Introduction:
Marketing messages can easily become noise. It may pack the marketplace and make everything more confusing for consumers. This creates a marketing problem. To address this problem, some marketers look for new ways to communicate with consumers.
New organization ( in our case here is Red Bull) should look for breaking the traditional rules of marketing by reaching consumers in innovative (creative) ways.
Difinitions:
Word of mouth (WOM) promotion is based on the principle of pull marketing. It relies on the transmission of a positive marketing message from person to person through conversation or a personal communication such as email or text message.
Strengths:
Market leadership-
Within the energy drinks market Red Bull is the industry leader throughout the world. Marketing Efforts- a lot of promotions and well-targeted campaigns and sponsorship e.g. formula 1 helps to expand Red bull brand and increase consumer brand awareness.
Within the energy drinks market Red Bull is the industry leader throughout the world. It has annual sales of a billion cans. In 2003 it achieved an 80% brand share of the UK energy drinks market.
Marketing efforts
The heavyweight promotion and expansion of the Red Bull brand, which brought the concept of stimulation drinks to the western market, has driven functional drinks growth over the years. The company employs well targeted marketing campaigns that appeal to the core 18-25 age group. It has promoted its product using its’Red Bull gives you wings’ slogan and sponsoring Formula 1 driving; free skiing; BMX biking and other dangerous sports. This has significantly increased consumer brand awareness of the product, and differentiated it from its competitors.
Partnership with Cadbury Schweppes
Red Bull has established an alliance with Cadbury Schweppes in Australia. The alliance has helped expand the brand’s marketing distribution, allowing more customers to have access to Red Bull across the nation. Sales, which are already 40% up compared to the same time last year, are set to rise dramatically as a result of the pending partnership. Red Bull believes Cadbury Schweppes can help it reach new channels such as food courts, vending machines, hospitals, colleges and sports and travel facilities, ensuring an increased customer base. Such partnerships allow the company to reduce competitive threats from its rivals and extend its sales opportunities.
Weaknesses:
Lack of innovation
There are a lot of competitors in the market and they have their own USP which leaves Red Bull behind. Reliant on small product base- The Company only markets one branded product, Red Bull Energy Drink (along with a sugar free variety).
Reliant on small product base The company only markets one branded product, Red Bull Energy Drink (along with a sugar free variety). It is therefore vulnerable to market fluctuations, especially as the energy and sports drink category in which it operates is the smallest sector of the overall soft drinks market. With consumer interest turning away from Red Bull’s major strength of carbonates towards healthier alternatives, the firm is finding itself as less of a giant in the playing field. The company would therefore benefit from introducing drinks into other, more successful drinks categories.
Marketing expense
Extensive marketing efforts are required for Red Bull to boost product sales. The energy drinks have high association with fashion and youth trends, and the company must project itself as in line with this in the face of giant rivals such as PepsiCo. Despite the massive costs Red Bull’s marketing campaigns, its rivals also investing huge amounts, resulting in Red Bull gaining smaller returns from these investments. pricing Higher price than its competitors
Red Bull is only manufactured in one factory in Austria Opportunities:
Extension of product line- this will help to retain market share