Strategic Marketing Plan For Chillz Flavoured Drink

Chillz is a pioneer for the water brand in Nigeria; it enjoyed monopoly until the 90’s when FAV emerged as first competition. The brand’s dominance took a hit in 2000 when it began to lose Market share as a result of failure to respond to changes in the environment which are; same bottle design since inception, zero stock in 2002 when bottle changed from PVC to PET, community relations issues, obsolence of equipment, etc, and even though the challenges are being fixed, the brand lost its leadership position.

It will be a strategic move if Chillz comes up with a product that first adds an extra to water-drinking experience ( which is considered boring) and also occupy the space of consciously healthy living (people’s lifestyle) by creating a Naturally Flavored Drink. At the moment, its competition especially CERA bottled water is yet to have this product.

Chillz has got a superiority advantage over CERA because of its source, Chillz Water is from a spring source at about 200 metres below the foot of ancient volcanoes, thus it is exceptional PURE, SAFE and is bottled under the most hygienic conditions using the most modern technology in the bottled water industry.

This marketing plan aims at differentiating Chillz in the market and develop a compelling position to encapsulate the creative positioning through this initiative Product – Chillz Flavored Drink.

Research has shown that human and even animal prefer sweet testing liquids, so, we are naturally inclined to drink something that tastes a little exciting than bland old water. We are drinking more calories than ever. About 450 calories daily are consumed from beverages, juices and pops and about 29 pounds yearly. Instead of drinking beverages high in sucrose and syrups that are not much more than sugary water, flavored water with no calories should be welcomed and explored.

MISSION STATEMENT

To be the conscious brand that encourages a healthy lifestyle by producing product that addresses our consumers at different levels.

VISION STATEMENT

To be the brand that epitomizes Health thereby representing and projecting our country as a Healthy place to live in- Healthy Country, Healthy Growth, Healthy Unity!

SITUATION ANALYSIS

1.1 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

Water is life’s number one sustainer. It’s about 60% of the human body, 75% of the muscles, 75% of the brain, 82% of the blood and 25% of the bone.

Most bottled water are packaged and projected to look the same, but their sources make all the difference. While table water requires chemical purifications, spring water is as pure as nature intended it and the new Chillzflavoured water will be made with the same water. If people know (this difference) their choices will be better informed

1.2 SALES ANALYSIS

Water has become a growth market, we are not referring to the regular tap water but rather flavored water that are featured prominently at grocery and health food store shelves. Analyst forecast the flavored water market will grow to $800 million by 2009, from $68 million in 2004, a greater than four-fold rise. If the Nigerian market is yet to catch up with the trend fully, then our brand’s entry at this time will make us first, market leader and also boost sales of the product and the mother brand CHILLZ WATER.

Research has show that the Sales of flavored water are expected to surpass soft drinks by 2010/2011

1.3 COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

The bottled water Category is fragmented, commoditized and very competitive with numerous local and regional players muscling in on the action. There are over 33 players visible and many new entrants still debuting. Swan is weak in south where combined consumption is barely 18%

Eva is the market leader by far (56% ms nationally Vs Swan’s 9%, Eva making incursions into Swan’s stronghold). It’s got coca-cola heritage, high production capacity and great distribution.

The lack of knowledge on the difference between spring and table water is also prevalent, it’s the general opinion that “All bottled water are basically the same”. Chillz Flavoured Drink can use this particular challenge as an advantage by first beating its key competitor – CERA to it. This will be done by starting the Chillz flavoured Drink and hyping its health benefits and its source- Spring water, which CERA cannot claim.

1.4 CUSTOMER ANALYSIS

Consumer tastes are shifting away from traditional sugary soft drinks to healthier “New Age” beverages which include sodas made from “natural” ingredients, fruit juices and fruit drinks and health drinks; ready-to-drink beverages are distinguished from mainstream beverages by less sugar, less carbonation and natural ingredient. The Chillz Flavoured drink is suitable at a time like this, first to embrace trend and secondly to boost the brand CHILLZ.

1.4.1 Target market

Primary target are the Health conscious individuals in ABC socio-economic groups aged 25-45 years. They are discerning urban, semi urban residents who make conscious brand and lifestyle choice. Their choices are informed, not influenced by group.

Other targets are institutional buyers (HORE CAS, corporate offices, airlines, luxurious buses, etc) they need high quality packaged water for their meeting, guest etc and some prefer brands that allow co-branding.

1.5 SWOT ANALYSIS for Chillz Flavoured Drink

STRENGHTS

WEAKNESSES

Credibilty of the CAU group

Heritage based on Trust and dependability

Water Source- Spring from jos

The Mother brand (CHILLZ) is tired 9in its maturity stage)

Insufficient communication support

Inefficient strong distribution Network

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

Growing Markets

Larger Market share opportunity

Improved formulation- content to match or surpass competition

Competition from foreign and very few local brands.

Every brand puts something extra in its content and shouts about it.

OBJECTIVES

2.1 CORPORATE OBJECTIVES

The main objective is to regain the number one position for Chillz brand by creating a Flavoured Drink variant. In achieving this, we’ll take into consideration, the quality of awareness i.e. increase Top of the mind awareness from 15% to 65% after 6 months of campaign. Furthermore stimulate brand preference and arouse purchase intent.

2.2 MARKETING OBJECTIVES

Consolidate the gains of turnaround and position the business for sustained profitability. Grow the business from N 0.08b of 2006 to N 2.0b in 2012. Develop and position the Chillz spring water business and by extension Chillz Flavoured Drink as the choice spring water brand nationwide with 12.9% Market share by 2011.

3. MARKETING STRATEGY

3.1 MARKET SEGMENTATION STRATEGY

In segmenting the market, Chillz Flavoured Drink will be combining the Product-User and Lifestyle segmentation but more emphasis on lifestyle segmentation as this cuts across a wider aspect which will benefit the brand i.e. our target/ customer lifestyle which include their values, beliefs, attitude, perception, leisure activities, preference for a social event, sports interests, etc.

3.2 TARGETING STRATEGY

We will go after several market segments with offers tailored to each of them i.e. differentiated marketing

3.2.1 Target Market

Primary target are the Health conscious individuals in ABC socio-economic groups aged 25-45 years. They are discerning urban, semi urban residents who make conscious brand and lifestyle choice. Their choices are informed, not influenced by group.

Other targets are institutional buyers (HORE CAS, corporate offices, airlines, luxurious buses, etc) they need high quality packaged water for their meeting, guest etc and some prefer brands that allow co-branding.

PSYCHOGRAPHICS OF THE PRIMARY TARGET

They consume water to meet a variety of physical, physiological and psychological needs and having it flavoured will naturally be a welcome option.

Their drinking occasions/ situations include:

At meal tables at home, eateries

Parties and social gathering

During/ after exercise and sports

On the go/ in-transit/ in-between shopping

Refreshing during hot weather

Relaxation, etc.

3.3 POTENTIAL STRATEGIES

STRATEGY FORMULATION

In view of the main marketing segmentation and target strategy that’s been stated above. A differentiation strategy will be adopted. The current attitude is that almost all are aware of Chillz spring water but majority have no knowledge of the superiority of the brand over and above competition. For them, all bottled water (spring and Table) are basically the same which is why their purchase is driven more by availability, packaging and reputation of bottler.

We would want to position Chillz and create a desired attitudinal change whereby the Chillz Flavoured Drink will push the mother brand -Chillz Spring Water as a premium natural lifestyle brand for the health conscious individuals and families emphasizing its safety and no chemical additives.

The types of marketing to be used as part of core strategy Chillz Flavoured Water are;

Direct marketing

Relationship marketing

Lifestyle marketing

Events marketing and Youth oriented marketing

POSITIONING STRATEGY

To the discerning individual in search of better value, Chillz Flavoured Water is the quality, healthy and affordable drink that offers pure refreshment to the family.

4 MARKETING PROGRAMS.

4.1 MARKETING MIX

Our marketing mix for Chillz Flavoured Drink are: The product, Pricing, Distribution (Place) Advertising (Promotion)

4.1.1. PRODUCT

The product will be known as Chillz Flavoured Drink, it will be another quality brand from CHILLZ that helps to encourage drinking of water as people perceive it as boring. It is a healthy alternative to sugary drinks. CHILLZ water’s competitors at the moment do not have flavoured water brand i.e. CERA and Chillz Flavoured Drink will be differentiated from competitors via, packaging (trendy bottled design), content (flavoured water) and benefit offering (Healthy drinking )

4.1.2. PRICING.

The Chillz Flavoured Drink will be sold at a fairly competitive price of N70, the plan is to penetrate market with one size option, after generating more patronage and awareness, we will then attempt the possibility of having other sizes just like the mother brand, CHILLZ bottled water.

Most bottled water of that size are sold for N50 while the pet drinks go for N100 while our Chillz Flavoured Drink which gives you more value than sugary drinks will be sold at N30 less of what is obtainable.

To further drive more sales for SFW, two major approaches will be taken:

Push pull effect for trade

Co-branding at consumers level.

4.1.3. DISTRIBUTION (PLACE).

The major shortfall of the mother brand- CHILLZ bottled water and the edge its major competitors has over it is Distribution. In view of this, Chillz Flavoured Drink will be aggressively distributed via these channels:

Retail

Direct (mail order, web, catalog)

Our own sales force

Agents

We will be adequately monitoring middlemen who will be responsible for transportation and storming of our Products, Promoting our products, and gathering market research information. Distribution will be mostly strong in Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Abuja, Onitsha and Kaduna.

4.1.4. ADVERTISING (PROMOTION)

Chillz Flavoured Drink will occupy the health conscious , stylish and vibrant market. Our targets are coke or pet of this world and being seen to carry their pet bottle is cool, CHILLZ bottled water competition (CERA) right now has occupied a larger share of the bottled water brand market and have assumed the premium standard.

Having a new product Chillz Flavoured Drink that merges the satisfaction of drinking the pet drinks and drinking water into one will create a district identity from its competitor and further drive more patronage to the mother brand- CHILLZ bottled water.

In deploying this, we shall be using the TBWA Connection wheel which identifies anything and everything that exist between the business and its customers.

Connections wheel showing how we can deploy our idea across mass media

5. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.

5.1 PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

Certain requirements will be considered which are:

Technical

Outsourcing

Marketing

Resource

5.2 MARKETING AND SALES

Positioning, Branding and Advertising Chillz Flavoured Drink as the premium brand with a healthy lifestyle icon associated with it. The brand personality will be:

Natural

Meticulous

Reliable

In advertising our brand the tone will be

Educative – benefit driven

Emotive

Exciting

Simple, but must cut through the clutter i.e. provoke “I should drink only CHILLZ” desire.

Execution guidelines for advertising will include the following:

Communication to give life to the brand’s KBB, by exploiting the brand’s differentiator not as an attribute but as a benefit in the manner that connects with the Target Audience so that brand owns the purity and safety platform.

Create a new strap line

Brand name / pack prominence

Communiucation should be the language spoken in the 6 geo-political zones

5.3 SALES FORCE.

Dedicated sales force will be implemented to set in place continuous brand availability, the following team and division are based on the segmentation approach.

“G” sales team to geographical region

“A” sales team to specific product lines

“I” sales team to client’s type

“N” sales team to specific function

Each team will comprise of 5 people under which they will have sub-teams and there shall be 3 individuals from this innovative team to handle the following areas

Sales presentation development

Hiring, training, motivating and scheduling

Coordination of information among divisions

5.4. PUBLIC RELATIONS

The Chills Flavoured Drink is positioned to be seen as a commendable positive contributor to the improvement of healthy lifestyle which will in the long-run have positive impact on the society.

Healthy people exhibit a positive lifestyle which reflects in their disposition to responsibilities expected by them to their communities and relationships. We will have series of brochures that will enlighten people and educate them about the benefits of drinking water and by extension our Chillz flavoured Drink.

We will have to adequately employ the necessary PR for our new product for it to be accepted as its being launched.

6. FINANCIAL INFORMATION (MARKET FINANCIAL ANALYSIS)

For swan flavoured water, our expected sales for i.e. #0.8billion – #4.5billion in 5 years our desired market shared is to occupy 56% MS and we hope to capture this in 20 months.

6.2. PROMOTION AND ADVERTISMENT

BUDGET SUMMARY SHEET

Promotion

Sales Promotion

Production & Distribution of Marketing Collatteral

Advertising

TV/Radio/Print Production

Media Buying

Website/SMS Platform

Total

MONITORING AND EVALUATION

The swan flavoured water will be checked at the following levels:

Distribution

Feedback Reports at point of purchase

Secret shoppers will be deployed. There shall be firm measures to access feedback and report monthly.

Periodic evaluation will be carried out to make sure the standards do not drop but improve over the years. Certain questions will be asked e.g how is the brand being received? Are consumers requesting for it? Is it now the better option to pet drinks? Are competitions catching in? e.t.c.

An important step to the success of this product is to make it mandatory to be used alongside UAC products. All UAC restaurants nationwide will be flooded with this product. They have to be in the faces of customers.

7 EMERGING THEME AND THE ROLE OF RELATIONSHIP MARKETING

A possible emerging theme is Healthy Lifestyle Habits which is in respect to an increasing awareness of health issues. People are starting to take more active responsibility in managing their health and this has affected the dietary consumption habits of people. Hence this trend can be to the benefit of the brand as it can complement the consumers’ needs for additional vitamins without affecting their desire for great tasting refreshments

Marketing is shifting from a push to pull model and consumers are taking more control over what they view and how they view it. This shift in the marketing landscape means consumers are less likely to respond to mass media marketing strategies. To address this challenge, companies are turning to relationship marketing in order to develop more creative, innovative and cost-effective strategies for retaining and building loyalty with their customers.

Now if the organizations positioning is around providing variety in liquid refreshments ( water etc) then there is a need to find a way to connect with those consumers in tthe space of healthy lifestyles.

Here how Chillz can move beyond traditional marketing and leverage the loyalty-creating power of customer relationships. Relationship marketing is primarily focused on retaining existing customers through the establishment of a connection and interaction:

Step 1: A New Marketing Model: The Learning Relationship

With competitors around marketers need to create strong relationships with their customers in order to build loyalty and keep them coming back.

The goal of relationship marketing is to increase customer loyalty. At the core of this strategy is the concept of establishing a “learning” relationship with each customer. Marketing experts Peppers & Rodgers have demonstrated that, “Even if a competitor offers the same type of customization and interaction, your customer won’t be able to enjoy the same level of convenience without taking the time to teach the competitor the lessons your company has already learned.” That’s a powerful motivator for them to stay loyal.

Gaining deep insight into Customer behavior should be represented by a comprehensive cross-channel analysis of all customer data, allowing deep insights into customer preferences and motivations.

Moving beyond transactions allows you to segment your customers, not just activities and transactions. Instead of reacting to transactional data (which is a mirror to the past) you can proactively meet the needs of your customers through relevant online and offline marketing programs and a personalized online experience.

Companies that have the most insight into customer behavior and motivation will have the greatest competitive advantage. They’ll also outperform companies continuing to operate on a transactional basis with their customers.

Step 2: Segmenting Customers by Behavior

The next step is segmenting by customer behavior. Compare segments and look for ways to increase the value of underperforming segments or look to expand your most valuable segments. Segmenting customers is a chance to find opportunities for creating an ongoing dialogue with your customers.

Step 3: Creating Specific Content to meet Your Customers Needs

Step 4: Measuring your Success

The final step in the process is to measure the results of your relationship marketing campaigns and continually optimize the results of your programs. By measuring and learning from your customers at every interaction, you can continually provide a better experience every time the customer returns, which creates a lasting competitive advantage.

The Results of Relationship Marketing reveals the following:

Drive Customer Response

Build Brand Engagement

Reward your loyal customers.

Reengage inactive customers.

Step 5: Increase Customer Loyalty

Once you establish a learning relationship with your customers, you become their partner. You’re able to meet and exceed customer expectations by anticipating their needs. The more complex customers’ needs become, the more they will appreciate the relationship you have established with them-and the less likely they will be to go elsewhere and also look into Improving customer service.

In conclusion, as customer perceptions continue to shift toward a more commoditized view of the world, traditional marketing methods are quickly becoming obsolete. The market advantage is shifting from companies with the ability to reach large numbers of customers through mass media to those that have high levels of insight into individual customer’s behaviors and preferences. Chillz Flavoured Drink will move beyond individual transactions and engage in learning relationships with customers which will definitely guarantee a lasting competitive advantage and hopefully regain the Market Share for CHILLZ brand.