FSHN2060 | Marketing Strategy for the Product Monster Energy Drink 

Introduction 

The food industry in the recent times has emerged as one of the major ones of the world in the recent times and in known for providing a wide range of food products as well as drinks to the customers (Weinstein and Pohlman 2015). Furthermore, at the same time it is seen that the industry under discussion here is taking the help of the various innovations, technologies and others to offer new innovative kinds of food items and drinks to the customers (Marshall 2014). This particular change that the food industry has undergone in the recent times can be attributed to the changing lifestyle as well as the eating habits of the people of the present times (Burns, Bush and Sinha 2014). Moreover, for the process of the marketing as well as promotion of these products or services the various food organizations are taking the help of diverse kinds of innovative tactics or strategies so as to promote or market the products or the services offered by them in the most effective manner (Burns, Bush and Sinha 2014). Solomon et al. (2014) are of the viewpoint that the prospects of a particular product or services depend to a large extent on the kind of strategies that are being adopted by a particular organization for the effective promotion or the marketing of the concerned product or the services. Thus, it can be said that the machinery of effective promotion or marketing has become very important with the particular context of the food industry. This report will develop a marketing strategy for the product monster energy drink which is an emerging brand in the Australian food industry.

Monster Energy Drink   

The “monster energy drink” belongs to the category of the energy drinks like the Red Bull, challenge V, Mother and others and claims to provide instant energy or power to the consumers (Monster Energy 2018). It is pertinent to note that the energy drink is banking on the marketing opportunity created by the success of the above mentioned energy drinks. The drink under discussion here has been recently launched in the food business market of the nation of Australia and it is hoping to gain the same kind of success that it had been able to gain in the food business market of India. The distribution rights for this particular energy drink belongs to Schweppes however it is seen that the company Coca-Cola is trying to enter into a $1.2 billion deal with it so as to overtake the business market of the other energy drinks of the concerned nation (Mitchell 2018). Furthermore, it is interesting to note that this particular energy drink manufactured by Monster Beverage Corp ranks at the 3^rd position in terms of the number of sales and this is one of the main reasons why the company Coca-Cola is trying to get the rights of this particular energy drink in the nation of Australia (Monster Energy 2018).

Identification and profiling of key market segments 

Recent researches as well as the market analysis conducted by the various food organizations suggests that the main consumers of the various kinds of carbonated drinks or for that matter the diverse kinds of energy drinks are the young people belonging to the age group of 18-40 years of age (Chernev 2018). These energy drinks are particularly popular with the customers belonging to this particular age bracket because of the fact that these energy drinks contains that might not only be harmful as well as unhealthy be for the people belonging to the people to the other age brackets but also because of the image that these drinks try to create (Ingenbleek, Meulenberg and Trijp 2015). For example, it is seen that these energy drinks try to create an image wherein the consumers of these drinks get instant energy to do the things that they are not being able to do using their normal body strengths. In addition to these, it is seen that these energy drinks at the same time create the kind of promotional advertisements which not only affecting the present generation people who loves to consume the fast foods and also various kinds of carbonated drinks.

The monster energy drinks uses the catch phrase of “A lifestyle in a can” form the process of marketing as well as the promotion of these drinks (Monster Energy 2018). Furthermore, this particular catch phrase is specially intended for the people belonging to the above mentioned age brackets who like to lead a fast as well as easy going life. It is pertinent to note that the energy drink under discussion here has been able to gain a significant amount of success by focusing on this particular age bracket in the nation of India (Aghazadeh 2015). In addition to these, an analysis of the market segments used by the primary competitors of the drink under discussion here in the nation of Australia like Red Bull, challenge V, Mother and others at the same time suggests that these drinks also focus on the same segment of the Australian population for the sale of the drinks offered by them (Aghazadeh 2015). Thus, it would be much advisable for the drink under discussion here to focus on this particular segment of the Australian population.

Consumer Decision Making

The buying behavior of the customers related to the purchase of a particular product or service can be analyzed through the framework of the customer decision making process. As per this particular framework there are five important stages in the purchase or the buying decisions that are being made by the customers, namely, need recognition, information search, alternatives evaluation, purchase and finally post-purchase evaluation (Lusch and Vargo 2014). An analysis of the decision of the customers for the purchase of the energy drink under discussion here is likely to reveal insight details. For example, the need recognition stage in this particular context would be the stage wherein the customers get the urge or the desire to drink the energy drink offered by the company under discussion here (Baker 2014). The next stage of information search would be the stage wherein the customers look for the relevant details regarding the drink (Baker 2014). The third stage of alternative evaluation would be the stage wherein the customers compare as well as contrast the energy drink under discussion here with the ones offered by its competitors (Lusch and Vargo 2014). The fourth stage would be the stage wherein the customers actually undertake the purchase of the energy drink under discussion here (Lusch and Vargo 2014). The final stage would be the stage wherein the customers indulge in the post-consumption analysis of the concerned drink with the other ones like Red Bull, Mother and others (Baker 2014).

Marketing Strategy

Positioning 

The company Monster Beverage Corp for the marketing positioning of the energy drink under discussion here in the nation of India used to take the help of the strategy of “Positioning by Price-Quality” (Mitchell 2018). It is pertinent to note that taking the help of this particular market positioning strategy the company under discussion has been able to provide high quality energy drinks to the customers of the nation of India and that too at the very affordable prices in comparison to the energy drinks offered by the other companies of the nation (Wensley 2016). Furthermore, the energy drinks like Red Bull, Mother and others hold monopoly in the energy drink market of Australia and thus it is likely that the concerned company would be able to gain a considerable amount of success taking the help of this particular positioning strategy. In addition to this, the long term use of this marketing strategy will help the concerned organization and also the energy drink offered by them to outrival their competitors in the nation of Australia and also to gain a monopoly in the Australian energy drink market particularly among the young people belonging to the age group of 18-40 years of age (Wensley 2016).

Product

The organization Monster Beverage Corp for the process of the manufacture of the energy drink under discussion here in the nation of India followed the strategy of product differentiation (Mitchell 2018). It is pertinent to note that taking the help of this particular product strategy the concerned organization has been able to create the kind of energy drink which is not only an advancement over the other energy drinks that are available in the nation of India but at the same time are different in taste from the other energy drinks as well (Harris and Munsell 2015). Furthermore, the effective use of this particular product strategy has enabled the organization under discussion here to gain a significant amount of success in the Indian business market. It is likely that the use of this particular product strategy is likely to help the organization under discussion here to not only position their energy drink on par with the other energy drinks which are available in the Australian nation but would at the same time enable it to gain a competitive leverage over its competitors and become popular among the young people belonging to the age group of 18-40 years of age (Harris and Munsell 2015).

Branding 

The energy drink under discussion here has been able to gain a considerable amount of success in the market of India through the effective utilization of the branding strategy of “Attitude Branding Strategy” (Mitchell 2018). It is pertinent to note that the organization under discussion here for the creation of the brand image as well as the for the purpose of marketing of the concerned drink particularly depends of the attitude or the lifestyle of the targeted customer base or the key market segments. The catch phrase used by the organization under discussion here for the promotion of the energy drink “A lifestyle in a can” becomes much more revealing in this particular context (Monster Energy 2018). The organization can take the help of this particular strategy for the branding of the energy drinks that they offer in order to gain a monopoly in the energy drink market of Australia. In addition to this, another branding strategy that the concerned organization can utilize is the strategy of brand extension. It is pertinent to note that the company Coca-Cola has been receiving a high level of competition in Australia from the various energy drinks which are available in its market (Mitchell 2018). The company Coca-Cola has even made $1.2 billion collaboration offer to the organization under discussion here (Mitchell 2018). Thus, the organization under discussion here can establish a positive brand image of their drink by extending their own brand and merging it with Coca-Cola and this would make the drink much more appealing among the young people belonging to the age group of 18-40 years of age.

Price 

The organization Monster Beverage Corp for the pricing of the energy drinks offered by them to the customers can take the help of the strategy of cost leadership (Mitchell 2018). The effective usage of this particular pricing strategy would require the company under discussion here to offer the best quality energy drinks to the customers and that too within a price range that is not only affordable for the customers but at the same time lower in comparison with the energy drinks offered by the other companies (Pinna et al. 2018). It is likely that the use of this particular pricing strategy will help the organization Monster Beverage Corp to make the drink appealing for the young people belonging to the age group of 18-40 years of age.

Strategy to interrupt routine behavior at the point of sale 

The effective usage of the “Behavior Chain Interruption Strategy” will help the concerned organization to disrupt the normal buying pattern or the behavior of the customers and at the same time influence them to purchase the energy drinks that they offer (Nagle and Müller 2017). The organization to make the most of this particular strategy needs to take the help of attractive as well as appealing catch phrases and also to create a positive brand or market image for the drink that they offering so as to make the drinks much more appealing for the customers (Grant 2016). Thus, it can be said that the effective usage of this particular strategy is not only likely to help the concerned organization to disrupt the normal buying pattern of the customers but at the same time gain a considerable amount of success in the Australian nation  as well.

Conclusion

To conclude, the processes of marketing as well as promotion have a significant amount of importance within the framework of the contemporary business and thus it is seen that the prospects of a particular product or organization for that matter depends to a large extent on the kind of marketing or promotional strategies that it follows. In addition to these, having an effective understanding of the business environment and also the strategies followed by its competitors is also important since it provides a particular organization an overview of the strategies that it needs to follow within that particular business market. Furthermore, at the same time it is seen that the effectiveness of a particular product or service depends to a large extent on the kind of positioning, branding, price, product and other strategies that the concerned organization follows.

References 

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Baker, M.J., 2014. Marketing strategy and management. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Burns, A.C., Bush, R.F. and Sinha, N., 2014. Marketing research (Vol. 7). Harlow: Pearson.

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Grant, R.M., 2016. Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. John Wiley & Sons.

Harris, J.L. and Munsell, C.R., 2015. Energy drinks and adolescents: what’s the harm?. Nutrition reviews, 73(4), pp.247-257.

Ingenbleek, P.T., Meulenberg, M.T. and Van Trijp, H.C., 2015. Buyer social responsibility: A general concept and its implications for marketing management. Journal of Marketing Management, 31(13-14), pp.1428-1448.

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Marshall, G., 2014. Marketing management. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Mitchell, S. 2018. Coca-Cola Amatil to Monster energy drink market. [online] The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/cocacola-amatil-to-monster-energy-drink-market-20160419-go9sjs.html [Accessed 20 Sep. 2018].

Monster Energy. 2018. Monster Energy Drinks. [online] Available at: https://www.monsterenergy.com/in/en/about-us [Accessed 20 Sep. 2018].

Nagle, T.T. and Müller, G., 2017. The strategy and tactics of pricing: A guide to growing more profitably. Routledge.

Pinna, C., Demartini, M., Tonelli, F. and Terzi, S., 2018. How Soft Drink Supply Chains drive sustainability: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) identification. In 51st CIRP Conference on Manufacturing Systems, CIRP CMS 2018 (Vol. 72, pp. 862-867). Elsevier BV.

Solomon, M.R., Dahl, D.W., White, K., Zaichkowsky, J.L. and Polegato, R., 2014. Consumer behavior: Buying, having, and being (Vol. 10). London: Pearson.

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