Bachelor in Business Marketing

Question: Discuss about the Bachelor in Business Marketing. Answer: Introduction Babin and Zikmund (2015) have stated in his research work that globalization, as well as social-cultural integration, have significantly influenced the expectations, lifestyles along with the food cultures of Singaporean community. Apart from that, the increased in fine dining as well as ethnic foods restaurants, the customers are spoilt for the choices for the local and imported packaged foods from different parts of the globe. This particular research work would try to shed light on the marketing strategies of Monster Energy Drinks from several perspectives. Monster Energy Drinks represents a unique style of energy liquid refreshments to the customers that were generally instituted in the year 1990. However, its trading part started in 2002 with the inventive spirit as well as an exertion of Hansen Group of Natural Corp., most popularly known as HANS (Grier and Lassiter 2013). The regular favors of Monster Energy Drinks come in a black can with the bright M logo. The company has be en one of the popular names, as this has supported many extreme sports like BMX, Motocross and Speedway and some others including e-Sports. Apart from that, the company is well known among the customers as this has promoted a wide number of musical brands throughout the globe. However, it is required to mention that this specific research paper would try to shed light on some particular perspectives like situational analysis, competitive analysis and would try to evaluate the present marketing strategy. Based on that, some effective recommendations would be provided, so that the company can gain positive market share in the existing marketplace (Dawar 2013). Situational Analysis Pestle Analysis Political: With the course of time, the government has expressed its concern about the energy drinks industry as well as the impact of the products on the health conditions of the human beings. However, it is required to mention that most of the soft drink organizations do not look after this matter carefully, as they do not see this as a real threat. Challagalla et al. (2014) has stated that it maybe can ever be a force for the market; what is forbidden is attractive. The major factors are: Pressure on caffeine and taurine rates High health concerns of the government Accomplishment of the warning regulations Economic: Economic factors most of the times leave moderate impact over any products. However, it can be stated that energy drinks are premium products with a relatively high price. Consequently, this particular market is highly sensitive to the economic factors that leave an impact on the purchasing power of the target customers. In this case, the risk is that the customers can switch from one brand to another that is from an energy drink to a traditional drink that is less expensive (Foxall 2014). The major factors are: Recession, loss of purchasing power Relative high price of energy drinks as compared to the traditional beverage Ever increasing demand for the alternative beverage (Kyrgidou and Spyropoulou 2013). Market maturity for carbonated soft drinks, i.e. soda Socio-cultural: Unemployment (workplace is one of the most significant places where people consume energy drinks) Aging demography in Europe is another group that consumes more soft drinks It is hard for those customers are highly concern about their health, and they doubt the health dimensions of the energy drinks Technological Rosenbloom (2012) has stated that the present technological innovations are not important enough to impact the energy drinks industry. This is the era of internet and social media. Customers prefer that they have their presence in the social media because the young customers are the most potential customers of this market place. Legal The firm should comply with all the regulatory and food and beverages standards of the nation where it is operating from (Barry et al. 2013). Environmental The firm should comply with all the environmental standards of the nation where it is based (Jackson et al. 2014). Swot Analysis Strengths Basic needs of the wide range of customers Large as well as growing market share Different available flavors and packages Low costs of the products Non-alcoholic Weakness Traditional perseveration Negative claims from several sources Narrow range of material (Kleiman et al. 2012). Opportunities New packaging style and material Replacing the alcoholic drinks More flavors yet to come (Perrone and Wodonga 2015) Threat Heath issues among the health conscious people Soft drinks gradually going to be prohibited in the school guidelines Environmentalism Distribution costs Further replacement through cup and tea Competitive Analysis (USP) The Singaporean consumers are greatly concerned about the quality of the product served, and hence offering quality assured product is the most important USP of Monster Energy Drinks. The energy drinks offered by the organization consist of four important vitamins which help in the recovering the lost energy much faster than any other drinks. The organization follows a strong promotional strategy that is used to emphasize the usefulness of the drinks. The energy drinks offer a healthier alternative to the carbonated soft drink beverages, and can be consumed by people of all age groups (Liao and Chen 2014). Since the average population of Singapore is aging, there is a greater demand for energy drinks among the consumers. The Monster Energy Drinks is one of the very few organizations that provide a variety of energy drinks, such as Hansen's Natural Energy Pro, Hansen's Energy Diet Red, and much more. The energy drinks consist of the greater amount of caffeine, making the drinks capabl e of providing greater energy to the consumers. The tagline of the company, "Get Up and Go", also creates a sense of energy, refreshment, and inspiration that easily attracts the attention of the young, spirited consumers (Roll 2015). Customer Analysis Demographically speaking, the consumers of Monster Energy Drinks in Singapore are usually the people whose age lies between 15 to 45 years. It has been observed that there has been an increase in the demand of soft drinks among the college students and the employed youths, and most of these consumers prefer to consume low-calorie drinks that can keep them miles away from calorie intake. Recent findings have also suggested that there is an increasing shift in consumer tastes in Singapore, as a larger number of Singaporeans is moving towards healthier, fruit juice options rather than the soft drink beverages (Jou et al. 2014). The carbonated soft drinks have always been regarded as unsafe for human consumption, and as a result huge number of Singaporean consumers is showing inclinations for consuming organic food and fruit juices. Monster Beverage Drinks, with its production of as many as thirteen fruit juices, has gained much popularity among the consumers of Singapore, but however, i ts demand for energy drinks is not increasing much. Bargaining is a very important aspect of the consumer behavior of Singapore, and hence the Singaporean consumers tend to consume products that are offered at affordable rates. Te consumers are usually brand conscious, and are loyal to the brands they are using, but they will still try out a product that comes at an affordable rate. Hence, competitive price plays an important role in influencing their purchasing decision of the consumers. Singaporean population is aging, with a median age reaching 40.7, and hence the demand for fruit juice and health drinks is increasing in Singapore (Smith 2015). Competitor Analysis The competitive analysis is an important factor to be considered by the authority of Monster Energy Drinks, as it will help the organization understand the strategies adopted by its rival organizations. In Singapore, the FN Foods (S) Pte Ltd is a leading player as far as the market of sports and energy drinks is concerned. The very fact that the organization has recently managed to gain the Health Promotion Boards Healthier Choice logo, the demand for the energy drink has increased manifold among the health conscious consumers. More importantly, FN Foods (S) Pte Ltd has also been sponsoring various important sports events; as a result, the organization has never lost its recognition in the consumer market. Besides, Coca-cola and Pepsico are also in much demand among the soft drink lovers of Singapore, and can offer strong competition to the energy drink market of Monster Energy Drinks. Above all, the company may also face strong competition from other important energy drink sellers i n Singapore, such as Red Bull, Doubleshots, Rockstar energy drink and much more (Fernandez-Feijoo et al. 2014). Competitor Analysis with Unique Sales Proposition Coca Cola has always been a leading soft drink company that has been an instant hit among the consumers for selling high quality carbonated non-alcoholic drinks. However, the recent pact between Coca Cola and Monster Energy Drinks is going to be a beneficial agreement as the major competitor of Monster Energy Drinks will be working in collaboration with it. This pact is going to render both the organization long-term benefits. The worldwide bottling system of Coca Cola, when merged with the dedicated expertise of Monster Beverage Drinks as a leading energy player, it will be going to offer mutual benefit for both the organizations. The unique sales proposition of Monster Energy Drinks is that it offers a high amount of caffeine in its drinks, which helps to boost the energy of the consumers. Besides, each can of the energy drink contains several B Vitamins, 20 milligrams of Niacin, 1.7 milligrams of riboflavin which are great suppliers of energy (Galbraithà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Emami and Lob stein 2013). Evaluation of Current Marketing Strategy The Monster Energy Drinks although has adopted a very effective promotion strategy, it is yet to introduce some elements of innovation in it. To establish the brand as a powerful brand for energy drinks, the organization needs to advertise and promote its products with the help of celebrities especially the athletes and well-known sports personalities. It should not only remain focused on promoting its products via television advertisement, but it also needs to adopt the effective social media marketing strategy as well. The organization has been sponsoring various sports events, and that has helped in retaining its brand recognition among the masses. However, it is also advisable that the company sponsors music tours, motor sports, and action sports as well (Habib et al. 2015). The target audience of the Monster Energy Drinks has always been the young adults, and too especially the males. However, the organization should expand its target group of consumers, as even the children now adays suffer from exhaustion and insufficient energy, and hence tend to opt for energy drinks. It will be a good idea if Monster Energy Drinks can introduce new flavors for few of their energy drinks, as that will be useful in attracting the attention of the young consumers as well. Offering a variety of new flavors, and introducing larger can size can be a great idea (Thorpe 2014). Target Customers and Ssegmentation (STP) Male consumers between 18 to34 years old are the primary target customers of Monster Energy Drinks. Besides, the company is also targeting consumers who regularly go through magazines such as Xbox magazine, game informer magazines, and Maxim. Consumers who love to watch television shows such as Adult Swim, MTV2 and Comedy Central are in the list of the organization's target audience (Bublitz and Peracchio 2015). Besides, people who are regularly surfing online sites such as MTV.com and are related to the occupations of construction and maintenance are also the target market for Monster Energy Drinks. However, the organization is planning to extend their target market by not only retaining existing base of men customers but also by attracting female customers aged between 18-34 years old. Besides, the management of the organization is also planning to target students, workers, and athletes who have a frantic lifestyle and are looking for extra energy to get through the day (Schwarz an d Riemenschneider 2016). The target customer and segmentation of Monster Energy Drinks depend on their target audience research that states busy women between the ages of 18-34 are increasingly purchasing natural products over non-organic products. Among those women, 34% are devoted to purchasing products that have the purpose of improving health. That is why; Monster Energy Drinks implemented zero-calorie and sugar-free products. Therefore, it can be said that the organizations are mainly targeting people who are concerned about their health. Customer segmentation of Monster Energy Drinks also depends on the traveling trend of the people. It is seen that the people who are taking an average of 5 leisurely vacations within two years, love to have new experiences to break through daily limitations (Harrison and Jackson 2013). Therefore, it can be said that the organization is mostly targeting male and female customers between the ages of 18-34 years. The segmentation of Monster Energy Drinks is stated below, Demographic: Age and Gender- 18-34 years, both male and female customers are companys primary target. Income- Monster Energy Drinks target middle-class people and people who have a higher amount of income than they do. Occupation- Currently athletes and workers who live a stressful life and look for some excitement in their lives are the primary target customers of the organization. Psychographic- Lifestyle- Athletes, construction workers, maintenance workers and students Personality- ambitious, stressed and open to new experiences Occasion- Regular and special Geographic Area- Monster Energy Drinks limits itself to semi-urban and urban areas, and that is their major consumer base. City- Mostly class A and class B cities including metro politician cities Region- Monster Energy Drinks is disturbed in mostly urban regions of several countries Socioeconomic Monster Energy Drinks consumer base included people from high job profile. The product is promised to provide extra energy and enthusiasm in the lives of the people who are living a stressful life (Cairns et al. 2013). Positioning Product: Monster Energy drinks are a health energy drink that includes nutrients and herbs that help to boost up energy and focus. It is also considered as a good and healthy alternative to coffee. Price: Based on the financial condition of the counties, Monster Energy Drinks decides their pricing strategies. For example, in India price of Monster Energy Drinks is Rs. 97; however, in other countries the price is much higher than that (Whitfield and Buur 2014). Promotion: The main target if the Monster Energy Drinks management is to promote the brand to their potential customers including female customer base and students. The company is slowly but steadily focusing on developing promotional campaigns in schools and universities. They are also looking to promote the brand towards the non-alcohol drinking people. Recommended Objectives and Goals Monster Energy Drinks recently faced a lawsuit that claimed that a 14 years old boy died because of cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity after drinking energy drink of the same company. It clearly states that the organization is doing it wrong. Few other deaths were also noticed because of caffeine toxicity. Therefore, first of all, the organization will have checked their ingredients that are used to make the drinks. Advertisement strategies that used to show that drinking energy drinks could increase your energy levels are history. People now know that energy drinks cannot improve your performances in the field of athletics. Besides, it is also proved that energy drinks do more harm than good. That is why; health conscious people are avoiding these types of drinks. That is why; health drink companies such as Monster Energy Drinks should implement new strategies and should avoid old strategies. Healthy regular drinks such as green tea is replacing soft drinks and energy drink products slowly but steadily. Energy drink companies have failed to produce something new and healthier to the consumers. That is why people are shifting their focus to organic drinks. Therefore, eventually, Monster Energy Drinks will have to change or enhance their ingredients to make it healthier. Distribution costs around the world are increasing gradually. Different counties have different distribution costs. On the other hand, energy drinks are losing heir grip from the market. Therefore, the chances are low that they health drinks organizations such as Monster Energy Drinks can reduce prices to regain market share. Recommended Marketing Strategies Monster Energy Drinks should aim to establish and enlarge its production in Singapore. Relinquishing to a certain degree will help the unit to compete in the rather competitive and emerging market. The move to widen its operation in Singapore would also open up various new opportunities in the nation. The Singapore market is extremely important to the firms ambition so that the growth level anticipated by the management may take place. The launch of Monster Energy Drinks should be extended to on-trade along coupled with a marketing campaign to apprise the consumers about mixing of new flavors. The firm may contemplate rolling out its range to other markets where market share erosion is prevalent. It goes without saying that Red Bull would remain a major threat to Monster Energy Drinks. The price difference between both the entities could be a game changer as far as Monster Energy Drinks is concerned. Monster Energy Drinks may continue to position itself as a premium brand in the regi on. However, to attain better footing and attract the attention of young consumers and gain access to the wide demography, the company should focus on driving volume growth in emerging areas which are characterized by market share erosion. Conclusion In the end, it can be said that Monster Energy Drinks is going to face a tough time ahead. The major reasons behind this are their faulty and unhealthy ingredients. Some recent deaths proved that the energy drink is not good for health and can cause major damages. That why the popularity of Monster Energy Drinks is regularly decreasing among the customers. On the other hand, health consciousness is also increasing among the people as a result of several health campaigns dome by Governments and NGOs. That is another reason that consumers are shifting from energy drinks to green tea like products. Therefore, it can be said that it is the high time for Monster Energy Drinks to take steps to improve their health drinks by eliminating any ingredient that can cause health issues. Reference List Babin, B.J. and Zikmund, W.G., 2015. Exploring marketing research. Cengage Learning. Barry, C.L., Niederdeppe, J. and Gollust, S.E., 2013. Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages: results from a 2011 national public opinion survey. American journal of preventive medicine, 44(2), pp.158-163. Bublitz, M.G. and Peracchio, L.A., 2015. Applying industry practices to promote healthy foods: An exploration of positive marketing outcomes. Journal of Business Research, 68(12), pp.2484-2493. Cairns, G., Angus, K., Hastings, G. and Caraher, M., 2013. Systematic reviews of the evidence on the nature, extent and effects of food marketing to children. A retrospective summary. Appetite, 62, pp.209-215. Challagalla, G., Murtha, B.R. and Jaworski, B., 2014. Marketing doctrine: A principles-based approach to guiding marketing decision making in firms. Journal of Marketing, 78(4), pp.4-20. Dawar, N., 2013. When marketing is strategy. Harvard business review, 91(12), pp.100-108. Fernandez-Feijoo, B., Romero, S. and Ruiz, S., 2014. Commitment to corporate social responsibility measured through global reporting initiative reporting: Factors affecting the behavior of companies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 81, pp.244-254. Foxall, G., 2014. Strategic Marketing Management (RLE Marketing) (Vol. 3). Routledge. Galbraithà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Emami, S. and Lobstein, T., 2013. The impact of initiatives to limit the advertising of food and beverage products to children: a systematic review. Obesity Reviews, 14(12), pp.960-974. Grier, S.A. and Lassiter, V.C., 2013. Understanding community perspectives: a step towards achieving food marketing equity. In Advances in Communication Research to Reduce Childhood Obesity (pp. 343-366). Springer New York. Habib, F., Bastl, M. and Pilbeam, C., 2015. Strategic responses to power dominance in buyer-supplier relationships. International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management, 45(1/2), p.182. Harrison, P. and Jackson, M., 2013. Integrated marketing communications and power imbalance: the strategic nature of marketing to children and adolescents by food and beverage companies. In Advances in Communication Research to Reduce Childhood Obesity (pp. 33-76). Springer New York. Jackson, M., Harrison, P., Swinburn, B. and Lawrence, M., 2014. Unhealthy food, integrated marketing communication and power: a critical analysis. Critical public health, 24(4), pp.489-505. Jou, J., Niederdeppe, J., Barry, C.L. and Gollust, S.E., 2014. Strategic messaging to promote taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages: lessons from recent political campaigns. American journal of public health, 104(5), pp.847-853. Kleiman, S., Ng, S.W. and Popkin, B., 2012. Drinking to our health: can beverage companies cut calories while maintaining profits?. obesity reviews, 13(3), pp.258-274. Kyrgidou, L.P. and Spyropoulou, S., 2013. Drivers and performance outcomes of innovativeness: an empirical study. British Journal of Management, 24(3), pp.281-298. Liao, S.H. and Chen, Y.J., 2014. A rough set-based association rule approach implemented on exploring beverages product spectrum. Applied intelligence, 40(3), pp.464-478. Perrone, A. and Wodonga, T.A.F.E., 2015. Centralian College: Creating a strategic marketing plan for long-term growth. Marketing, p.85. Roll, M., 2015. Ten Steps to Building an Asian Brand. In Asian Brand Strategy (Revised and Updated) (pp. 222-250). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Rosenbloom, B., 2012. Marketing channels. Cengage Learning. Schwarz, P.E. and Riemenschneider, H., 2016. Slowing Down the Progression of Type 2 Diabetes: We Need Fair, Innovative, and Disruptive Action on Environmental and Policy Levels!. Diabetes Care, 39(Supplement 2), pp.S121-S126. Smith, G.E., 2015. The Opt-Out Effect: Marketing Strategies that Empower Consumers and Win Customer-Driven Brand Loyalty. FT Press. Thorpe, H., 2014. Producing Transnational Networks: Action Sport Companies, Media and Events. In Transnational Mobilities in Action Sport Cultures (pp. 35-67). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Whitfield, L. and Buur, L., 2014. The politics of industrial policy: ruling elites and their alliances. Third World Quarterly, 35(1), pp.126-144.