Market Plan for Monster Energy Drink Essay

Monster Energy is an American brand of energy drink created and marketed by Hansen Natural Corporation. Monster calls itself the meanest energy drink on the planet. It’s a big hit in the United States that delivers twice the buzz of a regular energy drink. Monster’s US portfolio includes the flagship Monster and Lo-carb plus specially blended hybrid energy + juice, energy + soda, and coffee + energy products. Monster is the US 16 oz. segment leader, with sales nearly double that of the next closest 16 oz. competitor. The energy drink category to a large extent is image driven. The Monster design is aggressive without being intimidating. Monster’s proprietary energy blend is a combination of the right ingredients in the right proportion to deliver what the energy drink consumer is looking for, the â€Å"energy buzz! † For more product information, see Appendix I. Though Monster Energy is not widely advertised in the media, it receives a large amount of recognition from its sponsorship of various sporting events. Market and Competitive Analysis Energy Drink Market The energy drink category is one of the fastest growing worldwide. Sales of energy drinks are taking off in Australia, with the energy drink category being the fastest growing category in Australian convenience stores (See Appendix II). The value growth of energy drinks in the Australian convenience channel was up 22. 3% from 2006 to 2007. The Australian Market Adel? Key Competitors The Australian energy drink market is dominated by two big players. In 2006, Red Bull and V Energy held a combined 94% share of the Australian energy drinks market (ACNeilson). Recently, these two have been challenged by the relaunch of Mother Energy by Coca Cola Amtail, which claimed to have captured 12. 7% of the energy drink category in the grocery and convenience channels in mid 2008. To capture a piece of the rapidly growing industry, many new energy drinks have been introduced in the Australian market. Key competitors include Lucozade, Wild NRG, Naughty Energy, Jugular, and Hype. The competing products include similar ingredients such as caffeine, sucrose, vitamins, taurine, ginseng, and guarana. They target essentially the same group of active young people: V targets ages 18-24 and Red Bull markets to 18-29. The main product differentiation seems to be in taste and marketing. (See Appendix III for detailed competitor information). Marketing Objectives First Year 1)10% share of Australian energy drink market 2)Distribution of 60% in retail and convenience stores in Area 1 (see Appendix II) 3)Distribution of 50% in bars and fast food in Area 1 Second Year 1)Capture 5% more market share nationwide 2)Test restaurant concept: Achieve 10% distribution in restaurants in current market 3)Introduce additional flavors of Monster Energy and Monster Java – Achieve placement of new products in 50% of existing customers by year end Marketing Strategy Positioning Monster represents a lifestyle. Monster is aggressive, cool, sinister, dark, mysterious and fun. Monster is about action sports, punk rock music, partying, girls, and living life on the edge. The Monster name and design are perfectly in-tune with the category’s core consumers. The Monster brand targets 21-35 year-old males and females, who are nonconformists, independently spirited and embrace a non-traditional identity and lifestyle. Product Strategy In Australia, we will adhere to Monster’s proven image and packaging. We will begin by introducing the two best-selling flavors, the Original green and Low-Carb blue flavors. These products make up ___% of the brand’s domestic sales. The packaging will remain consistent. The cans will be black with the large Monster â€Å"M’ logo. We will start by introducing the 16-ounce aluminum cans only. We feel that the market would better accept this size than the even larger 24-ounce cans or the huge 32-ounce â€Å"BFC† cans that are also sold domestically. Because most energy drinks in Australia are sold in small 250mL cans, the 16-ounce can will be a â€Å"Monster† of a product. The large can concept has already been proven in this market by the success of the new Mother energy drink 500mL can. The package sizes offered will be cases of 24 individual cans and 4-can packs. We will advise retailers to sell the cans individually to encourage trial and as 4 packs for a slight discount. Pricing Strategy Adel Communication Strategy Monster is a viral brand that focuses on word-of-mouth communication. Very little mass communication is used domestically, and that strategy will be continued in the Australian market. Instead of purchasing television or print advertising, Monster’s promotional budget will focus on creating buzz and a strong, loyal following in the target market. We will continue the Monster strategy of sponsoring extreme sports events and athletes. We will find several more Australian athletes to sponsor, and we will focus much of our attention on the popular Australian surfing market. Monster will also emphasize product sampling. We will unveil a Monster Van and sales team that will hand out product in key markets and attend events. The van will be brimming with free product samples as well as gear such as t-shirts, hats, and stickers in order to incite buzz. To foster loyalty, Monster will create a branch of its monsterarmy. com website that will be called Monster Army Australia. The website will allow Monster fans to create profiles, share pictures of their Monster collections, discuss extreme sports, and apply for sponsorship. It will also allow the company to gauge consumer reaction to new products and strategies by using polling, surveys, and discussion forums. Lastly, Monster will try a new tactic in the Australian market to target college-aged consumers. Monster will launch a Contemporary Marketing Team that consists of 6 college students from different geographical areas. These student representatives will provide hands-on, personal marketing to their peers by attending events and handing out samples and gear. They will also be responsible for visiting bars in their area to discuss Monster mixed drink options and introduce Monster as a nightlife drink. Distribution Strategy Monster energy will create an alliance with beer distributors in Australia to facilitate the distribution. In the United States, Monster signed a distribution agreement with beer company Anheuser-Bush to move its distribution from Coca Cola. The move allowed Monster to still compete in the retail stores, but it better positioned the brands in the hands of people who have more expertise in bar and restaurant sales. This had a great effect on sales, and we want to capitalize on this from the start when moving into Australia. Marketing Research Plan Adel Action Plan The launch plan for the Australian market will take place in four-month increments. Phase 1: January – April 2009 The two base flavors (Original green and Lo-Carb blue) will be introduced Area 1 (see Appendix __). Distributors will be provided with product information, selling strategies, and giveaway items to aid in placement into retailers and bars. The Monster Van will be employed to provide immediate sampling and introduce the product directly to consumers. This will raise product awareness and help to gain distribution through a pull strategy in which consumers ask retailers to stock the product. Monster will sponsor three major junior surfing events (see Appendix __) to help introduce the brand. The events will provide an opportunity to give out free product samples, t-shirts, hats, and stickers, as well as to ask research questions to target consumers. Phase 2: May – August 2009 Monster’s internet team will launch the Monster Army Australia website for Monster fans in the new market. Cash incentives will be offered to distributors for reaching set distribution goals such as product placements, displays, and shelf space. Importantly, the second phase of distribution will begin. Area 1 will receive four new Monster flavors to sell: Monster Energy â€Å"Assault† red and â€Å"Khaos† orange, and Monster Java â€Å"Mean Bean† and â€Å"Loca Moca. â€Å" Geographic distribution will expand by introducing the base green and blue flavors to Area 2. Phase 3: September – December 2009 The Contemporary Marketing Team of college students will be launched. Six representatives from various colleges and geographic areas will be chosen to represent and market products to their peers. These students will be provided with product training and free gear. Also, a contest will be launched on the Monster Army Australia website to allow Monster drinkers to vote on their choice for the next new flavor. The contest will be advertised through signs and banners that distributors make and post in their areas. Phase 4: January – April 2010 The final phase of the introduction will expand the distribution of Monster into Area 3. General nationwide brand awareness should have been reached, so all products will be available in all areas to avoid confusion. The available products will include five flavors of Monster Energy and two flavors of Monster Java. To create your own version of this template, edit the contents of this document and then save it as a template: 4)Insert your company name and address in place of the text on the cover page by clicking once and typing. 5)On the File menu, click Save As. In the Save As Type box, choose Document Template (the filename extensions should change from . doc to . dot) and save the template. How to Create a Report. To create a report from your newly saved template, on the File menu, click New. In the New Document task pane, under Templates, click On my computer. In the Templates dialog, your updated template will appear on the General tab. 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To modify the table, access the Table menu to select the desired action and/or result. Competitor RankingCurrent ShareShare in 3 Yrs. Largest competitor50%30% Second largest competitor25%20% Third largest competitor15%12% Table: Projected growth of competitors over 3 years. How to Edit Table Text You can edit and format table text like regular text. Simply select text and type to replace, and use the Format menu to change the font and/or paragraph attributes. How to Change a Header or Footer In Print Layout view, choose Header or Footer from the View menu. Once activated, you can change or delete the text just like regular text. When done, click Close to exit. To delete a ruling line in the Header or Footer, from the Format menu choose Borders and Shading. Choose None from the Preset section, and click OK. SOURCES: http://www. abmarketing. com/images/HandSelling/Documents/MonsterPitch_112707(1). pdf http://au. acnielsen. com/site/documents/NielsenConvenienceReport07finalLR2. pdf.