. Therefore, a brand is an identity created to differentiate itself from the competitors and to be remembered in consumer’s mind.

It has continuously adopted differentiate strategy to differentiate and introduces various product variation to keep itself best brand and customers choices from its competitor mainly Pepsi company. It has partnered with various vendors and company to continue on innovation and customize its product packing.

Energy drinks have outperformed the growth in carbonates in the last few years, and present a substantial opportunity for beverage manufacturers to extract further growth from their sales. There are many driving forces of change and critical success factors in the energy drink industry. Companies such as Coke Cola and Pepsi contend with criticism from health officials due to the excessive caffeine in most high-energy drinks. However, before the 2000’s consumers were accustomed to carbonated soft drinks as the traditional beverage. The shift to an energy drink, sports drink, and vitamin enhanced waters increased sales while becoming an alternative beverage choice for a fast-paced mobile society. Therefore, this industry endures many

"The name is composed of the title by which the company, product, or service is commonly known and the graphic forms of identification, including symbols, logotypes or signatures, tag lines, and representative characters" (Roman G. Hiebing Jr and Scott W. Cooper; The successful marketing plan, a disciplined and comprehensive approach; 2003).

Branding does not only provide consumers with better knowledge about the product but it also help the consumer in his decision making. It gives good important different qualities to help the consumer