Glaceau: Marketing Vitamin water

Submitted To: Prof. Ravi Kumar

Submitted By: Aastha Garg (11BSP0004) Aradhna Pathak (11BSP0159) Himanshu Jain (11BSP0381) Sagar Gupta (11BSP2046)

INTRODUCTION
BIKOFF (CEO of energy brands) started glaceau 1996 in Queens, New-York The Name Glaceau GLACE (ICE) + EAU (WATER) VAPOR DISTILLATION rather than SPRING WATER Advocated Healthy Living Through Low Calories Low sugar drinks Non Carbonated Water with Nutrition supplements

Glaceau the brand

Glaceau Vitamin water is among the10 brands that have rocked the world as per Advertising Age, the authoritative marketing journal

This Resulted in the Creation of a New Category of Product NUTRIENT ENHANCED BOTTLED WATER

INVESTMENTS

In 2001 LV Capital, The investment Arm of LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton Invested US $ 5 million for a minority stake in the company. In April, 2003 Energy Brands Received equity investment from a private equity firm ; The Shansby Group In August 2006, TATA Group Acquired a stake of 30% in glaceau for US $ 677 million

Product

As vitamin supplements are attractive to health conscious, vitamin water is using its name & ingredients Bright colors & variety of flavors with each for unique purpose (i.e. energy, clarity, increased metabolism) Lined up on a supermarket, convenient store shelf, drug stores, selected food service locations & on internet

Price
The Vitamin Water 20oz was priced at $1.49 which was high as compared to other soft drinks (coke) priced at $0.50

Promotion
Started with manually promoting vitamin water on the streets of Manhattan by giving away free samples It took Glaceau four years to launch a major ad-campaign for which company spent US $ 10 million Humorous Advertisements to catch the attention of the customer The billboards of Vitamin water placed in major metro markets (NY , LA, SF, PHILLI, CHICAGO, MIAMI)

 Campaigns and Hydrology Booths aimed at educating the customers about the features of vitamin water Glaceau launched 39 tasting vans, popularly known as Glaceau testing vehicles. Vitamin School Campaign- Educated Children about Nutritious Diet Glaceau Advertised its dragon fruit scented Power-C Vitamin water through a free standing insert in Feb-2007 METRO newspaper in NY

Celebrity
The endorsements with celebrities continued & in 2005, several athletes and entertainers were chosen to endorse Glaceau products

Place
Bikoff avoided supermarket chains till he could afford the slotting fee and concentrated on mom& pop stores From there vitamin water moved organic food stores and retailers and later on to Albertsons and Safeway food stores Instead of tackling several markets at once, it was launched in one market at a time Bikoff believe in marinating personal touch with distributors

GLACEAUS COMPETITIVE TOOLS

PACKAGING LABELING

PACKAGING
Used as a means of communication and to build a bond with its customers Bottles were made of clear plastic so that the colour of the water could be seen through it Labels were in simple black and white with a colour stripe running through them Played a great role in selling the product Unique aspect of the bottle was the sports cap

LABELLING
Labels gave details about
The Ingredients Their Use Total Calorie Count Table of Nutritional Facts

Labels were Humorous and Caught the customers attention Eg: The Inside is Natural, The Outside is Plastic From Time to time labels on the bottles were changed and customers looked forward to the next change

Target Audience

Health conscious people who usually spend on their health maintenance.

Positioning Mapping

DISTRIBUTION
Bikoff avoided supermarket chains till he could afford the slotting fee and concentrated on mom& pop stores. From there vitamin water moved organic food stores and retailers and later onto Albertsons and Safeway food stores. Instead of tackling several markets at once and going in for a national launch, Vitamin water was launched in one market at a time. To establish a good market position in California, Glaceau conducted a competition between two of their distributors to see who can open up more accounts. By 2004 Glaceau has identified 10 target markets. The marketing managers were responsible for carrying out sampling activities and coordinating media activities in the area. Bikoff was a firm believer of marinating a personal touch with distributors.

Product Levels
Core benefit : To quench thirst. Basic benefit : Vitamin water. Expected benefit : Flavours Augmented benefit : Packaging, specific nutrients. Potential benefit : Protection from body ailments.

Abstract of the case

The case highlight the marketing strategy of US based energy brand based inc, maker of the Glaceau range of enhanced water product Its product were different in various aspect including packaging, appearance, labels and ingredients; it was category creator It was promoted through vehicle marketing, retail sampling, banners, posters & campus ambassadors

Abstract Continues
By 2006, several famous celebrities from sports & entertainment arena endorsed Glaceau product Case also described its unique distribution strategies Notwithstanding the success of vitamin water, industry expert felt that production may face stiff competition from the established players like cocacola & Pepsi, which were launching their own enhanced water product owing to there growing popularity

Issues.

Understanding the marketing mix adopted by Glaceau for vitamin water Critically examine the promotion and distribution strategies for vitamin water Analyze the factor that helped Glaceau carve a niche for itself in a saturated beverage market in the US Examining the challenges Glaceau facing from established player

Recommendations and The Road Ahead

There is a Doubtful Positioning about the product, they need to decide how to repositioned itself so that its brand image & name are in line with its actual product content It should offer extensions to its original enhanced beverage line

Packaging and copy styles would be consistent with that of the current product They need to decide how to utilize other forms of marketing, while still maintaining its humorous, lighthearted image It has been able to capture consumers through its previous promotional endeavors, a focus on building loyalty is critical in order to keep theses customers

THANK YOU