INTRODUCTION
Mountain dew is the brand of PEPSI. It falls in the citrus segment of carbonated soft drink (CSD).it was first launched in Pakistan in the year 2001 but it was a failure. In the year 2003 it was re- launched along with massive promotional campaigns, it was a huge success. Mountain dew enjoyed the status of the only citrus carbonated soft drink in the beverage market until sprite 3g entered the market. The total market share of citrus CSD’s is 14% out of which 95% is held by mountain dew and the rest 5% by others. Mountain dew is the fastest growing carbonated soft drink in Pakistan and it is also the fastest growing brand of Pepsi cola world wide. As of 2007, Mountain Dew was the fourth-best-selling carbonated soft drink in the United States, behind only Coca-Cola Classic, Pepsi-Cola, and Diet Coke. Diet Mountain Dew ranked ninth in sales in the same year. In October 2008, it was announced that Pepsi would be redesigning their logo and re-branding many of their products.
Mission/Vision
PepsiCo’s overall mission is to increase the value of their shareholders’ investment. They do this through sales growth, cost controls and wise investment of resources. They believe their commercial success depends upon offering quality and value to their consumers and customers; providing products that are safe, wholesome, economically efficient and environmentally sound; and providing a fair return to their investors while adhering to the highest standards of integ rity
Ingredients
Mountain Dew lists its ingredients as:
Carbonated water
·€ Sugar
·€ Citric acid
·€ Sodium benzoate (preserves freshness)
·€ Caffeine (55 mg per 12 oz. [approx 330ml])
·€ Sodium citrate
·€ Emulsifiers
·€ Natural Flavors
·€ Ascorbic Acid
·€ Color (Tartrazine)
Competitor Analysis
The CSD industry in Pakistan fall into four main segments: Colas, Citrus segment, Lemon-lime segment & Orange segment. Please refer to the following table:
Segment
PepsiCo Products
Competing Products
Cola
Pepsi
Coca Cola
Citrus
Mountain Dew
Sprite 3G
Lemon Line
7up
Sprite
Orange
Mirinda
Fanta
MARKETING MIX
Product
The product includes the liquid inside and the packaging also. Soft drink satisfies the need of thirst (core benefit). However, people are always different; some want more some want less. Therefore mountain dew has made allowances for that by providing many sizes.
Mountain dew like its mother company Pepsi, seeks the image by focusing on individuals and also introversive people. Mountain dew targets male teenagers those who are ready to embrace excitement, adventure, fun, energy and enthusiasm. As the caffeine ratio is very high in mountain dew as compare to other CSD’s it caters the need of those who like to sleep less. It has gone through a design renaissance in the year 2008 .The appearance of the product is eye catching with bright yellow green color and semi opaque .As the product is associated with sports it is slightly larger, unlike its competitors, to offer more to the consumer.
The quality of the soft drinks is needed to be regularly high. mountain dew strictly meets the I.S.O standards and these standards set by Pepsi cola international .It has also been given monthly award held by “H.S.E”* .Apart from this the company have hired specially trained employees who are always involved in the quality checking of the product throughout the Manufacturing process. The product is convenient i.e. just purchase it and consume it. The bottles are light, with flexible packaging, so they won’t crack of leak, and are not too heavy to causally walk around. The canes are also light and safe. The brand is not going through extension in Pakistan because it is growing stage and the economic conditions are not very favorable.
PROMOTION
All the factors mentioned before are part of the product from the drink to the image. Through promotion mountain dew aims to create attractiveness for this. Brand uses both ATL (media) and BTL (consumer related) activities for promotion.
At the time of its re -launched mountain dew conducted massive sampling to create brand awareness in the year 2003, as per their rough estimation, they reached approximately 2 million in Pakistan with their different samples of green bags, green T-shirts, key chains, caps etc.As per their statement people still remember their massive sampling techniques to set their roots strongly in CSD market in Pakistan.
Mountain dew uses “PULL STRATEGY”* in their promotion. For example they pay “slotting allowances”*in the supper store. Mountain dew is strongly involved in the sponsorship of programs that exactly match the theme and concepts of their products and which their consumers love to watch. For example mountain dews sponsoring “living on the edge” on the Musik channel featuring DJ Waqar who is an icon for teenager and is himself an aggressive enthusiastic entertainer.
Previously they were sponsoring “survivor series” they also conduct events like rock concerts in which teenagers participate with full energy, patience and enjoy with there full potential.
Half of the total cost is promotional cost.
PLACEMENT
Mountain dew is using “direct distribution” *method. Mountain dew floods all possible retail stores with there product. They use 1.5 formulas i.e. if there is a need of 10 bottles in a shop they provide 15 bottle to that shop. The “numeric availability” is 87%.
The brand has also developed “marketing relationship”. It gives its big customer calendars and certificates. There is a complaint cell and feedback from customer is regularly taken. Company uses its own fleet of vehicles & warehouses. The cost of logistic is high but it is compensated in off season by merging of routes .In order to avoid channel conflicts exclusivity funds are given to the customer .The distribution cost is 8-9% of the total cost including the salaries of sales department.
PRICING
Pricing strategy is the last area of marketing mix. The brand uses “value based pricing”. It means that when consumer is buying mountain dew they are not just buying the beverage but also the image which goes with it. Prices usually don’t fluctuate but they may suffer sometimes due to the prices of competitors or increase in the prices of raw material.
Trade offers like price off and free products are given to the retailers. Final consumers are also given discount on special occasion like Eid, Ramadan etc.UTC (under the crown) schemes are usually launches on these events; e.g final consumers are given discounts.
SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
Weakness
Opportunity
Threats
Strength
Since the mother brand is so strong, it helped mountain dew a lot in creating its name in beverage market. It also increased the creditability of the mother product. The primary and key strength of mountain dew is that it is the brand of one of the strongest and globally recognized company that is Pepsi. Since, the mother brand is so strong, it helped mountain dew a lot in creating its name in the beverage industry.
Weakness
The increasing inflation rate in Pakistan may result in an upcoming weakness for Mountain Dew. Secondly, fragmentation in the beverage industry of Pakistan is another weakness. Thirdly, and most importantly, Mountain Dew’s fame can hurt the credibility of the mother brand, Pepsi. Brand extension is not there.
Opportunity
One of the best opportunity for mountain dew is that the people are now fed up of ordinary cola’s and other existing CSD’s, hence strongly moving their interest towards the citrus segment like mountain dew.
Threats
The biggest threat for mountain dew is form its competitors Sprite 3G and other energy drinks like red bull etc. Before Sprite 3G, Mountain Dew enjoyed the monopoly in the citrus segment of CSD’s industry. Now, the competition is very high between the two brands. Secondly, from the Pepsi’s perspective, Mountain Dew can be a threat for the mother brand.
*Slotting allowances
A one-time payment by a manufacturer or vendor to a retailer in order to ensure shelf space in the retailer’s store(s) or in its warehouses. Slotting allowances are controversial and play a major role in new product introductions
*Pull strategy
.
“Pull” selling strategy is one that requires high spending on advertising and consumer promotion to build up consumer demand for a product.
*H.S.E
Health and safety environment
*Marketing relationship
Relationship with customers, suppliers and distributers
*Direct distribution
In direct distribution channel, there are no middle-men or intermediaries. The sequence of direct distribution channel is as follows:
Producer – Retailer – Consumer (P-R-C)
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