Monster Energy Drink Brand Plan - Example

Topic: Brand development and marketing. Name: Course: Instructor’s Name: Date: Contents Mission statement……………………………………………………………………...3 Situation analyses ……………………………………………………………………..3 PESTLE………………………………………………………………………………..4 MONSTER SWOT ANALYSES………………………………………………………8 LUCOZADE SWOT ANALYSES……………………………………………………..11 COMPARISON TABLE………………………………………………………………..13 STRATEGIES……………………………………………………………………………14 TACTICS………………………………………………………………………………...15 REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………………….17 Monster Energy Drink Brand plan. Vision To make Monster the leading energy drink in the world. Mission To provide an energy drink with the minimal side effect that will be enjoyed across the board in the unexploited marketplaces in the UK. Goals To increase the profit margins by 50% by the end of twelve months of intensive marketing. It is also our goal to ensure that customer loyalty is maintained while potential customer concerns are well dealt with. Our goals will be achieved by advertising the product through the most accessible communication channel and using a variety of languages that caters for all the groups in the community. Situation analyses PESTLE Monster Energy drink is a beverage drink that was introduced by Monster Beverage Company (formally Hansen Natural Company) fifteen years ago. There are 34 different drinks under the Monster brand. Being an energy drink, the monster is mainly advertised through sporting arenas. The brand was ranked third from a report on energy drinks sales in the United Kingdom. As a result of its scope, the company is bound to abide by both local and international laws. The brand is also affected by both internal and external factors that control the sales and changes that affect the brand. The following PESTLE analyses examine the complications that Monster faces either internally or externally. Political factors Due to the health implications of energy drinks, many governments have tried draw concerns towards the drinks. Restricting laws have been set to control the consumption of the products. One of the laws that are being implemented at the moment is the ban on the sale of energy drinks to children under the age of 16 years. The caffeine in the drink can have major side effects to people, especially of the young ages. They may get distressed due to the excitement emanating from the caffeine. As a way to control the rate of consumption of the energy drinks, the UK government has mounted pressure on energy drinks by raising tax rates on the products. Economic factors. The state of the economy has a great impact on the consumption of any product. Expensive products in a deteriorating economy mean the product is likely to receive a low purchasing power. Due to the effects of Brexit in the UK, the purchasing power of customers was shaken to the extent that the product received lower sales in the year 2016 and compared to the year 2015. This is because when UK countries exited the European Union, the value of the money reduced hence altering the economy. Another factor that affects sales for the Monster brand is the prices of the product as compared to other comparable brands. Due to its established brand name, Monster prices are a bit high hence affecting consumer’s purchasing power negatively. Due to the associated health hazards of the drinks, some people have shifted their attention to carbonated drinks like coca cola. The shift of choice in beverage has resulted in the sharing of customers between the carbonated drinks and energy drinks. With the fluctuation of the economy becoming almost certain, the energy drink risks losing customers to other less expensive beverages. Social factors Social factors that affect the consumption of energy drinks features the take of the drinks by the current generation. One of the social factors that affect the consumption of the product is the availability of jobs. Energy drinks are highly consumed at workplaces by people who are working. The rate of unemployment in the UK represents a figure of 4.8%. This population has little or no purchasing power. The unemployed people have a negative impact on the consumption of energy drinks. Though the government of the UK has tried hard to ensure that the rate of unemployment is kept to a minimum, it should try harder and push the figure towards the zero mark. This way the sales of the products will increase due to the increased people who can afford the products. The demography of the country also has a great impact on the sales of energy drinks. High consumers of energy drinks are the youth. The general population of England has previously registered a notable increase. The year 2011, for example, England received an increase of +7.9% from 2% in the year 2001. This is an indication that the population of the country is growing figuratively. An increase in the general population means that the number of potential customers is high. The other interesting thing in the growth of the England population is that the population bulges at the youth ages. This means that the youth population is bigger than the elderly. In a publication that was published in the year 2012 by the Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience, energy drinks have psychological effects on the quality of life. The study concludes that the rise of consumption of energy drinks by the young population is on the rise and something should be done about it. The studies featured a variety of methods including PubMed, Medline, and PsycINFO ranging from the year 1990 and 2011. The results of the study spread over the years and have greatly influenced the purchasing willingness of the consumers. Energy drinks are nowadays mainly consumed in bars or the morning after a heavy drinking night. This act is becoming a fashionable ordeal to the current generation, and they term it as fashionable. Due to the perception that taking energy drinks is a prestigious endeavor to the youth because of their relative costly prices. The monster logo is also a selling element of the brand. The logo was designed in a graffiti that makes most of the youth go for the brand due to the admiration of the logo. Technological advancements Increased usage of machinery has resulted in the increased units of production. Machine manufacturers have improved the production systems by coming up with machines that are of high speed in the various production system including packaging, branding, and processing. The increase in the use of internet has also had a great impact on the consumption of energy drinks more so Monster. Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp have been greatly exploited for marking these products. Monster Beverage Corporation should have a Facebook page for the UK customers. The Facebook page will then be used in the next 12 months be used for advertising the product and also dealing with the customer’s queries. For subtle groups, for example, the whole sellers, the corporation should open a Whatsapp administration group whereby the company will keep their main buyers in touch with changes in the market. They can, for example, use this forum for advertising new products or announcing new price charts. Legal frameworks From its name, legal frameworks are the governing laws that control some elements of the monster product. Energy drinks have had several regulations implemented, but some sellers of the product have failed to adhere to the government regulations concerning the sale of the product to minors. One of the major challenges in controlling the consumption of the product by minors is the argument that the product is none alcoholic. Many sellers believe that the fact that the drink is none alcoholic, selling it to minors is not a big deal. Another challenge is failing to tell the difference between under 16 years and those with 17 years and above. Yes, those with 18 years have identity cards, but the 17-year-old ones have no legal document to identify their age whenever they want to buy the product. It is, therefore, tough to tell the difference between those who are 16 years and those who are 17 years old. Ecological environment Due to the increase in the lifestyle diseases in the Europe countries, there is a cropping trend of consuming natural products. This is due to the collective agreement of the medical fraternity that industrial foods are the causes of lifestyle diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure. The believe that natural foods are healthier than the industrial foods is likely to have a very great impact on the consumption of Monster energy drinks. People will soon shift their focus on blended drinks as a way of observing their health. Monster SWOT analyses Strengths Innovative and a very attractive can design Large number of loyal customers The monster army (huge social media following) Strong brand identity Well established financially Considerate pricing of its products A variety of product is hence giving its consumers a variety of products to choose from. Weaknesses Compromised reputation due to some death occasions. Some deaths have been attributed to heavy consumption of energy drinks. Several cases have been due to the mixing of alcohol with energy drinks where energy drinks mask the amount of alcohol consumed by a person. This kind of situation can cause overdrinking because the energy drink makes one feel alert even after heavy drinking. Minimal mass media advertisement It is mostly used by low-income earners. This makes the product to have a limited amount of sales. The company feels that its products are already known and prefers to use alternative channels of advertising. Marketing audience now limited to music and sporting fans. Due to its growing popularity in the sporting and music industries, the product has focused its adverts in the two sectors. Limited distribution model The company has failed to diversify its distribution model. The company still uses the old model where goods are moved directly from the manufacturer to the wholesalers then down to the retailers and finally to the local consumers. The product rarely has jobbers and brokers in their distribution model. Opportunities There are huge opportunities for venturing into new markets that are still unexploited. Entering developing markets Finding and promoting appropriate alcohol combinations Application of their knowledge in the production of natural drinks Absorption The company may consider selling shares that exceed 50% to another company that produces other types of drinks to create a big merger. Using the readily available platforms for advertising their goods free of charge. Threats Public awareness concerning harm of energy drinks Shift of values to healthy eating habits Increased competition Price wars launched by upcoming brands e.g. Carrefour energy drink. Enhanced energy drink regulations by the government Sponsorships from major companies such as Red Bull demoralizes the brand. Competition Some of the main competitors for Monster are listed in the table below. The table also shows the ranking of the brands according to changes in sales. The main competitor for Monster energy drink is Lucozade. It is ranked the best according to the table below. Lucozade SWOT analyses Strengths Well established Lucozade is a well-established drink in the UK and spreads to other parts of the world It has a strong distribution network It applies an imitation of the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) distribution network. The GSK is a distribution network that was commonly used by the GSK consumer healthcare Ltd. Lucozade enjoys the distribution network because it used in hospitals as a recovery drink. It has a range of products to cater for different needs Apart from drinks that are taken for fun, Lucozade has produced products that are allowed for medical purposes unlike monster that produces drinks for that serves the only purpose of keeping oneself alert only. Online marketing The company has taken online marketing far-reaching by opening a website that is very active. The website handles queries raised on the website by its target group and other prospect customers. Weaknesses Just like a monster, Lucozade does not do much in advertising in the print and mass media. This is because of preference in the usage of internet media as the main advertising platform. Brand awareness is very minimal This is because the brand is already established and therefore its products require minimal publicizing. Opportunities It's based in India where the population size automatically favors the market for the product. Current trends in the market are for healthy living due to the sparking of lifestyle diseases hence preference of Lucozade has increased. Increased penetration in the rural areas. Usage of Lucozade for recovery after illness had]s made the product attract attention from all types of economy. People in the rural area have also been enlightened of the usage of Lucozade hence diversification of its market in both the urban and the rural areas. Threats Stiff competition from other manufacturers. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has brought about increased bargaining power for other companies which are likely to negotiate for better terms. VALUE VOLUME AVERAGE PRICE £(m) Changes % Litres (m) Change % Per litre Change % Lucozade 457.0 9.5 266.9 8.6 1.71 0.8 Red bull 262.8 9.3 56.7 4.63 -4.3 Own Label 171.8 -0.6 143.4 1.20 0.4 Monster 108.1 15.3 44.8 2.41 -8.0 Relentless 59.9 4.2 25.2 15.6 2.37 -9.8 Rockstar 50 73.0 24.9 75 2.01 -1.4 Powerade 27.9 -31.6 13.9 -35.2 2.00 5.6 Mountain Dew 25.2 35.7 13.0 32.8 1.94 2.2 Emerge 19.8 -0.4 16.2 3.4 1.22 -3.7 Boost 18.5 -5.3 10.7 -6.7 1.72 1.6 Total 1200.9 8.2 615.9 7.9 2.12 -5.6 As a way to keep up with the growing competition in the energy drink brands, the monster should employ multiple methods of advertisements including in the media devices such as television screens. This is because the usage for this type of media has grown over the years with at least each family in the UK owning a Television screen of a radio either embedded in cell phones or otherwise. Another strategy that monster should employ is sponsorships. The company should sponsor more entertainment activities at different levels. By sponsoring these activities, the company could improve its popularity among the attendants of the activities. Packaging lesser amounts of the drink Sometimes people may want just to have a taste of the drink. Smaller amounts of the drink will allow this kind of customers to have a taste of the drink without having to part big amounts of money. As an upcoming trend, Monster Corporation should come up with a perfect combination of an energy drink and alcohol mixture. Strategies The advanced marketing strategy is the differentiation strategy. This is because most energy drinks have similar ingredients. Monster is differentiated from other competitor products by it can design. This is the most notable difference between Monster products and other energy drink products. It is, however, important to find a way of reducing side effects in the drinks so that to create results with more impact. Some of the indicators for the differentiation strategy are the: Point of parity (POP) The point of parity refers to the features of the product that are not necessarily unique to the product but can be shared by the products of the competitors. In this case, POP is the taste of the energy drink and the ingredients used in its preparation. The process of manufacturing is also part and parcel of the POP. Point of difference (POD) The point of difference is defined as the elements of good that establish the differentiation. For the case of the monster brand, the elements of differentiation are the can design, logo and the large varieties of the products. Tactics From the brand, Image monster can be analyzed for a comprehensive strategy of implementation of marketing. One of the methods that can be used is the brand image analyses. This strategy focuses on the physical attributes of the product which are for example the color of the monster cans and the logo. The strategy also analyses prices of the monster in comparison to its competitors. The other aspect of consideration in this strategy is the personal feeling of an individual. It touches on such elements as the various types of benefits for the brand. Target The target group is the people of the United Kingdom for which the product originates. Sales promotion Sales promotion includes making a product be known by new consumers. It may also include enlightening of the consumers of new changes in a product. Brand awareness comes with its benefits that are of great importance to the consumers. Some of the advantages are: Learning: This is the main aim of advertising a product. This includes making known of the product to the consumers who may be hearing about the product for the very first time. This helps the potential customers to be knowledgeable of the product and be able to register the product in their minds. Consideration: After gaining knowledge of the product, the potential consumer makes a consideration of the product for consumption. Choices: The potential customers have to make a choice whether to consume the product or not, this is determined by the understanding of the product. Measuring brand equity From the table above, the brand equity can be measured by the position of the brand in the minds of the consumer. The ranking of brand equity is more of psychological than physical. It is therefore in the minds of consumers that Lucozade is a better brand than Monster because of some of the following reasons. Stability The brand has stayed in the market for long hence is well established in the market. Time and intensive advertisement will give monster stability in the future as the product will gain loyalty in the hearts of many consumers. Varied usage Apart from just being used for alertness, Lucozade is also used for medical reasons. The variability of the Lucozade products regarding usability is what makes the product get a higher ranking ahead of monster. It is, therefore, critical for the monster to come up with similar strategies of producing similar products. Price wars Lucozade is a little bit expensive as compared to other energy drinks because of the perceived quality by its consumers. Monster should also stage a price war with the product by later lowering their prices hence winning the hearts of many consumers before later raising the prices accordingly. References Ambler, T., & Styles, C. (1997). Brand development versus new product development: toward a process model of extension decisions. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 6(4), 222-234. Read More