Epic Energy Drink Digital Strategy

Presented to:

Mr.RaheelYousufMKT510-Z

Presented by:

Khizer Nawaz 13429Mushahid Khan8983TalalRafiq 14536Tuba Tariq 12777

Acknowledgement

We would like to take the opportunity to thank to our lecturer Mr. Raheel Yousuf who with his teaching methodology and relevant practical experience has helped us to understand such concepts which we could not have otherwise.

His support and guidance combined with professional knowledge and excellent communication skills made it possible for us to complete this report. His views and thought provoking ideas developed our more interest in the course and in the formulation of the final report.

Executive Summary

This report gives a comprehensive understanding of Epic Energy Drink as a brand and what it stands for. The objectives of the digital campaign are mentioned as to what this campaign will stand for as on the platform of the digital world. The landscape of the energy drink industry is evaluated through an external analysis by Euro Monitor followed by the Digital Landscape of Pakistan as mentioned by the analysis of the Pakistan Advertisers Society.

The research is done which is further on taken forward to derive the big idea and the creative strategy with further on elaborates the brand campaign on the digital model. The measurement and evaluation is done through the various KPIs which will be explained further on

ContentsDigital Campaign Objectives.......................................................4

Landscape of the Energy Drink Industry.....................................4

Digital Landscape of Pakistan......................................................5

Research......................................................................................6

Target Audience........................................................................12

Target Audience Insight............................................................13

Big Idea.....................................................................................13

Creative Strategy.......................................................................14

Measurement/Evaluation.........................................................21

References................................................................................25

Digital Campaign ObjectivesBrand Awareness

Brand awareness and availability needs to be created in the market to increase the consumer knowledge as to what the brand is about and what it stands for. It is also done to inform the consumers about the availability of the drink in the market

Innovative Packaging

Educating the consumers on the practical benefits of re-sealable cans is one of the primary objectives of this digital campaign. This new and innovative packaging style is seen as to cater to the specific needs of the consumers and communicating it is very vital to the brands success.

Brand Positioning

Creating a strong brand image affiliated with health, innovation, adrenaline and the modern work life would be the main crux behind the brand positioning. The positioning highly depends on the ability of the brand to differentiate and stand out in the market.

Create a followership through engagement

Followership and engagement of the brand will be created through a unique and interactive digital campaign. This will enable the launch of the brand will constant engagement being done with the consumers to create brand loyalty.

Landscape of the Energy Drink IndustryAt the end of 2012, Sting, PepsiCo’s energy drinks brand, launched a campaign called the Jhatzzzka (means “jerk” or “jolt”) Dance Move. This campaign was backed by television and radio advertising, billboards, outdoor advertising and social media marketing. The campaign was targeted towards the youth of Pakistan and is asking them to show the popular youth icons MeeshaShafi and VJ Ali Safina their own Jhatzzzka Dance Move and be part of the Sting Dance video of 2013. Red Bull introduced the Red Bull BC One All Stars Pakistan Workshop throughout the country. The two world’s best B-Boys, Lilou and Pelezinho, conducted this workshop to explore and experience the B-Boy scene in Pakistan’s major cities. Moreover, Red Bull four-time World Champion Stunt Rider Chris Pfeiffer visited Pakistan to perform three road shows in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and showcased his skills to the public. Meanwhile, Red Bull continued with its “Red Bull gives you wings” advertisements on popular TV channels. Red Bull also focused on outdoor advertisements which included Red Bull representatives, driving in Red Bull branded cars and visiting big shopping malls in the country, giving out free Red Bull drinks.

Red Bull Asia FZE remained the leading player in sports and energy drinks in 2013, with 72% of retail value sales. Advertising campaigns supported Red Bull’s leading position. Red Bull’s BC One All Stars Pakistan Workshop and its sponsorship of Red Bull four-time World Champion Stunt Rider Chris Pfeiffer’s tour of the country helped Red Bull drive sales in 2013. PepsiCo’s Sting, the other significant player in sports and energy drinks, accounted for 17% of retail current value sales in 2013.

Sports and energy drinks is expected to register a retail value CAGR of 3% in constant terms over the forecast period. Urban areas are facing a degree of saturation and sales in rural areas will drive growth. PepsiCo made a huge leap forward by investing in its distribution network and making Sting available in rural areas. This contributed significantly to the brand’s growth.

Digital Landscape of Pakistan

As per March 2015:

The population of Pakistan has risen to 210 million Instagram users are 2.6 million The people not on social media are 0.9 million

ResearchOur analysis is based on the two main aspects of research: primary and secondary. Primary research was done based on an online questionnaire filled by a sample of 100 students and employed individuals. Secondary research comes from an analysis done by Dynamic Research Consultants Pakistan that was featured under the article of “Beverages Consumption in Pakistan” on Brand Synario.

Primary

Following are the results from the online questionnaire that were filled by a sample population of 100 students and employed individuals:

90%

10%

Do you consume energy drinks?

YesNo

The question based on the consumption on energy drinks gave us a result oriented towards almost everyone consuming the energy drinks. 90% of the people are inclined towards and consume the energy drinks.

57%

43%

Occupation

StudentsEmployed

Our questionnaires were mainly filled and complete by the student population with 57% while employed individuals also accounted for the responses of the questionnaires.

19%

4%

27%23%

15%

12%

What do you consume energy drinks for?

Recreational SportsQuenching the thirstExamsWorkLeisure consumptionOther

The majority consumption of the energy drinks was done for exams purposes followed by work purposes. Recreational sports, leisure consumption and quenching the thirst further constitute the completion of the data.

25%

10%65%

How often do you purchase energy drinks?

2-5 times a week6-9 times a week10+ times a week

Majority purchase of the energy drinks was done over 10 times a week which shows the high level of consumption associated with it.

19%

43%

29%

10%

What is your point of purchase/consumption of the energy drink?

SamplingRetail StoresUniversityOther

The energy drinks are mainly consumed and purchased at retail stores which show how energy drinks are on the go and bought in vast frequency.

10%

15%

23%30%

18%

5%

What makes you try a new energy drink?

BrandPricePackagingWord of mouthAdvertisingCelebrity endorsement

Word of mouth plays an important role in determining the consumption of a new energy drink which shows the power and the effect of the word of mouth.

26%

39%

21%

13%

How do you find out about your preferred drink?

Social MediaWord of MouthTVOther

Again, word of mouth plays an important role about the knowledge of the preferred drink of the individual.

Please indicate your views on the consumption of energy drinks for each of the following statements

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

DisagreeNeutralAgree

The important highlights from this question is how people are neutral to keeping fit and how the brand is an important aspect in determining the purchase of the energy drink.

Please select the importance of the energy drink features for each of the following statements

It quenches my thirst

It has a great taste It makes me feel alert and/or

awake

It makes me feel healthy

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

UnimportantNeutralImportant

The most important use of the energy drink is highlighted through the consumption of how it makes the person feel awake or alert. This shows the ample amount of important of the use of energy drinks.

The analysis that is gotten from the research is that students and employed individuals are one of the primary consumers of energy drinks with the most basic reason of exams and strict work schedules. They need the energy as it helps them boost and energize themselves before performing the various actions on a tight schedule. Secondly, word of mouth plays an important role in the consumption of the energy drink whether it is new or already existing in the market. The consumers are concerned with how the drink fares in the market and then consume it based on the reactions and opinions of the others. Another important aspect is that these individuals are concerned about their health to a certain extent as they want to keep themselves fit along with the tight and rigid educational and work schedules.

Secondary

The secondary research comes from the analysis and work by Dynamic Research Consultants Pakistan on the beverage consumption of Pakistan. This research got featured on the article on Brand Synario.

As per our main focus, the energy drink analysis was done on a population of around 457 people which consists mainly of males as shown above. The main consumption of the drink is by the age groups between 16-22 years of around 17% of the total energy drink consumption.

Contemporary times have intensified work schedules and have heightened stress to such an extent that people at times, have to resort to such tactics, like drinking energy drinks, rather than taking proper rest and sleep. In Pakistan, the trend is still not prevalent to such an extreme extent which shows it as a great potential market.

Target AudienceThrough the above analysis and research, our target audience is the age group from 16 -24 years who belong to the higher SEC classes. The bull’s eye target audience is the age group of 24 years belonging to the Sec A& B class, who have just entered the phase of employment and are intensified by the level of work coming onto them.

Target Audience InsightThe target audience consists of the following traits that come out from the analysis and research:

• Generation On-the-Go

• Always active

• Adventurous

• Too much to do in too little time

• Fitness conscious

Big IdeaWith the research supporting the fact that Pakistan is an emerging energy drink market with a lot of potential for more players and also helping us target our bulls eye consumer base, we now move on to generating the big idea. It is important to note that Pakistan is an untapped market when it comes to the energy drink segment and they key factors that will help Epic penetrate the market is through the factors of health and convenience.

The thought process for Epic is designed on the basic premise that Epic not only gives you a boost of energy but is also the healthier option for an energy drink. So the rationale that Epic presents is stated as follows;

For how long will you fly away from your problems? At some point, you will get tired and in need of a boost will have to come back to earth to face your tasks. Epic will help you face your reality by giving you the ferocious boost you need to conquer your day. The real reason as to why you are daunted to face your tasks is because you are in a race against time with the tantamount of work load and the stress that builds on you. You realize that 24 hours in a day aren’t just enough and what you are in need of is a whizz that will give you the kick to ‘Attack your day” as it will “Transform 24 into 48”. Thus the big idea being “Epic48” comes into play that states that Epic is the only energy drink for you that will increase your effectiveness and energy by giving you the much needed boost that will help you speed through your challenges. The reason to believe being “Transform 24 into 48” plays on the psychological aspect that Epic is the only energy drink that will make me feel in control of my tasks and not the other way around as the only hindrance that a person believes he has is the lack of time and with Epic, it will provide you with the energy to maximize your potential.

Creative StrategyWith our big idea of “Epic48”established, we will now move onto the creative strategy that needs to be implemented for our campaign. Through the big idea, the creative strategy will communicate 2 points throughout the campaign.

The first emphasis is on the fact Epic is the healthier option amongst the energy drinks in the market. This argument is supported by 2 claims. The first being on the premise where the ingredients and the nutritional charts of the dominant player Red Bull is compared with that of Epic that brings us these conclusions:

- Red Bull contains carbon dioxide whereas Epic doesn’t. - Epic contains 0.4g of protein whereas Red bull doesn’t- Epic gives you more energy as the Epic gives you 204 KJ (47 Kcl) and Red Bull gives you 192 KJ

(45 Kcl)

Other than that upon talking with the brand, the brand has itself claimed worldwide that it is the healthier option.

The second emphasis is on the fact that the re-sealable feature of the Epic can is a convenience point for the consumer and falls under the category of new product development. By introducing the Revolutionary Re-sealable Cap for Energy Drinkerson the Go, the innovative cap guarantees product freshness and allows the modern consumer a premium value added product that looks way cooler than the competition.

These two pillars are around what our execution strategy is based on.

Excitement

In order to spark excitement with our Epic Campaign, we will be conducting activities on two levels. The main aim at this stage is to make the brand get noticed by the consumer and ignite an instant association with the brand. In order for the excitement stage to function properly, it is important to understand that with Epic, what you are looking at is creating a buzz in the market that is already being dominated by a tough heavy weight.

So our first strategy in order to spark excitement is through an activation that functions on the premise of a digital app. For this activation, we have our specified TG and have gone into 2 locations; one being a university campus and the other being an office/workplace. The brand will co-ordinate with the IT technicians of both the places and will control over the WIFI space for a specified time. So during a rush hour when prospective consumers at both the places are submerged into their smartphones, the WIFI connection provided by the institute will be disabled intentionally. Within the next minute, a new and only WIFI connection will be made available titled as “24 into 48”. Once the consumer connects with it, there smartphones/laptops will be taken over by our system where the screen will go black and a countdown watch will be revealed that will go from 24:00 to 48:00. For these 24 seconds, the consumer will be in a state of anxiety and as the countdown hits 48:00, it will reveal to show “EPIC48” with the tagline “Transform 24 into 48”. A link to the Epic facebook page and website will also be communicated at the same time. Simultaneously a text message will also be sent to invite the consumers to the digital space. Those who would experience this activation will spread it through word of mouth and with the entire activation being recorded, will also serve as content for the relative media.

The second strategy in the excitement phase is through the medium of Augmented Reality named as the “Epic Showdown”. The rationale behind this is to create an association with Epic Energy as an engaging brand with the help of cutting edge technology of augmented reality. The magic of augmented reality is that it inserts a virtual dimension into the real-physical world. Consumers will now be able to interact with Epic Energy in a highly imaginative and modernistic manner. So for the activation, a Multi-Player game will be projected on a wall in real time at some large public sphere (such as Dolmen City Mall). The projection will follow the same countdown idea of 24:00 to 48:00 where it launches the Epic48 campaign with links to the portals.

Recruitment

The major aim at the recruitment stage is to help bring the prospective consumers onto our platform. This means that through the excitement created, our consumers should now be directed to our portals such as facebook, website and mobile apps. The 2 main portals that we are targeting in our campaign are mobile subscribers and the users on social media, specifically being facebook. The way that the consumers are directed towards our portal is through the buzz created in the excitement stage where in the activation we had given out the link to our facebook page. Once the consumer logs in, the major tool to recruit him is through Content. As famously quoted that “Content is King”, our big idea of EPIC48 will be amplified on the premise of 3 factors:

- The convenience factor- The health factor- The number 48 factor

Convenience will be communicated by emphasizing on the importance of the re-sealable can feature through a creative. For example, the importance of the factor can be communicated by showing your normal energy drink can spilled over your all important top secret documents. The creative will communicate the effectiveness and the benefit of using Epic as the re-sealable can feature will provide the consumer the escape from spilling over their drink.

Health will be communicated through fun and quirky “Did you know?” fact files where the main aim of the creative will be to inform the consumer that Epic will give you more energy than the energy drink dominating the market by educating consumers with the simple knowledge of how to read off the ingredients off of their can. It is understandable that the consumer is not interested in going into the

nitty gritty details but for a person who is conscious about his fitness will be more inclined to Epic as it is imparting the health knowledge. Also, this communication will help break the stigma associated with energy drinks by informing the consumers about Epic being the “healthier” option.

The number 48 factor is what that encompasses your campaign idea and the reinforcement of this will instill into the consumer of the brand message that it wants to communicate. Here, the content driven from the activations in the excitement stage will be used to recruit more customers.

Engagement

The major aim at this stage is to create as many touch points as possible for your consumer to interact with the brand. This is the stage where your consumer will develop an association and affinity with your brand and will perhaps become a loyal consumer as that is the aim. Here, we have used 2 strategies.

The first strategy for engagement is the “Epic canvas”. We will invite people to design ‘can’ art for the Epic energy drink can with also incorporating the number 48. Given that it is a simple solid black can, we could receive a wide array of submissions treating the can like a black canvas or a chalk-board. We can either feature the winner’s can art by sending them personalized cans with their art and signature or by featuring them extensively on social media platforms. For its implementation we can create a micro site featuring all the submissions. The micro site would include facebook posts, tweets, tumblr, and

instagram posts depicting the can-art. Real-time updates of any post on these social mediums which make use of the promoted hashtag #EpicCanvas and #Epic48. A counter of the submissions can also to be maintained on the microsite that will serve as content for the media.

The second strategy for engagement is through a gaming app of “Epic Toss”. The app will be available for download through facebook and the website. The idea behind this gaming app is that it will have 3 modes to choose from; an office, a class room or a gym setting where the player will have to toss an object within 48 seconds and after many misses they will get a chance to re-energize themselves with a can of Epic reinforcing the idea that of energy.

Retention

The major aim here at retention is to act as a reminder to the consumers and to build on the brand recall. Here, the first way we have adapted is that in our engagement stage, whosoever is our monthly top scorer, a pack of Epic energy will be sent a free month’s supply in order to inform the customer how valuable their input is. All the content of the high scores will be shared on digital.

The second strategy is by introducing the “Epic Savior”. The rationale behind this is that be it a work setting or an office setting, the most important device that you need for easy work is a USB. So Epic will capitalize on this idea by sending out Epic Can USB to its loyalists as an act of brand recall and reinforcing the idea that it is only through the charge of Epic that you can face your daunting tasks.

Measurement/Evaluation

INSTAGRAM

Epic energy drink was launched on Facebook and Instagram simultaneously. People who have liked the page fall under the primary target market which is 18-24 years. Initial communication revolves around the 3 factors as mentioned before:- The convenience factor

- The health factor

- The number 48 factor

369 people engaged with the page since its launch with 190 likes in total. The resealable post received most number of clicks (132) and most number of likes, comments, shares (153) was made on the first Hash tags used were #EPIC #24into48 #AttackYourDay

Maximum organic reach for a post recorded was 1.3K

The K.P.I’s set for each phase of the digital plan will vary from one another due to the different objectives of each phase along with campaigns which are done to achieve those objectives.

ExcitementIn this phase the KPIs will be purely awareness based which includes:

Total Reach No. of Impressions Clicks No. of Banners Served

Recruitment

In this phase we will be trying to recruit from our T.G and the K.P.I’s will be as following:

Total Reach Click through Rate Web visits Total engagements

Engagement

In this phase our K.P.I’s will be purely engagement numbers:

Likes, comments & shares App. Users Website visitors

Retention

During this phase the KPI’s will be:

Total Reach Impressions Banners Served Total Engagements

References

Brand Synario Euro Monitor Pakistan Advertisers Society https://www.facebook.com/EpicDDM?fref=ts